GHRA demands full inquiry into Guyana Police Force amid rape allegations
The Guyana Human Rights Association is calling for a wide-ranging probe of the GPF, citing the rape allegations against Deputy Commissioner Faizal Karimbaksh.
Rights body renews demand for sweeping police investigation
The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has renewed its call for a comprehensive investigation into the operations of the Guyana Police Force, newssourcegy.com reports, citing a pattern of unresolved misconduct that the organisation says demands formal scrutiny.
In an overnight statement, the GHRA pointed to the rape allegations facing Deputy Commissioner of Police Faizal Karimbaksh as the latest in a series of incidents warranting a full inquiry. The organisation described the response from Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond as "laughable," after the Minister acknowledged that Karimbaksh should be placed on administrative leave but noted that the Police Service Commission had yet to be reconstituted.
The GHRA directed pointed criticism at that explanation, arguing the responsibility for appointing the Commission rests squarely with the President.
"Who is responsible for appointing the Police Service Commission? The President of Guyana. Is the Minister calling on the President to appoint the Commission? No, she is going to consult the Commissioner of Police — whose continued occupancy in this post can be terminated at any time because he is beyond retirement age," the organisation said in its statement.
The GHRA noted that ten days had passed since the allegations against Karimbaksh emerged without any official statement on the investigative process, beyond confirmation that a special investigation team was looking into the claims.
The association also drew a connection to a 2021 case in which a teenage girl took her own life two hours after reporting a rape at the Cove & John Police Station. The GHRA said that suicide was subsequently used to justify closing any further official inquiry into her allegation.
"The culture of the current ruling party embraces similar bizarre directives to protect 'their own' in too many instances of sexual assault," the GHRA said.
The organisation welcomed a parallel statement from the Women and Gender Rights Commission calling for a genuine investigation into the Karimbaksh allegations. It expressed hope that the Commission's position would prompt similar calls from female members of parliament within the ruling party, singling out the Minister of Human Services as bearing particular responsibility for promoting the sexual safety of women.
The GHRA added that longstanding concerns about corruption and money laundering within the Police Force must also be addressed as part of any broad investigation.
Source: Google News GY — Crime