RENTAL DEAL!

ISSUE 147 Friday 11th MARCH, 2016
The killings of Prison Officers is a case of…
“PETER PAYING FOR PAUL”
Story by AZAD ALI
The killings of prison
officers are being
blamed on the
abuse of inmates at the
Remand Yard, Golden
Grove, Arouca by prison
officers.
This is the claim made
by a prison officer who told
Sunshine there are certain
prisons officers who beat
prisoners during searches
of their cells while masked
from the Emergency Rapid
Response Unit (ERRU) and
since the inmates are unable
to see their faces other innocent
officers are targeted
for revenge.
He said the killing of Fitzalbert
Victor Jnr. who was
gunned down in Laventille
last week is a case of “Peter
paying for Paul”.
This was the second time
over the past four months
a prison officer has been
murdered near his home,
prompting Commissioner
of Prisons Sterling Stewart
to declare “we are under attack”.
But this “attack” will
not stop until prisoners are
treated in a humane manner,
one officer said.
A source said it is a norm
for prisoners at the Remand
Yard to get a beating when
cellphones and illegal drugs
are found in their cells.
When inmates protest the
search of their cells they
also get a cutarse. Many of
them suffer injuries about
their bodies. A source said
as long as prison officers
continue to beat inmates
there would be attacks on
them by their criminal
friends on the outside.
Prison Officers’ Association president CERON RICHARDS, second from left,
speaks with members of his association at the front gate of the Remand Prison
Facility, Port-of-Spain, following a press conference.
GUYANA
PRISONERS REACH “GENTLEMAN’S
AGREEMENT” WITH GOV’T
After three days of
protests by prisoners
at Guyana’s
main jail – which
resulted in the deaths of
17 inmates –, and a meeting
between prisoners
and government ministers,
agreement has been
reached on steps to improve
conditions at the
penal institution.
Inmates at the Camp
Street Prison will be allowed
to call their families
more regularly, the quality
of their meals will be improved,
and efforts will be
made to reduce periods of
remand.
That was announced by
Public Security Minister
Khemraj Ramjattan at a
press conference on Friday
after he and Minister of
State Joseph Harmon met
after three days of unrest
with an 18-man delegation
from the prison.
The latest period of unrest
began last Wednesday,
after a search uncovered
cellphones and drugs. Prisoners
set nine fires which
were extinguished before
getting out of control, but
the disturbance was reignited
the following morning,
as some prisoners were
being moved from one
part of the jail to another.
They set a fire that damaged
part of the compound
and resulted in 16 of them
perishing there and a 17th
passing away at the hospital
after suffering burns to
most of his body. Several
other prisoners were also
injured.
In another round of protests
early on Friday, prisoners
set fire to another
section of the prison but
that was quickly extinguished.
They also kicked
out the walls of a wooden
section of the jail and security
forces were called in as
they ran through the prison.
Several prison officers
and inmates were injured
and treated at hospital.
Officer in Charge of the
prison, Kevin Pilgrim,
confirmed that following
the meeting between the
ministers and the prisoners,
some calm was restored
at the prison. He
said the damaged sections
of the prison were being
repaired.
Harmon also reporters
after the meeting: “I think
we have sort of a gentleman’s
agreement on both
sides and we are going to
try to keep our end of the
- over abuse of inmates
bargain and they are going
to keep theirs.”
Among the concerns expressed
by the inmates
were: the long time many of
them were on remand; only
being able to call their loved
ones twice a week; and the
poor quality of meals.
Ramjattan and Harmon
said those matters would
be addressed immediately.
According to Ramjattan,
telephone calls will be increased
to three per week,
with the possibility of being
increased to four or five
when more telephone lines
are installed at the prison,
and prison authorities have
been reminded that meals
are to be of a sufficient
good quality and in conformity
with the Standard
Operating Procedures of
the prison system.
Commissioner of Prisons
STERLING STEWART
Page 11
Deceased FITZALBERT
VICTOR Jnr
Reports are that after the
two recent lockdowns at the
Remand Yard prison, several
inmates were beaten
and there was talk in the jail
there would be a reprisal
for the injuries a number of
them suffered.
Prison officers have been
warned by their seniors
about abusing inmates,
which they are not heeding.
Another prison officer
said instead of Prisons Association
President Ceron
Richards “bumping his
gum” about taking the government
to court over its inability
to protect and assure
the safety of officers while
on or off duty, he should
call on his membership to
stop the beating of inmates.
richards should also try
to stop the smuggling of
contraband behind bars by
some of his rouge officers.
It was noted that while
Richards have been calling
for officers to be given
firearms, Victor had been
issued with a licenced gun,
but he was unable to defend
himself as he had left it upstairs
at his Prizgar Lands
home when he was ambushed
and shot.
Richards also wants officers
to be removed from
“hot spots” but there are “hot
spots” all over the country.
Prisoners on Remand are
getting more and more frustrated
over the long delay in
their cases being heard and
are now becoming more agitated
since they are unable
to use their illegal cellphone
to make outside calls and
have phone sex since the installation
of jammers.
They will now have to
use the Inmate Calling Solutions
(ICS) system where
inmates can now make outgoing
calls from the jail.
So far it has been reported
that some 300 prisoners at
the Remand Yard at Golden
Grove and Maximum Security
Prison have registered
with the programme.