Amnesty International has added its voice in condemnation of the torture of a 15-year-old boy and two others by the police and it has urged that the Guyanese authorities charge the officers involved in the incident.
“These appalling acts of brutality by members of the Guyana Police Force must not go unpunished,” Kerrie Howard, Amnesty Inter-national’s Deputy Director for the Americas Programme said in a statement released yesterday
According to the statement police officers tortured the teenager by setting light to his genitals after he had refused to sign a confession.
The release said that another suspect, Deonarine Rafick, remains in prison after police beat him with a piece of wood and allegedly burnt his mouth with cigarettes to force him to sign a confession.
The international body said it has urged the Guyanese authorities to provide him with medical attention and investigate the circumstances leading to his confession.
It said the third suspect, 20-year-old Nouravie Wilfred, had charges against him dropped on Tuesday after being held incommunicado for seven days. “Under Guyanese law a suspect can be held by police for up to 72 hours before being brought before a court,” the body pointed out.
It was noted that the three suspects were denied visits by family members and legal representatives and were also refused medical attention while in custody.
“There must be a full investigation into how officers were allowed to blatantly flout Guyanese and international laws by refusing access to family, lawyers and medical treatment for several days,” Kerrie Howard said in the statement.
The teenage boy, who is not hospitalised, was arrested on October 27 and taken the next day to Leonora Police Station.
When he refused to sign a confession, police officers held him down and doused his genital area with a flammable liquid, which they set alight.
The body noted that the child, according to media reports, was not given proper medical treatment or access to legal representation until 31 October, despite repeated attempts by his lawyers and family to see him.
Rafick reported that he was struck by a piece of wood on his back, legs, buttocks, face and scalp, while being held in the Leonora Station on October 27. According to his testimony, the inside of his mouth was also burnt with cigarettes.
He was forced to sign a confession stating that he was involved in the murder. His lawyers were only granted access to him on October 29 despite repeated previous attempts.
He was brought before a court and charged with murder on October 30. His face was visibly bruised and the wound on his scalp had not been stitched.
He is currently in prison pending a preliminary investigation. Accord-ing to his lawyer and family, he has not yet received medical attention.
A police sergeant and constable have since been charged with inflicting the injuries on him while Police Commissioner Henry Greene said no one has been charged in connection with the teenager’s injuries because the child has not yet identified the perpetrators.