– victim sues police force for Gy$100M
The young man who was reportedly brutally sodomised with a baton by police a few weeks ago and is still in critical condition in the Georgetown Public Hospital is suing the Guyana Police Force for Gy$100 million in compensation.
Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell revealed this while commenting on the issue. According to Brumell, he was contacted in December by the mother of the victim and he had immediately handed the matter over to A Division Commander George Vyphuis.
However, when Guyana Times International contacted Vyphuis some days ago, he claimed to have no knowledge of the issue. Attempts on Wednesday to contact the commander were futile. The police are currently investigating the matter.
In a release, Brumell further indicated that a particular officer’s name has been called several times, but others have also been implicated.
He said he does not think the officer should be interdicted until investigations are complete and if what he is hearing turns out to be true, the entire station should be transferred.
Colwyn Harding had said he was brutally sodomised and beaten by a policeman at the Timehri Police Station over a period of three days before finally being taken for medical attention.
Harding’s attorney, Nigel Hughes had said that the same officer who had violated his client was instructed to take him to the hospital, but instead he was taken to a rum shop, where the officer had drinks, leaving him locked in the vehicle.
He was later taken back to police station and beaten to an unconscious state by the same officer. Hughes added that senior officers on duty were aware of what was transpiring but did nothing.
Material witness
A 17-year-old has since been retained as a witness in Harding’s case. According to reports, the lad was being held at the Timehri Police Station while Harding was there and has vital knowledge about what had transpired during the period that they were incarcerated.
In what is being described as another twist to the ongoing saga involving Harding, Guyana Times International has learnt that his girlfriend was sentenced to two years imprisonment after she allegedly stole a TV set to raise cash for Harding’s bail.
Alliance for Change (AFC) leader Khemraj Ramjattan said the couple were both arrested on November 15, 2013 and after she was released, the woman allegedly stole the item from her grandmother to post the bail for Harding. She is currently at the New Amsterdam Prison, after she pleaded guilty to the charge.
Medical supplies
Other AFC members have since come forward and are helping with donations for Harding. They are urging citizens who have access to medical supplies to come forward and provide the direly needed supplies, including colonoscopy bags.
Meanwhile, A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) has since issued a press release denouncing the brutality that was meted out to Harding.
It is also calling for an independent inquiry to be launched into the matter. They further demanded that the government institute what they termed “real reform” in the training of police ranks.
Both the AFC and the APNU have previously publicly expressed their lack of confidence in Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee’s management of the security sector and much more importantly, the Guyana Police Force.
They took this opportunity to reaffirm their position with regard to Minister Rohee.
