Linden Commission of Inquiry to resume month end

Jan 14, 2013 News

The Linden Commission of Inquiry is expected to resume on the last Monday in this month. This was disclosed by Commissioner Justice Cecil Kennard, who told this publication that the Commission has not finished all the testimonies with regards to the compensation aspect of the inquiry. He said that has to be finalized into the report.
Members of the Commission of the Inquiry are Justice Lensley Wolfe O.J., Mr. K.D. Knight S.C and Ms. Dana Seetahal S.C. along with Guyana’s former Court of Appeal Judge, Claudette Singh, CCH and Justice Kennard himself, a former Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana.
Attorney at Law Peter Hugh, who represented the Guyana Police Force at the Linden Commission of Inquiry, had stated that the state was not responsible for compensation to any of the Linden protesters who were injured or killed on July 18, since he argued that there is no evidence to prove that the lawmen shot at the group.

Members of the Linden Commission of Inquiry (from left) Justice Claudette Singh, Justice Lensley Wolfe O.J.; Ms. Dana Seetahal S.C and Mr. K.D. Knight S.C

Hugh in his final submission had said that evidence presented is purely circumstantial and ballistics tests proved that the protesters were killed and injured with a caliber of ammunition that is not used by police.
He added that police were most times following standard operating procedures and when they didn’t it can be justified, taking into consideration the protestors’ hostile behavior towards them. Hugh added that the police had a duty to disperse the gathering and the leaders of the Linden protest should be held responsible for condoning the illegal act.
However, Attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes, who represented the families of the deceased,( Lyndon Lewis, Ron Sommerset and Shemroy Bouyea), said that there is compelling evidence to prove that the police shot the three men and injured the about 20 other Lindeners. He added that the deceased and injured persons were all shot with 00 buckshot pellets.
The lawyer had stated that the pellets could only have been discharged from a shotgun and not a handgun or rifle. Hughes said that that eliminated the possibility of either a concealed weapon or sniper being present.
Hughes said that there were around several hundred persons present at the time of the shooting and the only persons who were seen with shotguns were three police officers.
He said that a shotgun is at least three feet in length and if it was in the possession of anyone other than the police ranks it would have been clearly visible at the time of the shooting.
Superintendent of Police Patrick Todd, who was in charge of the police ranks at the time of the incident, admitted that he discharged several rounds from shotguns which he took from various ranks that were on the police line. Todd further said that he was the only one who discharged the shotguns.
Hughes said that evidence shows that no witness, whether civilian or police, claimed to have seen anyone else but the police armed with a shotgun.