GUYANA | Attorney to file lawsuit against the Guyana police Force by Tuesday

GEORGETOWN,  Guyana, October 28, 2022 - Prominent Attorney-at-Law Nigel Hughes says lawyers for Tameika Clarke will on Tuesday be filing legal action against the police for wrongful arrest of the Georgetown based attorney “to ensure that this does not happen to any other member of the legal profession in Guyana once they are exercising their right as counsel in advising their clients, in keeping with the law.”

Mr. Hughes told a press conference today, that in filing proceedings against her unlawful imprisonment, Ms Clarke would be seeking exemplary damages from the courts. “If you are the subject of an investigation and you have protected constitutional rights and the law enforcement agencies say to you that we will not only ignore but we will intentionally disregard those rights and put your counsel’s liberty in jeopardy for giving you advice that is constitutionally correct, it means the rule of law is being vacated,” Hughes told the media.

Hughes, a well-known criminal and civil lawyer within the Caribbean, said the arrest of Ms Clarke, who worked for four years with the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Guyana  and three years at the private bar, had nothing to do with politics as anyone could be a victim.

“In this case, Ms. Clarke’s client was the subject of an investigation and she advised her client and she also informed SOCU that she had so advised her client that they have the right to remain silent. And they said to her in advance on Tuesday that we will arrest you if you give your client the advice which you said you have given which is consistent with the Constitution and I just want us to ponder on this because this is not a PPP, PNC, APNU, AFC or anybody else issue, this is an issue where every Attorney in this country, including the Attorney General when he was in private practice is entitled to go to the station and advise their client that they have the right to remain silent if they are a suspect”. Hughes said.

“This is particularly disturbing. The rule of law and the enforcement of law, with which the judiciary is tasked to protect the citizen from the might and power of the State, is under threat for this reason,” he said. “This is a real dirty, nasty assault on the rule of law,” Hughes added.

Both the the Guyana Bar Association and the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers and  have condemned the Police Force for Executing an arrest of the  lawyer as she was lawfully advising her client to remain silent, in the wake of questions by the police and called on the Commissioner of Police to apologise to the Attorney Ms Tameika Clarke and compensate her for unlawful imprisonment.

Hughes has characterised the incident is an attack on the local bar and must be condemned by all. He said the Constitution provides the right for anyone in custody to remain silent and the Attorney was doing her job when she advised her client to enforce that right.

Attorney-at-law and former Prosecutor Tamieka Clarke was arrested and detained by the Special Organised Crime Unit on Friday morning,after she advised her client who was being questioned by SOCU not to sign a prepared statement and to exercise his right to silence.

The incident has triggered calls for a major investigation as well as a full apology and compensation for the Attorney.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall on his facebook page, said when he heard of the incident, in his capacity as the constitutional legal adviser to the police force, he  called SOCU Head Deputy Police Commissioner Fazil Karimbaksh who gave “an explanation” after which he instructed that Ms Clarke be released. “I spoke with Ms Clarke and I informed her of my intervention and my advice and I offered my apologies as a colleague of the Bar for the unfortunate incident.”