The case brought by the state against Rickford Burke alleging libel and other offences has been deferred pending proceedings that he has lodged in the High Court.
This is according to a statement from Burke’s attorney Dawn Cush.
Yesterday was the date set in the summons allegedly served on Burke for him to attend the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court, East Coast Demerara for the charges to be read to him.
The state says that the summons was served on Burke at his home in Brooklyn, New York, USA but this has been denied by his attorneys. The summons was issued by Magistrate Fabayo Azore at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court.
Burke was charged with conspiracy with other persons to publish defamatory libel with a view to extort money and conspiracy with other persons to offer to abstain from publishing defamatory libel with a view to extort money.
Cush said that when the matter was called yesterday at the Vigilance court before Magistrate Azore, Burke was not present but he was represented by Cush, one of his lawyers along with Roysdale Forde, S.C. and Sasha King who are named in the civil proceedings in the High Court, against the Attorney General and Magistrate Azore. The First Respondent, the Attorney General, was represented in court yesterday by Darshan Ramdhani, KC.
Cush said Magistrate Azore said that she is deferring the hearing pending the outcome of the civil proceedings in the High Court, and adjourned the matter to April 22, 2024.
The civil proceedings filed by Burke’s Attorneys seek to quash the summons allegedly served on him and contend that resort to Criminal Defamation to protect individual reputation is unnecessary, disproportionate and excessive.
A release on December 20 last year from the Guyana Police Force said that on the 13th of December, 2023, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rodwell Sarabo, travelled to the United States with two summonses in his possession.
On December 16th, Sarabo met with Mark Wesserman, a process server based in the United States of America and they served both summonses on Burke at his home address at Maple Street, Brooklyn, New York. Both summonses were read to Burke and he indicated that he understood. The summonses require him to be present in court in Guyana on March 28, 2024.
On December 03, 2021, the Guyana Police Force issued a wanted bulletin for Burke concerning the following offences: 1) the incitement of hostility or ill-will on the grounds of race, under the Racial Hostility Act. 2) Sedition under the Cyber Crime Act. 3) Use of a computer system
to coerce and intimidate a person, under the Cyber Crime Act. 4) Seditious l
ibel contrary to common law. 5) Seditious libel under the peace under the Summary Jurisdiction Offences Act. 6) Inciting
public terror under the Criminal Law Offences Act.
On September 29, 2022, the GPF again issued a wanted bulletin for Burke for the offence of Conspiracy to Commit a Felony, contrary to Section 33 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:01 with regard to the publication of defamatory libel allegedly to extort money from Afras Mohammed.
On August 18, 2023 two charges were filed at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court against Burke for the said offence. Burke who resides in the United States of America, was absent from Court. As such, the magistrate ordered that the summonses be prepared and served on Burke to attend the Vigilance Magistrate’s court on March 28, 2024.
