Dear Editor,
Help & Shelter wholeheartedly agrees with the Guyana Human Rights Association, APNU, Red Thread and all those who regard the acting Chief Justice’s ruling in the Henry Greene matter a travesty and joins in the calls for the DPP to appeal the ruling and for Mr Greene to be immediately removed from office.
We need not repeat what has already been said regarding the flaws in the ruling, including the judge’s disregard for the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act and failure to acquaint himself with how women may react to the trauma of being raped.
Mr Greene is not the first person holding the office of commissioner of police to be accused of rape. The first case did not even reach the stage of the then DPP advising that charges be laid. But the result of both will be the same if last Friday’s ruling is allowed to stand and a man who at the very least has, by his own admission, flagrantly abused his office is allowed to remain in it. (We have today [Thursday] heard that Mr Greene may be intending to resign. We feel strongly that he should not be allowed to do so, but should be dismissed.)
Given all the work that has been done to level the field for victims of rape in the 21 years between these two matters, including the passing of new sex offences legislation (with all party support after extensive public education and consultation) we expected better for our client. We sincerely hope that our expectations will not prove to have been irrational.
Yours faithfully,
Denise Dias
Danuta Radzik
Margaret Kertzious
Carol Innis-Baptiste
Gaitrie Shivsankar
Josephine Whitehead
For Help & Shelter
