Attorney for five persons that were arrested and released says police on “fishing expedition”

Sep 14, 2020 News

…Brutal slaying of the Henry boys

While, the Guyana Police Force has gone silent on the status of the investigation into the brutal slaying of 16-year-old Isaiah Henry and his cousin 18-year-old Joel Henry of No. 3 Village, West Coast Berbice, a lawyer for some of the persons arrested has accused the police of going on a fishing expedition.

Attorney, Siand Dhurjon

The last update provided by the Force was on Friday when the PRO Royston Andries disclosed that investigating ranks were on the ground working. The Crime Chief then had also stated that four persons were released out of the seven that were in custody for the killings.
However, in a Facebook post, Attorney for five of the persons that were arrested and since been released is accusing the GPF of being on a “fishing expedition”, saying they have no solid evidence that his clients, inclusive of the 58-year-old rice farmer and his son, were guilty of the grisly act.
The attorney, Siand Dhurjon said the police arrested “at least fourteen individuals and most or all of whom have now been released”. He said, “the police were on a fishing expedition, they had no real leads as to the perpetrators. I know because, as their attorney, I oversaw the interests of five of those who were arrested. I have to make clear that one of these men was arrested for one reason only: because the bodies of the Henrys were discovered on land or nearby land owned or under the care of that man. His son and three of his employees were arrested all for the same reason: that they tended to or were otherwise connected with the large land on which or near to which the bodies were discovered”.
The lawyer said that his clients having a connection with the land or nearby land where Isaiah and Joel’s butchered bodies were found is not sufficient to form reasonable cause for suspicion that they committed the act.
“This is especially so because the overseer of the land or of the nearby land oversees roughly 5,000 acres of land for farming purposes. It is in law impossible for him to be accountable for a crime committed on his vast lands,” he said.
Dhurjon believes that the police arrested the men to “perhaps show the country that something was being done” and those actions resulted in his clients being kept in custody for six days. He mentioned that the rice farmer who suffers from diabetes had to be taken for medical attention after he began experiencing chest pains and high blood pressure.
“He was given no compassion for his ill health, the police detained him for as long as possible being well aware that there was nothing to say that this man had anything to do with the murders”, he said. The attorney noted that despite such, his clients cooperated and told the police all that they knew and after “realising there was no evidence” to further detain them, they ended their “fishing expedition” and released the men on bail.
He stressed that there should be more “robust and forensic methods of investigation” for justice to be served and underscored that if the Guyana Police Force continues to solve crimes solely based on confession or eye-witness testimonies then the country will continue to suffer an “abysmal conviction rate”
“In Guyana, we charge first and finish investigations later. Globally the science marches on with new abilities to analyse evidence at crime scenes while in Guyana, as though time has stood still, the police depend on the same practices that we have been using for decades”, he further said.
The Attorney expressed hope that the politicians “who derive their relevance and support from instigating race hate and riots along the WCB” will eventually wake up to a Guyana that can no longer be baited by their lies. He stated that presently there is no evidence that the teens were killed by people of Indian decent and there is no evidence that the killings were done by people of African decent or any race but whoever committed the brutal act should be apprehended and punished under the law.
He also wants better investigatory practices to be executed by the Guyana Police Force so that the real culprits could be unveiled. He further asked that “one true” suspect be arrested for the murder of 17-year-old Haresh Singh.
Isaiah and Joel Henry were laid to rest yesterday. They had left their homes on September 5th to go to the backdam, reportedly to pick coconuts but their butchered bodies were found the following day. What started off as protests for justice soon turned into racially targeted violence, robbery and arson. Several leaders had called for peace following the several days of unrest. On Wednesday Haresh Singh was found murdered in the No. 3 backdam. He was reportedly a friend of the murdered teens.