As the probe into last Friday’s unrest at the Lusignan Prison continues, it is yet to be determined if charges are likely to be laid against the inmates behind the reported bid to kill a fellow prisoner.
Acting Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels, when contacted by Stabroek News yesterday, said that an investigation is ongoing and while the police have since taken a report on the incident, they are yet to obtain statements from the inmates who were involved.
He said information so far has revealed that the prison administration received information of contraband heading into the prison.
As a result, the inmates assumed that the administration received their information from a particular prisoner, who they deemed an informant and attempted to kill. “This resulted in them [the inmates] trying to cross over from Bay 2 to Bay 1 where the alleged informant was living,” he said.
Eighteen inmates suffered injuries as a result of the razor wire fences separating the two holding areas.
Five prisoners, who sustained serious injuries, were taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, while the others were treated at the Lusignan Prison’s medical centre.
The injured prisoners were identified as Linden Lewis, Abdul Akeem, Anthony Joseph, Travis Sobers, Adrian Edwards, Calvin George, Saddash Singh, Nick Skeete, Suresh Ganesh, Omar Williams, Lendroy Stephens, Kevin Cumberbatch, Ajit Jittall, Ryan Gopaul, Anthony Persaud Ryan Banister and Jayishwar Dhanai.
The prisoners involved are those relocated from the Camp Street jail after the July 9 fire. Prison officials had erected more secure facilities for them after 13 had escaped from a pasture on July 24. On July 29, 16 prisoners were shot with pellets and rubber bullets during a confrontation with prison staff at the same facility.
On Saturday morning, the prisoners turned over 33 improvised weapons to prison authorities and apologised to the prison staff for the unrest at the facility.
Samuels, in a statement, had said that the apology was given when the prison staff reported for duty Saturday morning at the new holding area of the prison. He said they were greeted by prisoners from the three holding areas, who offered apologies for their actions on Friday evening.
The prisoners, he had added, also thanked the officers for not directing shots at them even though they misbehaved. They subsequently handed over the improvised weapons, which were made from various materials that were used to construct the new holding area.
“In our continuous efforts to maintain security at the prisons, we remain vigilant and remind prisoners not to damage property of the Government,” Samuels noted, before adding that despite the apology, the Joint Services remain on high alert.
