…clean-up of Camp St site commences

MINISTER of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, has declared that the security situation here is under control and that all of the inmates of the Camp Street penitentiary have been accounted for following Sunday afternoon riot.

Ramjattan said however, that further verifications will be done even as he stressed that arrangements are being put in place to better accommodate prisoners at Lusignan.

The final verification will be done soon as the Ministry of Public Infrastructure commences the removal of debris at the Camp Street Prison. “But it might take a couple of days because the embers are still burning in the debris,” Ramjattan is quoted in a Department of Public Information release as saying. He explained that to get an excavator into the burnt out site there may be need for infrastructural works. “We are transferring prisoners to Mazaruni and to New Amsterdam, we also have to provide facilities such as mattresses in the various prisons, but within another 72 hours we should reduce the number of prisoners displaced,” he explained.
He noted that prisoners transferred from Georgetown to Lusignan will be reduced from 1000 to 450 in 72 hours, as they will be further relocated to Mazaruni and other facilities. He said government’s primary concern is that everyone in society is safe along with the rights of the prisoners. He is urging citizens to report to the police if they have any information on the prison escapees. “We want to ensure that everyone out there is safe and that is our primary concern. We also want to ensure that prisoners are safe because they have their rights too notwithstanding they’re prisoners, notwithstanding their bad behavior of some of them. We are getting a number of them working along with us” “It is a very complex set of arrangements that we have put in place to ensure the comfort of all and the capture of those that have escaped.” “I want the people of Guyana to know that we have gotten things under control and it was a magnificent effort knowing very well the transportation of a thousand men, many of them hardcore prisoners on remand for very serious crimes. We managed to do peacefully and with a lot stability and security. That is a big plus in this.”

Improved conditions
Meanwhile, the Civil Defence Commission has dispatched blankets, bottled water, mattresses and eating compartments to the Lusignan Prison to assist in efforts to improve the conditions of the prisoners being temporarily held there. Hundreds of prisoners were relocated after they burned down the Camp Street penitentiary during a breakout of five dangerous criminals.

Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud, following an extended National Security Meeting, told the DPI that: “There are five that are still at large, four of the five we have confirmed their identities and we are still to confirm the identity of the fifth person, we had information that has been partially confirmed of one escapee sighting in Georgetown” “Prisoners are being attended too, the conditions there are little harsh but there will be significant improvements to that within the next 24hours.” The high level meeting included: President David Granger; Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo; Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson; Fire Chief, Marlon Gentle; Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels; Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud; Acting Head Of CANU, Michael Atherly; Acting Chief of Staff, Nazrul Hussain; and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams.

Responsible reporting
Meanwhile, weighing in on the issue, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo said that rumours must not be allowed to spread and instead persons should only focus on accurate and factual reports since in such sensitive situations as the prison break the right information is always critical.

Reports indicate that Prison Officials and Fire Officials conducted a walk through the Camp Street jail compound Monday morning. No casualties were discovered. Those hospitalised include the wounded warders. They were identified as Jason Maltay, 20, of Victoria Street, Berbice, he was shot to the right leg; Drexel Gonsalves, 25, of Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara, he was shot in the knee and hand; Dominic Mingo, 20, of Glasgow Housing scheme, East Bank Berbice, who injured his legs as he jumped to save his life; Errol Daphnis, 30, of New Amsterdam Berbice, he was shot to the chest; Simeon Sandy, 19, of Golden Grove, he was shot and Hubert Trim, 40, of Glasgow Village, East Bank Berbice, he suffered from lacerations to the head.

The mastermind of the unrest was identified as Bartica and Lusignan massacre convict, Mark Royden Durant, called “Smallie” and Uree Varswyck. Remanded murder accused Shawn Collins, 20, of lot 6 Ketley and Drydales Streets, who escaped whilst being transported with other prisoners to Lusignan Prison was recaptured on Hadfield Street. He was not among the five original escapees. Prison Director Gladwin Samuels Monday said he was informed Sunday at 16:45hrs of the disturbance at Georgetown Prison, where an officer was held hostage and there were sounds of gunshots within the prison.

He explained that two locations of the prison were set ablaze simultaneously; the Strong Cell Division and the Wooden Prison/Condemn Division. A total of five prisoners were observed leaving the prison. He explained that the two wooden buildings were completely gutted and the prison sports club that was been used as a holding area was also set on fire and destroyed. “The Fire Service was there but the fire quickly spread to other buildings, with the assistance of other agencies, we immediately activated the Evacuation Procedure whereby we brought prisoners to a safe area outside, all of the prisoners that they have access to and that were readily available,” he noted. He said all prisoners from the Georgetown Prisons have been transferred to Lusignan Prison, Timheri Prison and the New Amsterdam Prison.

Samuels noted that all procedures were followed after the disturbance erupted at the location and on Sunday morning prison officers accounted for 1,018 prisoners. He noted that he has not received any reports of any prisoner dying.