A high-profile prisoner, outraged that he was not granted bail, hurled a book at Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Persid Edmond as he was leaving the ‘further remand centre’ in New Amsterdam at around 11:40 am yesterday.
Reports are that Bishram Emmamudin of Canje pulled out the book, titled: “Deceit of Lucifer” from his pants waist and threw it at the magistrate. It missed her by a few inches and landed on the desk in front of her.
The unarmed court orderly had just left the magistrate alone at the desk to assist the lone police officer to escort the prisoners down the stairs when the attack occurred.
After that the officers tried to rush the man off to the prison but Magistrate Chandan-Persid Edmond immediately summoned him and told him he had acted in contempt of court and that he had just committed misconduct in the face of the court.
She asked him how he pleaded and he said “guilty.” He was also asked what he had to say and without expressing any remorse, he responded that he was charged with “rape, robbery under arms and unlawful possession of ammunition” and was on remand for five months.
The magistrate’s husband, attorney-at-law, Joel Persid Edmond told this newspaper that he arrived at the scene about 10 minutes after the attack and met a few prisoners.
He said when he questioned them about the incident they responded that before the session Emmamudin had threatened that “leh she [magistrate] don’t give me bail today yuh gon see wah ah gon do wid she…” He then asked the prisoners why they did not report what he had said and they replied that he had told them that “he in prison already and he can’t go further than prison.”
The prisoner was before Magistrate Chandan-Persid Edmond at the Reliance Court facing three charges and was said to be always hostile and aggressive. Observers said that the man should have attended court fully shackled and handcuffed.
Stabroek News was told that the man was missing from court for a while and “on that basis an arrest warrant was issued for him. After some time had elapsed he was rearrested” and placed on remand.
Shaken by the incident, the magistrate was worried that instead of the book, a weapon could have been used and she could have been injured. Her husband said that “had the orderly been there he would have been able to observe the movements.”
Joel Persid-Edmond emphasized the need for the orderly to be present at court and said that “without the orderly the court is not properly constituted.”
He said it is a regular occurrence for the orderly to leave the magistrate unprotected and assist in escorting prisoners to and from court.
The lawyer mentioned too that in light of the attack on her colleague, Magistrate Nigel Hawke, “the security should have been beefed up.”
It has also been observed that students from the nearby All Saints Primary School are always in the compound of the remand centre.
Persons said that should not be allowed to happen as “dangerous criminals are present and could hold a child hostage.”
The magistrate contacted a senior officer at the prison and he “was very dismissive” and informed her that they would normally allow the prisoners to have books.
Meanwhile, Commander of ‘B’ Division, George Vyphuis promised that additional security would be provided for the magistrate and that the matter would be treated with the utmost seriousness, according to Joel Persid-Edmond.
He said security is the main concern for his wife right now and that she would be returning to work today “not knowing what to expect and how to function. She would now have to be doing her work and looking around” in case of any more attacks.
He questioned, “How can she perform her job efficiently if she has to be in fear all the time.”