Latest update November 23rd, 2024 1:00 AM
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Lawsuit filed against police officer for throwing away boundary card of cricket fan
Kaieteur News – A lawsuit has been filed against a police officer for seizing and discarding the boundary cards of a local cricket fan who attended the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) games.
The application filed in the High Court was brought against Officer J. Austin, a member of the Guyana Police Force by Gregory Allen a private citizen and avid cricket fan.
Allen in his application claimed that the officer forcefully took away his boundary cards and dumped them into a garbage bin while he was entering the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) on September 16, 2023.
The applicant said he had carried with him two signs to use and display during the game but the officer prevented him from entering the venue and using signs claiming the signs contained messages of protest that could not be used at the event. The applicant is a citizen of Guyana by birth that enjoys the full protection of the law of the country including the constitution which is the supreme law.
As such, Allen is seeking a declaration that the officer violated his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 146 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. The application which list the Attorney General of Guyana as defendant also asks such orders or directions as the court may consider appropriate for the purpose of enforcing or executing the enforcement of Article 146 of the Constitution of Guyana.
Kaieteur News had previously reported that the incident occurred during a routine security search at a check point at the Stadium. Allen told this publication that upon entry to the stadium for the CPL games, an agent noticed his custom-made boundary cards with the numbers six and four along with “taxes, more royalty and Ring Fence 6th oil project”.
The boundary sign that was tossed into the bin by the policeman
One of the agents said, “Sir leh meh see the thing yuh got in yuh hand.” Allen said he complied and he was told that he cannot enter the stadium because he was going to protest.
Allen said he informed the agent that he was not going to protest but just to see the game while enquiring why he was being prevented from entering the stadium with boundary cards that express his views. Following his inquiry, the attendant called a police inspector to the check point. The inspector then grabbed the boundary cards, looked at them and threw them into a nearby bin. Allen said that he asked the police why he threw away the boundary card. “When I ask he why he throw away my cards in the bin, he said no protest is allowed and you could go to complain to who you want,” Allen recalled.
Kaieteur News asked Allen why he chose to write on his boundary cards and he responded, “It is my way of telling my leaders that I need a better deal from our oil resources.”
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