Govt. sets target on social media commentators

Dec 29, 2023 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

– urges citizens to sue them for libel

Kaieteur News – Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo is calling for more legal action to be taken against ‘social media influencers’ who use their platforms to irresponsibly malign private and public individuals online.

This announcement comes days after New York-based Guyanese Political Activist, Rickford Burke was served with a summons in relation to charges of sedition and a list of other alleged offences purportedly committed against the State. Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo noted that Burke is just the tip of the iceberg. The VP pointed out that there are a number of other social media influencers who live abroad and utilise their platforms to make salacious comments without thinking of the consequences that may follow. He said that those persons should be put on notice.

Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo

“So, I hope that the social media influencers who are operating under the guise that they are not in our jurisdiction and they feel safe abroad, safe from the reach of our law, that they are taking note too…They live abroad, they have nothing good to say about country, they sow divisions, discord every single day by their comments. They use social media as a weapon against the government and also private citizens and as a means of extorting people, and clearly this can’t be free speech, this can’t be protected speech, this is criminality,” The VP said.

Jagdeo reasoned if persons in Guyana say some of the things, those overseas Guyanese are saying, they have to face the law, and similarly, those overseas will also have to face the law. As such, he urged private citizens to take action against those “influencers” who use the social media platforms to attack them.

“So, I am so pleased that we could actually start holding people accountable for what they say. People can say whatever they wish. But if its seditious, you have to face the court… I hope that anyone that the malign, sue them now and hire somebody abroad to serve them notice or the summons and make sure they video it like they did Rickford Burke and then proceed in Court,” Jagdeo urged.

Earlier this month, Burke was served with a court summons that requires him to appear before an East Coast Demerara magistrate next year. Burke, who is the President of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID) and a critic of the present government, was served with a “defendant summons” by ASP Rodwell Sarabo of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and US process server Mark Wesserman at his home in Brooklyn, New York on December 16.

In a press statement the GPF had said that Burke has to appear in the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court on March 28th, 2024. Burke has been charged with a series of crimes including incitement of hostility or ill-will on the grounds of race, sedition, inciting public terror and seditious libel. Two wanted bulletins were issued for Burke on December 3, 2021, and September 29th, 2022. Police filed charges against him on August 28th, 2023.

Meanwhile, Burke has filed a complaint with police in New York. In a Facebook livestream he alleged “two men armed with firearms” rushed into his home and attempted to “push a piece of paper” into his face as he was leaving to go to church. Burke claimed he saw Sarabo and Wesserman digging through his mail. He said no document was served to him but he found it on the stairs leading to his home. Burke accused the government and GPF of attempting to abuse the court by filing malicious cases against him.