NEWS > 10 March 2006

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Stabroek News - Georgetown,Guy
10 March 2006

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Police force transgressions ci

Alleged transgressions by the police force remained key problems in the country's human rights record last year, a US report says.

The State Department 2005 Country Report for Guyana on Human Rights Practices said that while the government "generally" respected the human rights of citizens there were problem areas, including unlawful police killings as well corruption, and systemic weaknesses such as poor training and inadequate resourcing in the force. Inefficiencies in the judicial system and violence against women were also identified as problem areas in the report, which was released on Wednesday. It repeated many of the same findings of past evaluations, particularly as it related to police abuse of suspects, the problem of trafficking in persons, discrimination against indigenous people and violence against women and children. Prison conditions were identified as being among the problem areas but the report noted general improvements at the Camp Street facility, particularly with respect to the population. Conditions at smaller prisons were reported as being adequate.

Perhaps the most significant entry in the annual report is the reference to former Minister of Home Affairs Ronald Gajraj, who resigned last year shortly after he was cleared by a presidential commission of involvement in the activities of a death squad. "In May a Presidential Commission of Inquiry cleared Gajraj of involvement in promoting, directing, or otherwise engaging in activities involving the squad. However, circumstantial evidence pointed to the contrary and the commission's work was hindered by witnesses mysteriously dying or refusing to testify," it noted.

The government and its agents were cleared of any involvement in politically motivated killings in the report. But the police force was cited based on assertions of unlawful killings made by the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) and the media. It was noted that the constitution broadly defines justifiable use of lethal force and that in most of the cases the police shot the victims while attempting to arrest them or while a crime was being committed. "Although police seldom were prosecuted for unlawful killings, the new police commissioner brought charges against officers implicated in such abuses and instigated greater efforts to investigate and hold police officers accountable," the report, however, added. Indeed, the commissioner, like in last year's report, was singled out several times for his efforts to stamp out corruption in the force.

But at the same time several high profile incidents did not escape the notice of the authors. These cases included the January shooting of Simeon Hope at a house in Buxton. Eyewitness claims, carried in the media, stating that the police ordered other occupants out of the house before the gunfire were noted. The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) recommended a coroner's inquest at the end of an investigation but it was noted that this had not begun at year-end.

Also, the July shooting of Eon Forrester at the East La Penitence police station was another of the cases mentioned in the report. Forester died in hospital. The shooting was described as "accidental" in the report and it noted that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) upheld a PCA recommendation to charge the policeman with manslaughter. He was awaiting trial at year's end. Also in July, police shot and killed Dwight McKenzie and Eon Alleyne, while they were both on a motorcycle. Eyewitness accounts suggested that the men were evading the police but not firing (as police claimed) and that the men were shot after ignoring warning shots. The PCA recommended a corner's inquest but no action was taken at year's end.

In November the police shot and killed Carl Abrams, who was sitting on a fence near his home. The policeman claimed that he had returned fire at Abrams, but a further investigation found that only one shot was fired. The DPP later upheld the PCA's recommendation to charge the policeman with murder and at year-end he was awaiting trial.

The report also took note that there had been no development in police killings from previous years, including the 2004 shootings of Sherman George, Curtis Lorenzo and Kelvin Nero. Inquests had been ordered in some of these cases but have still not been held. Additionally, it mentioned that one of the officers charged with the 2003 murder of University of Guyana student Yohance Douglas was released following a legal challenge while the second was still in the process of appealing a manslaughter conviction.

The report noted that poor training, inadequate equipment and budgetary constraints continued to "severely" limit the effectiveness of the force. It concluded that public confidence and cooperation with the police remained extremely low. It also observed that there were reports of corruption in the force, especially as it concerned ranks in the lower echelons. The report noted that the commissioner made it a priority to address corruption and a lack of accountability. It was noted that in August last year, the PCA wrote the commissioner out of frustration at the hundreds of cases awaiting police reports. Within days the commissioner provided more than 82 files.

But the report also said most magistrate's courts, where specially trained police officers served as prosecutors, heard cases against police officers. In this regard, the report pointed out that the Bar Association questioned these officers' commitment to prosecute their own colleagues and recommended that the DPP handle the prosecution of serious cases.

At the same time, allegations of judicial intervention by the government were also touched on in the report. It said some law enforcement officials, prominent lawyers as well as others accused the government of intervention, although it was concluded that there was a general respect for the independence of the judiciary. "The general perception was that the judiciary was influenced by the executive", it added.

The delays and inefficiencies in the judicial process were also cited as undermining due process. It was said that these resulted in a backlog of more than 10,000 cases, some dating back 10 years.

Violence against women was again reported to be widespread and across racial and socio-economic lines. The report said the law was frequently not enforced. Sexual harassment in the workplace was listed as a significant problem based on reports.

Like with the police force and the judicial system, there was also a widespread public perception of corruption in government. The report noted that the law does not provide for public access to government information and officials were reluctant to provide public information without approval from senior levels of the administration.

It was noted too that government officials were only "somewhat" responsive to the work of human rights groups here.

The full report is available at http://www.state.gov/g/ drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61730.htm.

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Stabroek News - Georgetown,Guy10 March 2006

Police force transgressions ci

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Stabroek News - Georgetown,Guy
10 March 2006