Stamp it out! Stamp out torture!

The UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) which Guyana ratified on the 19th May 1988 defines torture as:

any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining information or a confession….or punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed.

Torture occurs:

when such pain is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with consent or acquiescence of a public official or a person acting in an official capacity.

By signing on to the Convention against Torture, Guyana obligated itself to outlaw torture and stop it from taking place in every part of the country. There are no circumstances under which torture is justified not even in the face of war, threat of war, terrorist act, violent crime, or any form of armed conflict. (Article 2 of the CAT)

In spite of the Government’s pledge not to allow torture in Guyana, torture as we know is alive and like a cancer it is spreading its tentacles throughout the security forces of the country. During the past year we have heard, seen and read credible allegations of Guyanese being tortured by members of the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Prison Service.

Some examples of cruel and inhumane treatment or torture:

• In the most recent incident, October, 2009, Deonarine Rafick said he was beaten with a piece of wood and burnt on the inside of his mouth with cigarettes to force him to sign a confession statement. He had a gaping wound on his head when he was brought to Court.
• Nouvarie Wilfred, 20 yrs old, was held incommunicado for 7 days.
• And as the whole country now knows, a 15 year old boy was beaten by the police, doused in his genital area with a flammable liquid and set alight.

All three of these were denied visits by family members and their lawyers and refused medical treatment in violation of their rights as citizens of Guyana.

• In Berbice two police ranks were charged with assaulting 10 year old Ravanlee Chand causing him grievous bodily harm. Notwithstanding the advocacy of a lawyer this matter has been discontinued or dismissed.
• In May, 2 men said they were whipped, beaten, handcuffed and thrown in the back of a 4 x 4 by Joint Service ranks at their home in the Linden area. There are pictures of cuts and bruises on their skin as a result of these brutal whippings. The ranks conceded afterwards that this was a case of mistaken identity. The victims have refused to divulge their names because of further victimisation.
• In November 2007, Gurundatt Prakash, 26 yrs old, said he was beaten by police resulting in head injuries. According to one eyewitness Prakash was beaten into a state of unconsciousness.
• In October 2007, Patrick Sumner, Victor Jones and David Leander from Buxton said they were tortured over a 3 day period. David Leander called “Biscuit” was beaten so badly by the police while in custody that he could not walk into Court but was literally dragged with obvious signs of torture on him. He subsequently died in the GPH after being transferred from the Brickdam lock up.
• In November 2008, 3 GDF ranks Alvin Wilson, Sharth Robertson and Michael Dunn who were accused of the disappearance of an AK 47 said they were choked, pepper sprayed and whipped with metal pipes by GDF officers of the MCID. (Military Criminal Investigation Department)
• In August 2008, Edwin Niles was brutalized and died while in the custody of the Guyana Prison Service.
• In February 2009, Ryan Gordon, 17 yrs old, said he was brutalized by members of the Joint Services in Wakenaam.
• In February 2009, Mitchell Thomas reported that he was put to lie down in an ants nest while being questioned by police ranks.
• In May 2009, Troy Small was picked up by a group of persons one of whom he claimed to be in the GDF, beaten brutally and dumped in front of the Albert town Police Station. Small, even though in need of medical treatment for his injuries, was too afraid to seek medical help for fear of being attacked again.

It is shameful that in the face of all these incidents of torture and cruel and inhumane treatment Chief of Staff Mr. Gary Best, Commissioner of Police Mr. Henry Greene, Minister of Home Affairs Mr Clement Rohee, The Right Honourable President of Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Mr. Roger Luncheon and Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Robert Persaud have previously all defended or sanctioned illegal means to extract information from persons suspected or charged with crimes not yet proven in a Court of Law. Let us be clear the UN and our Constitution say that there are NO circumstances under which torture is justified.

In November 2008 Chief of Staff Gary Best said that the army had taken appropriate action against members of the GDF accused of torturing 2 soldiers during interrogations. The Board of Inquiry set up to investigate this torture concluded that there was no evidence of torture only instances of ”roughing up”!

President Jagdeo responding to allegations of torture by the Joint Forces said that certain actions warrant a certain response and a different approach in confronting criminals.

This is not about defending crime. It is about making the simple human point that by torturing or using cruel and inhumane treatment against others, even if guilty of crimes, we become no better than the same criminals we seek to punish.

It is time to stop this further descent into violence, brutality, torture and crimes against the human rights of Guyanese. We demand an impartial and independent investigation into all cases of Torture. Let us STAMP OUT TORTURE NOW.