The Alliance For Change (AFC) today rejected the Government’s plan to amend the country’s Cybercrime laws to cater for social media postings.

The AFC has warned that despite assurances from the Vice President, the Government could use the law to silence and criminalize citizens for their social media posts and opinions.

AFC Leader, Nigel Hughes said the current Cybercrime legislation must instead be repealed.

Hughes said the country’s Constitution provides for civil remedy where persons can go to Court and seek damages if they believe they have been defamed, but to criminalize such persons would be a grave overreach, he stated.

“So particularly in the light of what has happened under the Cybercrime Act, the way in which it was deployed, and how the prosecution of people by the state has been used, we have very very grave reservations about anything looking like an expansion of the Cybercrime Bill,” Mr. Hughes told a press conference this afternoon.

He said it is clear that the Government would use the legislation as a tool to prosecute, stifle and silence people who may be critical of the Government.

“There are a very few countries in the world that seek to silenced their citizens because they seek to defame. If someone defames you the appropriate remedy lies in a suit for damages, it doesn’t lie in giving the prosecution and the Guyana police force which enjoys exceedingly sterling reputation the power to be able to prosecute someone, even if they are not successful from the time they arrest and the trauma that person goes through before they are acquitted, they have to spend significant amount of resources etc,” Hughes stated.

The AFC Leader further stated that the Cybercrime legislation, which was passed by the previous APNU+AFC administration, triggered strong condemnation. He said it is time that several sections of the Act be repealed.

“Any expansion now is a grave potential trespass on the rights guarantee under the constitution to its citizens and in keeping with the thrust of the Budapest convention of 2001, we believe it should be limited to those areas, it should not be used to prosecute defamation” Mr. Hughes said.

The AFC leader said because Guyana operates in a fragile society, genuine views and thoughts can come across as offensive, and even criminalized.

The opposition party has warned that freedom of speech and expression may already be under threat.

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