Dear Editor,
The gulf separating the police from the public is not a new development, as police departments, especially in developing countries, seldom enjoy the respect and admiration of the citizenry for any significant period, often for a combination of factors beyond their control. This was summarised by the late Indian judge Mr AN Mulla who once described the Indian police as “the biggest gang of criminals in the country.” It is this author’s view that the late Justice Mulla’s observation is an appropriate description of rogue police conduct in any jurisdiction.
There is what is known as the wall of silence in the field of policing; however one could not be expected to remain silent and keep the severe abuse of a minor confidential, when one’s colleagues are engaging in conduct which falls outside of the rules of engagement of one’s occupation or profession, and the Laws of Guyana.
Professionals and senior functionaries receive certain benefits, and are vested with the authority and power to act responsibly and professionally; therefore all those persons who were vested with the authority of oversight should be held accountable for their acts of omission or commission in this matter. The fact that one of the accused senior officers is domiciled a short distance from where this ‘horror movie’ was shot, speaks volumes about institutional breakdown in the police hierarchy in that particular division.
The child torture case not only highlights the need for a total reform of the state’s security sector, but also highlights the ineptitude of the country’s intelligence-gathering. From a physiological standpoint, the bodies of children are not sufficiently developed to withstand the rigours of sustained psychological stress, which by itself would present severe physical manifestations over time. When compounded with the threat of, or actual physical abuse, which includes the deprivation of food, water, sleep, medical treatment and the prolonged absence of the child’s guardians to whom he is attached, in addition to possibly creating the belief in the child’s mind that they would be harmed unless he complied, this amounts to a classic case of torture in any language or culture.
The international pressure group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the police in several countries of the abuse and torture of children. The United Nations, Amnesty International, and the Washington based Youth Advocate Program says the systematic abuse and torture of children is entrenched in developing countries, especially those gripped by ethnic unrest, political instability or severe economic constraints. Notwithstanding, many developed countries also contribute statistics to this unlawful trend.
A document authored by Evgenia Berezina of the Washington based Youth Advocate Program International states: “Torture, the intentional infliction of intense pain and anguish, is still a widespread practice today, performed by countless individuals working among armed militias, political groups, and even governments in order to sustain control and power over a population. Torture is generally used alongside other methods of control, as a facet of a broader mechanism of power and domination.”
The Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, commonly known as the Istanbul Protocol, is the first set of international guidelines for the documentation of torture and its consequences. It became an official United Nations document in 1999.
The Istanbul Protocol is intended to serve as guidelines for the assessment of persons who allege torture and ill- treatment, for investigating cases of alleged torture, and for reporting such findings to the judiciary and any other investigative body. It is hoped that local investigators currently involved in this case would find this document a useful tool.
Finally, it is important that officers of the law know that they could be held responsible for acts committed on Guyana’s soil, and prosecuted or pursued for such transgression in or by the authorities of third countries “until the day they die.”
Yours faithfully,
Clairmont Featherstone
