One torture complainant accepted compensation in case against cops

-burnt boy and family vanished months ago

Relatives of one of the complainants in a case during which a teenage boy’s genital area was set alight by police last year, yesterday confirmed that they had accepted money to drop the matter while a relative of another complainant said that their matter was “settled”.

Nouravie Wilfred

However, the 15-year-old torture victim has vanished along with his family with former neighbours and a relative saying that they had no idea where the family was. Abdul Rafick, the father of Deonarine Rafick yesterday confirmed to this newspaper that the family had accepted compensation.

“The family (of the policemen) beg to settle the story and a lot of people come and ask to settle the story”, Abdul told Stabroek News yesterday. “We forgive the police but they must not do back them thing in the future”, he said. He asked that the settlement amount not be disclosed. The money, he said, was paid on September 27 this year.

Deonarine Rafick, Nouravie Wilfred and the 15-year-old boy were held during the investigation into the murder of retired Region Three vice-chairman Ramenaught Bisram in October last year. During the investigation, the teenage boy’s genital area was set alight allegedly by the policemen involved in the case and it was only when this was revealed in the media that he was taken to the hospital. The case drew national and international condemnation with the matter being cited before the United Nations Human Rights Council. An investigation was done by the police Office of Professional Responsibility and the Ministry of Home Affairs had acknowledged that the boy was tortured.

The Director of Public Prosecutions had recommended that the policemen be charged. Rafick and Wilfred were also beaten during the investigation and a wounded and battered Rafick was charged with the murder and remanded to prison but later released on the orders of the DPP after it was determined that a confession statement reportedly given by him, which was the foundation of the case against him, had not been given freely and voluntarily. Wilfred was released after having been in police custody for a week.

Three policemen were charged with maliciously wounding the three suspects. Sergeant Narine Lall, Constable Mohanram Dolai and Corporal Oswald Foo were charged last November. According to the charges brought against the trio, on October 28, at the Leonora Police Station, they unlawfully and maliciously wounded Rafick, with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or cause him grievous bodily harm.

A second charge against Lall and Dolai alleges that between October 20 and 29 at the Leonora Police Station; they unlawfully and maliciously wounded Wilfred. The duo was also slapped with a charge of felonious wounding,  which alleges that they unlawfully and maliciously wounding the 15-year-old boy, with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or cause him grievous bodily harm. This incident allegedly occurred on October 28 at the Leonora Police Station.

After months of being postponed, for varying reasons, the case was called last Thursday before Magistrate Nyasha Williams-Hatmin at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate’s Court and she issued arrest warrants for the trio because they were not attending court. The case was called again on Monday but the complainants were not present.

Does not want
to remember

Yesterday, Abdul said that his son does not want to remember the incident. He said that Deonarine has resumed working on his farm but finds it hard to sit or stand for long periods because his bones at the area where he was beaten, still pains. He also had to visit the doctor for treatment for his mouth where he was hit. “We just decide to reach the settlement and we reach the settlement. We nah want no problem”, Deonarine’s mother said. “We forgive them for what they do and request them not to beat children in future”, Abdul said adding that they must “love people pickney”. The relatives emphasized that they had accepted the money not because of financial reasons but because they did not want to go through the painful court process.

Meantime, a relative of Wilfred told Stabroek News yesterday that the 21-year-old is in Trinidad. He said that Wilfred has been working there as a labourer for about five months now. After the incident, he said, Wilfred had gone into the “bush” to work but was not making enough money. Wilfred, as well as his mother, had moved out of the Canal Number Two home where they were staying at the time.  The relative expressed surprise that an arrest warrant had been issued. “We went to the station at Leonora and they tell me the story finish”, he said. He said that this at the end of last year. But the relative noted, Wilfred’s mother had said that the matter was “settled”.

Meantime, the 15-year-old and his family moved from their home since last year without telling neghbours where they were going and a relative, when contacted yesterday said that they had gone “unexpectedly” without telling her where. She recalled that they had called her once to ask her about her ailing mother but she never heard from them again.

Deonarine Rafick

Attorney-at-law, Khemraj Ramjattan had represented the teen in a constitutional motion filed in the High Court. Yesterday, he expressed surprise at the recent developments. “This disappearance of witness… is very surprising in view of the fact that I had gotten from him that he is going to pursue justice to the very end”, he said. The attorney noted that the family had been afraid and had told him before that they were contacted and were being induced not to testify against the policemen “because bad might become of them if they do that”. He said that he had encouraged them to testify because it was only this way that justice will be done.

The attorney said that they had regularly called him but in view of the new developments when he tried to contact them he could not.

“I am thinking the worse here…this is a kind of witness protection in reverse. I suspect that it might be inducement or threats that cause them not to want to come and testify.

It is a shame”, he said. According to the attorney, this makes it more difficult for justice if only because clear-cut cases are falling apart because of the non-attendance of witnesses. He said that he will be pursuing the matter to find out where the family is.