A fight among prisoners in the capital offences section of the Camp Street prison last evening left five of them bloodied, two of whom had to be admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Those taken to the hospital for medical attention were Noel Adonis, Azim Khan, Gary Moses, Christopher Dhanraj and Calvin Bailey. Adonis and Moses were listed as critical but stable and were admitted while the others were treated and sent away. These prisoners were all allegedly beaten with pieces of wood.
Prisons Head Dale Erskine told Stabroek News last evening that it was around 7.15 pm when officers heard noises coming from the “capital division” of the prison. When they started to investigate, the lights went out.
He said that from the sounds they were hearing, the officers realized that someone was being beaten.
According to Erskine, the sirens were turned on, everyone went on high alert and the joint services responded immediately.
He said prison officers were able to manoeuvre themselves into the area where they found a number of injured, bloodied prisoners. He said it was hard to figure out whether the men had actual punctures to their bodies or just lacerations. However, he said, they established that the men had been beaten with pieces of wood.
It was pandemonium at the hospital when the prisoners arrived amid sirens and under heavy police guard. Dozens of persons assembled and hospital personnel were forced to close the doors to the Accident and Emergency Unit, barring off curious onlookers.
Meanwhile, the usual cordon around the prison was widened and heavily-armed policemen and ranks from the Guyana Fire service remained vigilant outside the building.
The issue of prisoners being able to avoid the scrutiny of prison officers and take implements, which could be used as weapons, to their cells had been raised before and Erskine had pointed out that the more experienced officers could easily realize when this was the case. He had admitted though that the prisoners were crafty and found different means to secure these implements and carry them back to their cells.
Meanwhile, the six prisoners who allegedly beat the five injured inmates, have since been placed in isolation, Erskine said. He said officers were able to take control of the situation quickly and things were back to normal.
Questioned as to whether the prisoners were actually in the prison yard as was being rumoured, Erskine denied this and insisted that there was there was no damage to the building adding that everything took place behind the walls and there was no breach.
He was not sure if any of those placed in isolation were well-known prisoners. However, he confirmed that Moses, Dhanraj and Bailey were being held for murder.
The prisons head was not sure what might have caused last evening’s fight, but explained that this was a frequent feature among prisoners.
Erskine said the police would be involved in investigations and if there was enough evidence, those who had done the beating could face additional criminal charges.
While there was complete calm at the prison within an hour, Erskine said that officers remained on alert.
