Dear Editor,
We note with grave disappointment that the Police Service Commission has refused to fire Inspector Narine Lall, who was found by the High Court to have tortured Twyon Thomas, a 14-year-old West Demerara teenager in 2009 by soaking his genitals with methylated spirts and setting them alight, action that those who believe in the inalienable right of all persons not to be subjected to torture have justifiably expected to result in expulsion from the police force.
Justice Roxanne George, in handing down her ruling in the Twyon Thomas case found that “the torture and cruel and inhuman treatment meted out to Thomas has demonstrated and established an absolute and flagrant disregard for his constitutional rights” and described the treatment he suffered as “degrading, humiliating and debasing.” Justice George also found the State of Guyana to have violated the fundamental rights of Twyon Thomas by depriving him of his personal liberty by unlawfully arresting and detaining him and causing him to undergo inhumane and degrading punishment.
Guyana is a signatory to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Article 4 of which states, “Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture. … Each State Party shall make these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature.”
The Constitution of Guyana upholds the rights of all Guyanese to freedom from torture and other cruel punishment.
The promotion of Lall and Dolai (the other policeman responsible for what was done to Thomas) to inspector and constable in January 2015 was a violation of Article 4 of the Convention, as is the Police Service Commission decision to guarantee employment to Inspector Lall in the face of his having been found guilty of torture. President Granger has also made public his strong and clear condemnation of the use of torture in Guyana, in keeping with the convention which requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture under their jurisdiction.
We therefore call on the government to take immediate action to address this PSC ruling and to reassure Guyanese that all police ranks without exception who have been found responsible for torture, rape or other breaches of fundamental human rights will not be guaranteed continuing employment in the police force.
We further call for an immediate review of all current members of the PSC and for transparency, integrity, expertise and appropriate gender representation to be the hallmark of its membership at all times.
Yours faithfully,
Danuta Radzik and Josephine Whitehead for Help
& Shelter
Karen De Souza, Joy Marcus and Wintress White
for Red Thread
Omattie Madray for ChildLink Inc
Simone Morris Ramlall
Leila Jagdeo
Andaiye
Vanda Radzik
Cheryl Sampson
Raquel Thomas Caesar
