Even as there are widespread calls for the Police Service Commission to rescind the promotion of the two police officers who tortured a 15-year-old boy back in 2009, the Police Commissioner (ag) Seelall Persaud has defended the promotions.
Speaking to members of the media on Thursday morning, Mr. Persaud said that the ranks been convicted by the Court, they would have been dismissed but since the charges against them were dismissed by the Magistrates’ Court, there is nothing that could have stopped the two policemen from returning to duty.
The charges against the two police officers were dismissed because of the absence of witnesses including the teenager who was tortured. The Police Commissioner said he has never heard complaints about the witnesses being financially induced to stay away from court.
Persaud said the Guyana Police Force has “a policy on the disciplining of ranks”, noting that under that policy “if anyone is disciplined, two years after, they would be eligible for promotion”. He likened the situation to persons who would have served time in prison returning to the society and being welcomed back.
“It is the same principle that applies, Life must go on”, Persaud said.
When it was pointed out to the Police Commissioner that the High Court awarded a financial settlement to the teenager after finding the policemen culpable in a civil lawsuit, Persaud noted that in that case, the policemen were never given the opportunity to defend themselves and therefore they had no weight on the outcome. 
The Police Force’s Office of Professional Responsibility had also conducted its own investigations into the matter and also found that the two officers were culpable for the torture of the teen. Commissioner Persaud said the OPR recommended criminal charges and not departmental charges and its recommendations were followed and the matter dismissed in the court.
He was adamant that persons who may have concerns about the promotions could still raise those concerns with the Police Force.
The Rights of the Child Commission last Friday expressed outrage over the promotion of the two police officers who brutally tortured a 15-year-old boy back in 2009 while he was in police custody. The constitutional body wants the promotions rescinded.
The boy was badly burnt on his genitals during questioning by the police in connection with an investigation. He was never charged with any offence.
In a statement, the Commission said it “views with alarm, the recent promotion of two policemen, both of whom, were found to have tortured a child. After a careful assessment of the facts relating to this case, the Commissioners concluded that these promotions constitute a significant departure from the spirit and intent of Article 19 of the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child which establishes the right of the child to be free from hurt both in body and mind.”
According to the body, the Commissioners noted, that in addition to its breach of the UNCRC, the promotions also collide violently with Guyana’s treaty obligations under the UN Convention Against torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
“The Commissioners reviewed the fact that the culpability of the policemen in question is beyond dispute, in view of the findings of the GPF’s own Office of Professional Responsibility and the decision by Justice Roxanne George in a civil case.”
The body said it is unconvincing the pronouncement that the two policemen would have undergone sufficient censure. The Commissioners said the malevolence and depravity of torture, constitutes the worst form of human rights infraction.
Filed: 5th February, 2015
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