Dear Editor,
I was retained to represent Sameer Bacchus and Paul Persaud in relation to an incident that occurred at the St. Ambrose Primary School on Monday where it seems to be alleged that an offence was committed involving ballot boxes used in the 2020 General Elections.
At this juncture I must emphasize the fact that it was reported in the media, that, no less than the Commander of A Division of the Guyana Police Force, has stated that there is no evidence that the detainees were involved in any such actions. Nonetheless, they were being detained, so I journeyed to the CID Headquarters, Eve Leary, Camp Street, at about 11:32 pm on the 2nd March, 2020 in an effort to see my clients.
When I arrived I told several officers about the reason for my visit and I was told by a guard at the gate that a Sergeant Fraser told him that I had to wait until they received a call from ‘upstairs’. I made several other attempts, over a two-hour period, to engage the Police but my efforts were to no avail. I made calls to high ranking Police officials and they all told me that they could not render assistance and that the Crime Chief was in charge of the matter; I left the station without the clients having the opportunity to meet with me.
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. 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. Are we now part of a Police State?
It is not the first time that I am encountering these challenges and I am afraid that if nothing is done by those in charge the breaches of our constitutional rights will become customary. We are already well on our way. The GPF are supposed to be one of the protectors of these rights, not the ones who violate them. Hopefully the Commissioner of Police sees this letter and allows my clients to benefit from my advice or I would have no choice but resort to the Courts for a redress.
Yours faithfully,
Everton Singh-Lammy
Attorney-at-law
