Soldier freed after two-month detention

Approximately one month after allegations surfaced that he was being mistreated by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Private Akeem Charles was yesterday dishonourably discharged from the army.

Charles was detained by the army after he went Absent Without Leave (AWOL).

Stabroek News was told late last evening that Charles had been court-martialed and that after about 60 days in confinement, he had finally been discharged. Calls to the man’s relatives confirmed this information.

This decision comes in the wake of weeks of unresponsiveness on the part of the GDF, which seemed unwilling from the start to divulge any information when allegations were initially made.

It had been reported that Charles went AWOL to solicit assistance for a back injury he had sustained on an army course, after the GDF said it lacked the requisite funds to tend to his injury. He subsequently turned himself in when his AWOL status was published.

Stabroek News understands that on Thursday December, 20, while being escorted