The Chairman of the Ethnic Relations Commission, Bishop Juan Edghill, has sued former television owner Anthony Vieira, who made damning allegations against him; and Chandra Narine Sharma, on whose television station the programme was aired.
Bishop Juan Edghill
In a writ filed at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 17 by his lawyers Anil Nandalall, Euclin Gomes, and Manoj Narayan, Edghill charged that a programme hosted by Vieira on CNS Channel Six has caused his reputation to be “seriously damaged, and he has suffered considerable distress, embarrassment, public humiliation and ridicule.” As a result he is suing Vieira and Sharma jointly for libel and aggravated and punitive damages. Each charge carries a penalty of Gy$25 million.
The defendants have ten days to appear in court to answer to the charges.
On May 4, Vieira, in a commentary aired on CNS Channel Six, made the remarks mentioned in the suit.
CN Sharma
In the writ, it was disclosed that Edghill is a husband and a father of four children. Since the airing of the controversial programme on CNS Channel Six, the owner of the channel has apologised for not editing the programme before it was aired.
The Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (ACB) is presently investigating the matter, after Edghill lodged the complaint. Channel Six which is owned and operated by Sharma – a politician who is before the court on rape charges since early 2010 – stand to have his licence suspended or revoked for a third time in recent years.
Anthony Vieira
CNS Channel Six had its licence suspended for one month in 2005 for airing what was said to be false information. In April 2008, the station’s licence was again suspended for four months for re-airing a show in which a caller threatened to kill President Bharrat Jagdeo if any of her children were hurt in the crime wave in the country at the time. The ACB had warned CNS Channel Six about the first broadcast but nevertheless it was rebroadcast a second time.
Since the Vieira commentary was aired, support on behalf of Edghill has poured in and other religious organisations, including the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana, together with the siblings of Edghill, have condemned the accusations on the religious leader.
No fact of the allegations posed by Vieira has been presented since.
