Disturbed by the official reaction to the death of prisoner James Nelson in the Brickdam lock-up, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) yesterday called on international agencies to demand immediate improvement in the treatment of detainees as a condition for continued funding of reforms to the criminal justice system.
In a statement, the rights group said that along with an extensive list of unresolved serious crimes, the attitudes of the authorities have been fuelling a culture of violence that cannot be resolved by national action alone. It argued that the lack of official concern in the case of Nelson, who the police initially said injured himself, illustrates a pattern of disinterest by the disciplined services in resolving incidents of torture and death involving their personnel. This situation, the GHRA added, is being worsened by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, whose position on crime fighting suggests indifference to whether suspects are brought to justice or unlawfully executed.
In this context, it urged international agencies – currently investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the reform of the police force and the justice system – to set as a condition “immediate improved performance” to address conditions of detention, torture and deaths in custody. “Linking continued dispersing of funds to improve police performance and standards should be a clear requirement,” it said, adding that such benchmarks should be in the public domain to allow citizens and civil society to monitor progress.
Guyana’s Security Sector Reform programme is being implemented with critical assistance from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), while the recently launched Modernisation of the Justice Administration System programme is being supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) which is also funding a Citizen Security Programme.
In a comment to Stabroek News yesterday, British High Commissioner Fraser Wheeler said that the Commission had received a copy of the statement and has taken note of the points raised by the GHRA, which he noted has been proactive in speaking out where it thinks persons rights have been denied. Asked whether the High Commission is concerned about the treatment of persons in custody in light of the recent torture allegations, Wheeler said: “We are concerned about the treatment meted out to all persons whether in custody or not. At the same time we respect that Guyana as a sovereign state has its laws and there are regulations governing treatment of persons in custody. As a democratic state and a signatory to the international treaty for the protection of human rights, we expect Guyana to uphold the tenets of the Treaty.”
Stabroek News was unsuccessful in reaching IDB Representative Marco Nicola for comment.
In the last year, the joint services have been accused of torturing persons in custody on at least eight occasions, although the government has maintained that there is no proof to substantiate any of the allegations. In six instances last year, members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) were accused of using torture techniques during interrogation: Buxtonians Patrick Sumner, Victor Jones, David Leander, also known as David Zammett were picked up during joint service raids and later appeared with visible injuries, including burns, about their bodies; GDF soldiers Michael Dunn, Alvin Wilson and Sharth Robertson said that they were subjected to torture during an interrogation as part of an investigation into a missing AK-47. More recently, prisoner Edwin Niles succumbed to injuries he sustained after reportedly receiving a beating after being found with ammunition at the Camp Street prisons. He was hospitalized for nine days before he died. A post-mortem report said Niles died as a result of a blood clot in the lungs due to burns about the back. He also had a fractured left arm. Nelson, an ex-soldier who was found dead in a holding cell, is the most recent case that has attracted concern over the treatment of persons in custody.
Earlier this year, the GHRA urged the UN Committee against Torture and the Special Rapporteur on Torture to make urgent contact with the government on “measures it should take to halt the dangerous slide into routine torture in Guyana.”
Silence and
intransigence
It added in its statement yesterday that the silence and intransigence of the disciplined services and civil authorities faced with mounting incidence of torture and death suggest contempt for accountability to civil society. It cited the delays in producing the report of the board of inquiry set up to investigate the torture allegations and the conditions under which it would be presented to the parliament as reinforcing such judgements.
In the case of Nelson, the GHRA described the police force’s initial explanation – that he might have inflicted fatal injuries on himself – as ludicrous. It cited the public statements by Police Commissioner Henry Greene on the case, saying they imply a laid-back, arms length approach to the questions about how Nelson died and who might be responsible. While noting that it did not expect the Commissioner to rush to judgement against his own ranks, the GHRA said “Guyanese citizens have a right to expect more than the casual indifference reflected in [his] comments, particularly at a time when serious crimes by acting and former members of the disciplined services are becoming a daily news feature.” It added that a more assertive statement by the police authorities to pursue the perpetrators and ensure condign punishment would have been more reassuring both to Nelson’s family and the general public.
During an extended parliamentary debate on Monday, the main opposition PNCR as well as the AFC both challenged the government to uphold its obligations under the UN Convention. The debate centred on a motion by PNCR-1G MP Aubrey Norton, who sought to have the National Assembly set up an independent investigation. Government, however, used its majority to block the motion, saying that there is no evidence to substantiate allegations that members of the joint services have tortured suspects and claims by alleged victims were false. Government speakers emphasised the administration’s opposition to the use of torture under any circumstances and said it is committed to meeting its treaty obligations. At the same time, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud told the house that while the board of inquiry set up to probe the allegations found no cases of torture, it did find instances of “roughing up.” But he explained that in the light of the “new face of criminality” the security forces would use “a certain amount of physical and mental pressure” in order to get information and he insisted that such tactics did not fit the definition of torture. “To try to include these acts is to cheapen the definition of torture,” he said.
