Dear Editor,

I wish to thank notable Guyanese Mr Sasenarine Singh (no known relation) for adding his voice to the call for speedier trials for persons in prison in his letter, which appeared in the Stabroek News on January 31 (‘Persons should not languish for years in jail without a preliminary inquiry being held’).

Mr Singh quite rightly called for the timely conduct of preliminary inquiries for the numerous men and women “languishing” in jail.  But, as a relative of one such person, I believe that it is those persons who have been committed to stand trial in the high court who need the help of our collective voices. It is perplexing to know that those whose job it is to ensure that committed persons’ constitutional rights are not violated have failed to ensure that these persons are given a timely trial, thereby contributing to such violations. How is it possible that there could be untried prisoners dating back to 2004?  This gives a good idea of the timeline for persons committed to stand trial in 2010 and 2011.

Mr Singh said it right.  It is the responsibility of the criminal justice system to take all of these persons – who by the way are presumed to be innocent and should be treated accordingly – to trial and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they deserve to be in jail. It is time that the rights of untried prisoners are respected. I call on the combined political opposition to add to their agenda the issue of untried prisoners.

The extent to which the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners is being administered in Guyana is the subject for another instalment.

I thank Mr Singh and hope he maintains his interest in this important matter.

Yours faithfully,
Ravindra Singh