US reports flag unlawful arrest, lengthy detention among human rights transgressions in Guyana

Aug 20, 2025 News

Kaieteur News – The 2024 United States (US) Department of State has noted the unlawful arrest and lengthy detention among the human rights transgressions in Guyana. According to the report while the incidence of wrongful arrest is not rampant, it is noteworthy.

The document pointed out that the constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention and provides for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest or detention in court. The report said while the government generally observed these requirements, there are incidences of arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention.

To this end, the US State Department highlighted the case of Terrence Sandy who police unlawfully arrested in June 2023 and wrongfully detained him for more than two months. Sandy sued the government for GYD $96 million (USD$446,000).

In addition to Sandy’s lawsuit there was another case where the State was ordered to pay $3.1M to a 56-year-old Jamaican national who claimed she was wrongfully detained for eight months at the East La Penitence Police Station shortly after being released from prison for serving a sentence for trafficking narcotics.

A judgment was later handed down in favour of Sandra Russell on Wednesday by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George. In 2018, the woman was sentenced to eight months in prison and fined G$135,000 by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for the possession of 70 grams of cannabis.

The Jamaican national had her sentence reduced to three and a half months and served her time at the New Amsterdam Prison. However, on November 10, 2018, Russell was released into the custody of a female Immigration Officer who told her that she would be deported to her homeland. That never happened and she was kept in custody at the East La Penitence Police Station. According to the report, pretrial detainees accounted for 41 percent of the prison population. The average length of pretrial detention was three years for those awaiting trial at a Magistrates’ Court or the High Court.

“This often exceeded the maximum possible sentence for the crime for which individuals were charged,” the report stated. The document nonetheless noted efforts to curb the incidence in that the government passed the Criminal Law Procedure (Paper Committal) Bill to reduce pretrial detention periods by replacing in-person hearings with written arguments by the defense and prosecution.

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human rights, lengthy detention, transgressions, unlawful arrest

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