STATE SANTIONED TORTURE IN GUYANA
Guyana’s armed forces have long been accused of allegedly using torture to extract information from arrested persons. Not surprisingly, these accusations were vehemently denied by the Government as baseless. The issue however resurfaced recently when soldiers notified the media that they were tortured during an interrogation about missing weapons. The revelation by the soldiers lends credibility to previous torture claims brought forward by civilians.
The army was caught red-faced when the soldiers went public and immediately issued a bulletin asserting that the men were on unauthorized leave and should report to the barracks immediately to face a slew of charges including court martial. Relatives of the soldiers contradicted the army’s claims and stated that the soldiers were off due to injuries suffered the from the torture. They expressed concern that the army was misleading the public in an attempt to silence the soldiers and feared for the safety of the men if they were forced to return to the army base. Based on the current handling of the matter, it would appear that their fears are valid.
There have been calls from several reputable organizations within Guyana to have the torture claims investigated with transparency. The concern is that the Guyana Government is sanctioning torture as an interrogation tool and the Home affairs minister’s dismissal of the issue as trivial, was not helpful.
Berkeley Van Bowen
