Guyana: A long walk from Freedom

Dec 15, 2013 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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By Nigel Hughes
AFC Chairman

As we mourn the loss of the great Nelson Mandela and just as we inter him today, here is a

snapshot of justice in Guyana.

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Case #1

Navindra Singh V Attorney General.
Action 602 W of 2006 Demerara

In 2006 a young lawyer, Navindra Singh (now a Judge of the High Court) was stopped by the police taken to the police station where he was detained for four hours.
The antecedents, as disclosed by the Judge’s written decision, are that the plaintiff was stopped by the Police in Croal Street, he inquired about the reason for being stopped when his attention was directed to the rifle which was in the hands of a police officer and told “that’s all the reason we need”.
The plaintiff is taken to the Police station but is not placed in the lock ups. He is sent away on $5000.00 bail. He was subsequently charged with minor traffic offences including “interrupting the flow of traffic”. The charges were dismissed one month later.
The young lawyer commences legal proceedings against the State for his wrongful arrest and detention. He is subsequently appointed a High Court Judge and the case is heard by Justice William Ramlal.
The Judge’s decision delivered in 2013 discloses that the plaintiff was offered the sum of $500,000.00 (five hundred thousand dollars) to settle the matter, an offer which the plaintiff declined. At the trial, the State does not contest the plaintiff’s version of the events and declines to cross examine the plaintiff.
The plaintiff, then a Judge, is awarded the sum of $2,000,000.00 (two million dollars) for damages and the sum of $150,000.00 as costs.
In his decision Justice Ramlal finds “This was about the police exhibition of power with utmost disregard of the plaintiff’s fundamental rights.”

Case # 2

Philip Simon V Attorney General
Action 88 W of 2012 Demerara

Akbar Muhammad, a scholar from the Nation of Islam, travels to Guyana to speak to the children of Buxton and Linden about self-empowerment, the importance of education and upliftment.
Brother Muhammad is arrested at 2.00 a.m on the 19th day of May 2012 in his hotel room in the Princess Hotel He is taken to CID Police HQ, Eve Leary, without any notification to his hosts about his arrests and without being providing any reason for his arrest.
At lunch time one of his hosts, Philip Simon, who invited him to Guyana, discovered where he was and goes to Eve Leary to find out why he was detained. He is arrested for inquiring about Akbar Muhammad.
An hour later, the plaintiff’s barber, Tyrone Seymour, goes to the CID HQ to find out about the plaintiff and he is arrested for inquiring about the plaintiff.
The Police Force, through the Crime Chief, informs Guyana and the world that the plaintiff, Mr. Muhammad and the plaintiff’s barber were detained as suspects for terrorism and drug smuggling.
Their detention is broadcast on CNN and Reuters by 6.00 p.m. of the day of their arrest.
The plaintiff testifies that he was not asked a single question about his involvement in either terrorism or narcotics.
The men were placed in the insanitary lock ups at Brickdam where they remained for 30 hours. They were only released after Leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, called President Jagdeo, from the USA.
Philip Simon, who was previously a frequent visitor to the United States, subsequently travels to the United States where he is detained for four hours and questioned about his arrest in Guyana for terrorism and drug trafficking. He is subsequently denied entry to the United States of America and told on each attempted visit that he must clear up the issue of terrorism and narcotics in Guyana.
When questioned about Farrakhan’s intervention, President Jagdeo says that he “assured him that we don’t lock up innocent people in this country but we have to go through a process…You have to go through the process, the security forces have to be satisfied, and if this gentleman is innocent …we’ll try to expedite the processing of the gentleman…which is what the security forces did.”
When questioned about the apology demanded by Akbar Muhammad, President Jagdeo said “there’ll be no apology or anything of the sort in the context that I mentioned…Even if he is innocent, we don’t have an innocent man in prison”.
Philip Simon sued the State for his wrongful arrest, breach of his fundamental constitutional rights and false imprisonment. He also sought exemplary damages.
When inquiries were made of the State by Simon’s counsel about whether the State was interested in settling the matter, the State declined the invitation.
The matter was heard by the Honourable Chief Justice.
The plaintiff testified and was cross examined by the State’s representative.
The State led no witnesses to support their case.
Chief Justice Ian Chang delivering his decision in March 2013 found,
“The arrest and detention of the plaintiff from 12 Noon on the 19th May to the 20th May about 4 to 4.30 p.m. was not only wrongful, but also unconstitutional and oppressive and degrading – having regard to the crowded and insanitary conditions which then obtained in the Brickdam Police station lock ups where the plaintiff had to overnight under detention”.
He further opined that “The State bears no responsibility for the decision of the US immigration authorities to detain the plaintiff since such decisions involve the exercise of independent discretion of foreign officials over whom the State had no control.”
The Chief Justice concluded “In all the circumstances the court sees it fit to award to the plaintiff general damages in the sum of $250,000.00 for wrongful arrest and detention which was not only unconstitutional but was aggravated by the physical circumstances of confinement at Brickdam Police station.”
The plaintiff was awarded $40,000.00 costs.

Case # 3

Shemroy Bouyea, Ron Somerset and Allan Lewis, Linden, July 2012.
Commission of Inquiry, October 2012, Demerara.

On the 18th July 2012, three Lindeners were shot to death and several injured while participating in a peaceful protest in Linden against a 400% increase in electricity rates.
One of the deceased was shot from behind and all three deceased were shot through the heart.
A Commission of Inquiry is set up. The panel awards the deceased estates $3,000,000.00 as compensation for the loss suffered by the respective dependents of the deceased. One of the deceased had a son who was attending University of Guyana at the time his father was killed.
This award does not include any award for breach of the guaranteed and protected fundamental constitutional right to life.
The injured were awarded sums of less than $500,000.00 for the injuries they suffered.
The President when approached by the relatives of the deceased for an increase in the award said he saw no reason to increase the award by the Commission of Inquiry.

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Mr. Mandela we thank you for all that you have done for us but deeply regret that your long walk did not bring you to Guyana.

 

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