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Deplorable prison and jail conditions flagged in US State Dept Report
The 2013 US Human Rights Report has not given Guyana a passing grade. The Report which was published last week, noted that the most serious human rights abuses involved suspects’ and detainees’ complaints of mistreatment by security forces, unlawful killings by police, and poor prison and jail conditions.
The Report said that other human rights problems included lengthy pretrial detentions, allegations of Government corruption, including police officials; excessive Government influence over the content of the national television network, and continued restrictions on radio licensing; sexual and domestic violence against women; abuse of minors; and laws that discriminate against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) persons.
Ministry of Home Affairs.
Even though torture and other cruel inhuman treatment are against the law, the Report noted that these activities still occurred. It was noted that in 2012 the Police Complainants Authority received 36 complaints of unnecessary use of violence. The media, according to the Report had highlighted several cases of random police brutality, arrest, and interrogation prior to investigation.
The Report singled out the Marudi police beating as one of the activities. “On March 2, police used force to clear protesters in the Marudi mining district and they allegedly used whips and sticks to beat local miners protesting their alleged unlawful removal from the area they claimed for their own use” the Report said.
It was noted that several protesters required medical treatment at a local hospital. On March 4, Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud ordered an inquest into the alleged beatings by police. However as of October that inquest had not been performed.
Another incident of alleged police beating was on May 19, when Natasha Blackman claimed police tortured her into falsely admitting that she knew Chaka Chase, who the police alleged killed policeman Romain Cleto back in April.
Blackman accused police of handcuffing her in a metal chair before pouring methylated spirits over her body and shocking her with an electrified implement, all while police repeatedly asked her if she knew Chase.
The report said that Blackman claimed she succumbed to the interrogation tactics and eventually signed a statement saying that she had known Chase for 10 years, although throughout the interrogation she had denied knowing him.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Henceforth the Report described the prison and jail conditions as ‘poor and deteriorating,’ particularly in police holding cells. Overcrowding was noted as a severe problem.
The Report explained that the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) stated that as of October 2011 (latest data available), there were 1,962 prisoners in five facilities, which had a combined design capacity of 1,580. A total of 997 prisoners were in Georgetown’s Camp Street Prison, which was designed to hold 775 inmates. Overcrowding was in large part due to a backlog of pretrial detainees, who constituted approximately 39 percent of the total prison population.
Prisoners had access to potable water, and Government medical officers visited each prison on a monthly basis. In addition, medical staff consisting of a medical examiner, registered nurses, and assistant nurses provided daily treatment and monitored the sick as advised by the medical doctors. The GPS offered rehabilitation programs focused on vocational training and education; however, such programs did not adequately address the needs of prisoners with substance abuse problems.
As of October 2011 there were 88 female prisoners, all at the New Amsterdam Prison. Authorities held some female detainees temporarily at the East La Penitence police station.
Officials held juvenile offenders 16 years of age and older with the adult prison population. Officials held juvenile offenders ages 15 and younger in the New Opportunity Corps, a juvenile correctional center that offers primary education, vocational training, and basic medical care.
Although police stations were intended to serve only as pretrial holding areas, authorities detained some suspects there as long as two years while they awaited judicial action on their cases, the Report found.
In July, Camp Street authorities found inmate Brian Blunt dead in his cell. As of October the investigation continued. In 2012, (latest data available), the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) received 14 complaints of unlawful killings. There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
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