Saying there is no place for excesses by the security forces, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud yesterday made it clear that he does not support “roughing up” of persons during  questioning.

In a statement issued yesterday, Persaud noted that during his parliamentary presentation on the PNCR-1G torture motion on Monday, he neither advocated nor approved “roughing up” and indicated that where excesses were found there are internal and external mechanisms for redress. Persaud issued the statement in light of comments by opposition political operatives as well as a number of media reports which he did not identify.

Persaud added that his use of the phrase “roughing up” referred specifically to the findings of the investigation into the allegations of torture made against the joint services. He noted again that the report concluded that persons who were questioned by the joint services might have been roughed up but were not tortured.