Rehanna Reginald, a resident of East Canje, Berbice who was unlawfully arrested by members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) on November 7, 2020 and kept in custody until November 11, 2020 was on Wednesday awarded the sum of $2,250,000 by the Chief Justice for breaches of her Constitutional rights.
This is according to a release yesterday from Dexter Todd & Associates.
Reginald was detained in both the New Amsterdam Police Station and the Sisters Police Station where she was subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment. She was also deprived of her right to speak with her family and her attorneys-at-law.
Reginald had sued the state through her attorneys, Dexter Todd and Dexter Smartt, from Dexter Todd and Associates Law Firm, seeking a declaration that her fundamental rights guaranteed under articles 139(1) and 141 of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana 1980 were violated by the State and its agents by imposing cruel and inhuman treatment, false imprisonment and wrongful deprivation of liberty on 7th to 11th November, 2020.
She also sought compensation from the State for those breaches of her rights.
In a press release, Reginald’s attorneys said that in January 2022, the Chief Justice ruled that Reginald’s arrest and detention by the Guyana Police Force was unlawful. At trial, the court heard how Reginald was deprived of her right to an attorney and was not told the reason for her arrest. Further, she was forced to stay in a cell with faeces and urine on the floor of the cell since the toilet in the cell was not operational while she was on her menstrual cycle. As a consequence of the Police’s unlawful actions, the statement said Reginald said she suffered humiliation, distress, embarrassment and was emotionally and mentally traumatized.
The press release said that in the Chief Justice’s ruling on damages, Reginald was awarded the sum of $1.6m for the breach of her fundamental rights guaranteed under articles 139(1) and 141 of the Constitution as it relates to cruel and inhumane treatment, false imprisonment and wrongful deprivation of liberty. The release said the court also awarded $50,000 for the breach of Reginald’s rights under article 149 of the Constitution of Guyana which guarantees protection from discrimination. The Chief Justice further awarded an additional sum of $350,000 as vindicatory damages since the police had no reason to arrest Reginald. Finally, she awarded Reginald $250,000 in costs.
