The attorney for two of the men who were arrested near the St. Ambrose Primary on Monday has secured an order for them to be brought before a court by 1.30 this afternoon, while saying that there was no evidence they were involved in any electoral irregularities.
Attorney Everton Singh-Lammy represents the two men, Sameer Bacchus and Paul Persaud, who were among a group arrested on Monday.
The group were reported to have been found in possession of illegal firearms close to St. Ambrose Primary School in Alberttown.
The men, sources said, were allegedly caught traversing in vehicles, at least one of which is suspected to have borne a false licence registration. They were arrested and taken to the Alberttown Police Station.
A police source yesterday said that only one of the firearms that was allegedly found in possession of the men who were arrested was unlicensed.
The source explained that the illegal firearm was allegedly found in the tyre of one of the vehicles in which the men were in.
A number of the persons who were also taken into custody were accused of having illegal firearms in their possession. However, the source explained those firearms were licensed with a company with which the men work. “Some persons had licensed firearms with company that they work for,” the police source said.
The incident is being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Efforts made to contact Crime Chief (ag) Michael Kingston for an update on the investigation proved futile.
Up to press time, the police did not issue an official statement on the arrests.
Meanwhile, in a statement to the press, Singh-Lammy last evening said he was able to get a court order yesterday afternoon calling upon the Commissioner of Police to produce the bodies of Persaud and Bacchus to the court at 1.30 pm today.
He had earlier noted the allegations in the media about an offence involving ballot boxes used for Monday’s polling and said that the Commander of Region 4 (A) has stated that there is no evidence that the detainees were involved in any such actions.
Singh-Lammy said he went to CID Headquarters, Eve Leary, on Monday night to see his clients but police did not allow him to do so.
“Now, it is enshrined in our laws that every person has the right to consult with his or her lawyer and the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF’s) reluctance to have my clients enjoy their rights to have access to their lawyer violates the requirement of the persons’ fundamental constitutional rights.
As I understand it, that right arises immediately upon detention so no excuse can be given by the GPF unless my meeting my clients would have impeded their investigation; and even if that were the case, no Police officer had the courtesy of giving me an explanation or a time frame to work with,” he said, after detailing his efforts over a two-hour period to see his clients.
“These actions by the GPF amount to nothing short of executive misconduct on a matter of prime importance to the administration of justice. My clients were denied the privilege of having a lawyer explain to them what they are to expect at every stage of the criminal process and I am unable to ensure that their constitutional rights are not being violated by law enforcement,” he added, while questioning whether the country had reverted to a police state.
Singh-Lammy said that is not the first instance where he has encountered such challenges and he warned that if action is not taken soon, the breach of persons’ constitutional rights will become customary.
