Allegations about police torturing a child
The media reports allegations that a 14 / 15 year old boy was tortured while in custody of the Police in Region 3. A group of lawyers , and other organisations have strongly condemned this act of torture.
It is reported that the Police have started investigations and that two officers are in police custody. The investigations would hopefully reveal who else is accountable for the ill treatment of this child.
This is the second report of a child being tortured while in police custody. There was another report in Region 6 of another child who had been brutalised in police custody and his lawyer had made several attempts to seek justice.
The condemnations of police brutality seem not to work when sections of the society believe that it is okay for the police to behave this way.
The child must receive the best medical care possibly and there must be appropriate psychosocial support. In Guyana's circumstances, that support might have to come from the private sector and I hope the Government pays for that care. The family should be able to choose the source of that care, not the police.
Secondly, the boy is reportedly at the time of writing, still in police custody. He should be released to his parents' custody. He has suffered enough.
No human being in Guyana in 2009 should be tortured, or subject to 'excessive use of force'. This incident of torture follows other incidents which have not been investigated. Guyana's constitution guarantees that "No person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment."
It is reported that the Police have started investigations and that two officers are in police custody. The investigations would hopefully reveal who else is accountable for the ill treatment of this child.
This is the second report of a child being tortured while in police custody. There was another report in Region 6 of another child who had been brutalised in police custody and his lawyer had made several attempts to seek justice.
The condemnations of police brutality seem not to work when sections of the society believe that it is okay for the police to behave this way.
The child must receive the best medical care possibly and there must be appropriate psychosocial support. In Guyana's circumstances, that support might have to come from the private sector and I hope the Government pays for that care. The family should be able to choose the source of that care, not the police.
Secondly, the boy is reportedly at the time of writing, still in police custody. He should be released to his parents' custody. He has suffered enough.
No human being in Guyana in 2009 should be tortured, or subject to 'excessive use of force'. This incident of torture follows other incidents which have not been investigated. Guyana's constitution guarantees that "No person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment."
It goes beyond one or two children... signs of deep-seated trauma in society. how, in a society so small that everyone knows everyone, can this happen? at what point do we say that it's not just the police or GDF, but it is a sickness that runs rampant, from the minibus drivers who drive recklessly without regard to life, to the way teachers treat children with disdain or harshness, all the way up to the torture of a 14 yr old -- all symptomatic of underlying trauma... it's like everyone has become numb
ReplyDeleteVidyaratha,
ReplyDeleteDo you think Guyana has reached a terminal point with the current horrors?
Hi pavlina
ReplyDeleteMany people believe it is a turning point really, it is the choices which Guyanese people make in terms of how they deal with this and other abuses.