The High Court has awarded Opposition Member of Parliament, David Patterson the sum of $1.2 Million in addition to costs, in the case that he brought against the State after being barred from leaving the country in September 2023. 

The decision was handed down today by acting Chief Justice Roxane George, according to Attorney Nigel Hughes, who represented Mr. Patterson.

“Honorable Chief Justice has just awarded the sum of $1.2M plus cost in the sum of $250,000 to Mr. David Patterson for the authorities wrongfully stopping him from leaving the country when he was going to meet the Congressional Committee and the Senate,” Hughes said. 

In the case filed in October 2023, Patterson asked the Court for $25M in damages from the State.

He was on his way to the United States to join an Opposition delegation at a conference when he was blocked from leaving the country by Immigration Officers. The Officers claimed that his name was flagged in their system as someone who should be prevented from leaving the country.

Patterson’s Attorney dispatched a letter to the Attorney General Anil Nandlall, stating that Mr. Patterson’s fundamental right to travel out of Guyana was breached by the Chief Immigration Officer when he was blocked from travel.

It was explained at the time that the actions of the Chief Immigration Officer were intended to and did frustrate the official visit and presentations of Mr. Patterson at a Washington DC Conference.

In Guyana, the Chief Immigration Officer is the Commissioner of Police. The Opposition MP was eventually allowed to leave the country a few days later, but pursued his lawsuit.

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