Prisoners deliberately start blaze in Camp Street jail

– to attract media attention to vent about ‘poor treatment’

The Camp Street Prison erupted in pandemonium on Tuesday evening when irritated prisoners set ablaze several newspapers in one of the cells to draw the media’s attention to the prison so they can vent their frustrations over the maltreatment they have been enduring over the years at the penitentiary.

When the Guyana Times International arrived on the scene around 20:00h, a single fire truck was parked by the prison, while Guyana Fire Service officers were examining the compound.

The small fire was already extinguished at that time.

However, at the John Street side of the jailhouse, prisoners were scrambling for a place at the cell window to relate to the media operatives on the scene the numerous issues affecting them. The prisoners’ cries were initially incoherent as they instantaneously erupted into a loud outburst when media workers approached the corner.

The aggravated prisoners were at their wits’ end with the alleged abuse being administered by the Prison Officers, and were demanding their voices be heard and that they be allowed to go to trial.

“Just now we light fire at the back deh to try to get the media to come…we frustrated budday; we want go to court,” the prisoners pleaded.

According to one of them, persons have been in jail for over seven years on remand, but never have they heard a single word regarding any court appearance.

Jermaine Otto of East Ruimveldt, Georgetown, who was charged for the murder of 43-year-old businessman Ashook Ragghu, who was gunned down on August 18 outside the Botanical Gardens, Georgetown, complained of people “passing money” to constantly assault him.

He alleged too that one Constable was part of a scheme to attack him. Even behind the bars, Otto demanded that the prisoners be treated with respect as the other prisoners in the background chanted “innocent until proven guilty”.

Another prisoner expressed his deepest annoyance over the slothfulness and apparent biasness of the system. “It’s court we want go in! Over six- seven years we deh in here on remand…on f***ing remand…we want go court…wam to innocent until proven guilty…how is it when high level people get charged, they documents go up to the f***ing DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) but when a poor man get charged, he got to be in here for so much years and he got to wait for months for the trial start,” the anonymous convict exploded, claiming that he has been remanded for some five years.

The prisoners also alleged that their colleague Mark Major was badly beaten by Prison Officers.

“The Police them chop he up, the man family ain’t even know what going on, because the man family ain’t even allowed to go and visit, the man head bust up…we don’t know where he deh now…the Police come move he out…they isolate the man…,” a prisoner alleged.

Major was remanded to prison for a re-trial of the murder of his cousin Orin Forde in 2012. Based on the media reports, the pair were arguing at the Mahaica slaughterhouse when an argument ensued resulting in a physical altercation. The accused stated that the deceased was attacking him with a piece of wood and he stabbed him to defend himself. The mixed jury, after three hours’ deliberation, returned to the courtroom relating that they could not reach a verdict. As a result, the judge remanded the accused to prison until re-trial.

Additionally, according to reports from inside the jailhouse, the prisoner who was chopped about his body during a reported gang fight in the prison just a few nights ago on September 19 was actually attempting to steal from another cellmate when the fight broke out.

“The boy who get chop, is not no riot or gang war, he tried to rob the man and the man deal with he…he tried to rob the man the stuff he family bring for he, the man soap and all these kind of things…it’s not no gang war, the man had to deal with he case cause he go to thief,” the prisoners claimed. (devinas@guyanatimesgy.com)