Criminal defamation

Jun 24, 2025 Editorial, News

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Kaieteur News – The striking out of the criminal defamation case against US activist Rickford Burke last week in the High Court is a welcome decision for this country.

In handing down her decision, last week Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire declared that the offence of defamatory libel is inconsistent with the freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 146 of the constitution. She noted too that in a modern democratic society such as Guyana’s if someone feels aggrieved by what has been said about them, they may file a civil suit. “It is declared that the resort to criminal defamatory libel to protect individual reputation is unnecessary, disproportionately excessive and not justified and or required to protect reputations, rights and freedoms of other persons and are unconstitutional as being in violation of Article 146:6 which is the freedom of expression provision in our constitution,” the Chief Justice explained.

The current administration is so intolerant to criticisms that it would go to any length to silence persons who have opposing views to them. No wonder, it has set out on a course to buy over journalists – many of whom have left respected careers in media to pursue propaganda of the slimiest for the present administration. We would be the first to admit that some of the views of Mr. Burke are extremist in nature, but he ought not to be pursued in such vile manner to keep him silent. His extremist views are no different from those of the government spokespersons including the Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo who is on record referring to his opposition political colleagues in some of most vile manner. Journalists at this newspaper and our publisher and columnists have suffered similar insults and bullyism by State operatives.

It must be noted that since 2020, the European Union had criticised the Guyana Government for still having the criminal defamation law on its books, which can see journalists being jailed for libel. The former APNU+AFC Coalition Government had promised to scrub the legislation from the books, but left office without doing so and the PPP/C has kept it for its own nefarious schemes. In its final report on the March 2, 2020 elections the EU observed that despite the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, Guyana is at odds with international obligations and in addition to civil law, defamation is prosecuted also by criminal laws with sentences up to two years of imprisonment. “While there were no ongoing criminal lawsuits or cases of journalists being detained or convicted, the mere existence of criminal liability for defamation constitutes a threat which may lead to possible self-censorship by media professionals,” the EU stated in the 2020 report.

The EU was not alone prior to 2020, the International Press Institute had said that criminal libel law was born in an Elizabethan England courtroom as a means for silencing critique of the privileged class. That body had said a law of such antiquated ethos, had little place in modern society where the press plays a pivotal role in shaping public discourse. IPI had said too that the mere threat of prosecution chills investigation and free speech, sustains corruption, unnecessarily protects public officials, and denies one of the most basic of human rights, freedom of expression. “Criminal libel is one of the most pernicious media constraints in contemporary society. Implemented at the will of any insulted public official, it frequently leaves no recourse for the defendant. In most countries, truth is not a valid defence, leaving defence a vexing proposition.”

It was not surprising that the PPP/C Government dug up the law to go after Burke – one of its fiercest critics, yet this is a government that preaches virtues of press freedom. When press professionals and other citizens, who go after and share information that leaders prefer the public not to know, are hauled before the courts, vilified on social media and other channels, that can never be said to be conducive to freedom of the press.

It is seeking to pick the free press apart, and then convert it into a docile poodle. The PPP/C Government has more than its share of friendly media assets, yet it is a sign of its fears, that there is this compulsion by to shut down the few independent voices still around. A government that does what benefits citizens will be cheered by everyone. When it doesn’t, its leaders see threats everywhere, fear their shadows. When lawsuits are weaponised against media professionals, it isn’t about reputation. It is about scaring off those probing for facts. When restraints multiply, Guyana’s press freedoms aren’t strengthening, they are weakening.

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• Criminal defamation, Editorial, High Court, Rickford Burke, Roxane George – Wiltshire

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