WE are deeply concerned about the arrest of Simona Broomes, president of the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO) and a champion in the fight against trafficking in persons in Guyana, for the alleged theft of a gold chain from and assault against Ann Marie Carter, an alleged human trafficker, who has been arrested, detained and charged with what should be at least 4 counts of trafficking of children who were forced into sexual slavery.

 Surely there must be more compelling evidence against Simona Broomes than the accusation of a person who not only has a vested interest in damaging Ms. Broomes’ reputation, but has taken four months to ‘remember’ these alleged incidents.

We call on the DPP, the TIP unit at the MLHSSS and the TIP Task Force to investigate the course of action taken by the police and take such appropriate measures as are necessary to address this apparent travesty of justice.

To us at Help & Shelter, the arrest of Ms Broomes smacks at harassment of her and her organisation and an attempt to intimidate them in their landmark work of exposing human trafficking and rescuing numerous trafficked children and adults from sexual slavery and other forms of trafficking.