Acting Chief Justice (CJ) Roxanne George S.C. on 12th June 2023 ruled the arrest and detention of attorney-at-law Tamieka Clarke by the State Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), for advising her client to remain silent while being questioned by Officers of SOCU, was unconstitutional.
Clarke, through her lawyer Nigel Hughes, filed the case against the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. Hughes, in a statement Saturday, said the CJ in her judgment made five orders in relation to Clarke’s arrest, who at the time of arrest was acting as counsel.
The orders are:
1. Clarke’s fundamental right to personal liberty as guaranteed and protected by Article 139 of the Constitution was breached by SOCU on the 28th day of October 2022.
- The detention and seizure of Clarke’s cellular phone by officersof SOCU without Clarke’s permission and without lawful excuse was wrongful.
- An attorney-at-law admitted to practice in Guyana is entitled toadvise a client to remain silent when questioned by any lawful enforcement agency.
- An attorney-at law-entitled to practice at the Bar in Guyana isentitled to consult with his/her client in private without the contents of the consultation being recorded in any way including by means of audio-visual recording by any law enforcement agency in Guyana or elsewhere.
- Clarke as a practicing attorney-at-law admitted to practice inthe Cooperative Republic of Guyana is entitled to advise any person who has sought her counsel to exercise the right to remain silent when questioned by a member of any law enforcement agency in Guyana.
Hughes said the issue of the quantum of damages has been adjourned for further submissions on 19th September 2023.
