The army yesterday broke its silence and announced that it is probing allegations of the abuse of soldier Akeem Charles, almost a week after reports surfaced that he was being beaten and held in inhumane conditions in a cell at Base Camp Ayanganna.
Private Charles, 21, who turned himself over to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), after going Absent Without Leave (AWOL), has been detained for more than a month.
“Investigations addressing allegations of the soldier’s ill-treatment are ongoing and, wherever necessary, any rank found culpable of inflicting any act of violence against Private Charles will be subject to disciplinary procedures,” the GDF said in a statement yesterday, a day shy of a week after the allegations about the abuse were first reported by Stabroek News.
Stabroek News was told that that Charles went AWOL to solicit assistance for a back injury he had sustained on a course in the GDF, after the army said it lacked the requisite funds to tend to his injury. He, however, turned himself in when his information was published.
A source said that on Thursday December 20, while being escorted to his cell by two Military Police officers, Charles dove into a drain to avoid going back to his cell, since its conditions became too much for him to bear.
It is alleged that as a result of his actions, a senior soldier and another then proceeded to deal Charles several blows about his body.
The source also stated that Charles was subsequently thrown back into his cell, naked, after which it was soaked with water. It is also alleged that from that point the young man’s cell was doused with water every half hour, presumably to make him as uncomfortable as possible.
Repeated attempts over the last week by this newspaper to get a comment from the army proved unsuccessful.
However, in a statement released yesterday in response to media reports, the GDF emphasised that it “does not condone any act/s of violence meted out to its ranks,” whether they are serving or have breach their service by being AWOL.
Based on preliminary investigations, it said, Charles was being detained in keeping with GDF policy since he had been AWOL and he was being processed through routine procedures to be court-martialed.
He began exhibiting “abnormal behavior” to protest to his detention, it added, citing the instance of him throwing himself into the drain at Base Camp Ayan-ganna, while adding that he had to be removed there from in order to ensure his safety.
No order was given for his cell to be soaked as was reported, the army maintained.
The army’s statement failed to address the period for which Charles has been in detention.
Opposition Leader Briga-dier (retired) David Granger had told Stabroek News on Monday that the length of time that Charles has reportedly been held for is inordinate, while explaining that once held, ranks accused of the crime in question should be given a trial within 24 hours.
According to Granger, the inhumane treatment allegedly being meted out to Charles would definitely not be in accordance with army regulations.
He made it clear that he was not sure if the allegations were true, but stated that if things were as reported then they constituted a breach of the rules concerning the incarceration of persons under close arrest, and he suggested that the current Chief-of-Staff Gary Best commission an immediate inquiry into the matter and correct the situation if it is found to be true.
Granger explained that once a rank would have been deemed as having gone AWOL, the requisite punishment to be applied would vary from a fine to dismissal, depending on if the person was absent for more than 21 days.
Granger further said that even if the individual was charged with desertion, the punishment should not be as described in the report. He added that there was no regulation which prescribed that a person accused of being absent or a deserter should be subjected to the kind of punishment allegedly meted out to Charles.
