The Ministry of the Presidency says it finds the Guyana Times headline ‘High-profile sexual assault – President accused of covering up case’, in today’s edition on page 9, to be slanderous and libelous.
“This reported allegation, made by former President and Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo that His Excellency, President David Granger was fully informed about an alleged incident of sexual assault, yet failed to take any action against the accused; apart from being slanderous and libelous, shows a clear misunderstanding of how Guyana’s criminal justice system works and the presumption of innocence that is a legal right of an accused.
“The former President is fully aware that it is unlawful for the Head of State, who is the head of the Executive Branch of Government to intervene (or take action against those culpable) in matters that are before the Courts (the Judicial Branch of government) or criminal matters under active investigation”, the Ministry said in a statement.
Contradictory to the slanderous and libelous headline, statement said that the Guyana Times, in the same article, also reported that the Commander of ‘F’ Division of the Guyana Police Force, Ravindradat Budhram said that a file was compiled on the alleged matter and that it has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Ministry of the Presidency called on the Guyana Times to immediately withdraw the headline and offer an apology to the Head of State.
