…eight suspects identified

By Tamica Garnett

IT was a combination of the seizure of  contraband, and a confrontation between a prisoner and a prison warder that led to the rioting and eventual fire at the Lusignan Prisons on Sunday, where the building was completely destroyed, causing the relocation of the 284 prisoners that were housed there.
The prisoners have since been relocated to various facilities across the country.
This was explained by Director of Prisons Gladwin Samuels at a press conference on Monday. Held at the Ministry of Public Security office, Samuels was joined at the press conference by Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan and Public Security Permanent Secretary Danielle McCalmon.
As he detailed how Sunday’s events unfolded, Samuels said he wanted to clarify that the incident did not involve a prison-wide search, but just the search of one prisoner. “Around 11:55hrs, I was informed that there was a discovery of a quantity of contraband: Two parcels of cannabis, a bottle with rum and a cell phone. It was not a search conducted; an officer observed the prisoner with the parcel and searched the prisoner,” Samuels explained.

“The Prisoner was being questioned; unfortunately, at the same time a prisoner who works in the kitchen had a confrontation with a prisoner officer. It was brought to my attention that the prisoner was assaulted by one of the officers and escorted to the prison yard, where he was again assaulted,” Samuels further related. It was while the allegedly assaulted prisoner was in the yard that other prisoners began to demand that the seized contraband be returned, if the guards wanted them to calm down. As the items were not returned, the prisoners began to destroy the building, and subsequently set it alight.

“It was mostly a wooden structure in existence for a number of years, so the fire quickly spread, despite prompt response. The fire was not contained, but we were able to save a part of the admin building,” Samuels related. Samuels said that it is common for prisoners to be let out of the prison walls, and that it is during these moments that prisoners try to smuggle items back into the prisons.

However, over the past few months, following the appointment of Senior Superintendent Alexander Hopkinson as Officer-in-Charge of the Prison, seizures of items have increased, stymying contraband supply in the prisons.

CONTRABAND DROUGHT
The lack of contraband in the prisons may have been frustrating prisoners more than usual. “It was clearly overheard that prisoners said there is a drought in the prison as relates to contraband,” Samuels pointed out.
The prison guard involved in the confrontation has since been removed to avoid further agitation at the prison. However, Samuels stressed that the circumstances under which the prisoner was assaulted is still under investigation, as he was made to understand that the prisoner may have been attacking and threatening the prison guards at the time.
Samuels also highlighted that he wished to clarify that there was no political intention behind the rioting and fire at the prison. However, as the situation gained attention, some prisoners may have taken the opportunity to make particular remarks.
“At the onset of incident, there was no indication that it had any political motive behind it; during the process of the fire, however, prisoners were heard hurling certain remarks,” Samuels related

Eleven prisoners suffered minor injuries during the situation, of which number nine were treated by doctors at the facility, while the other two, including the prisoner who was in the confrontation with the prison officers, were transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for further treatment. The two prisoners have since been treated and returned to detention. Responding to queries about gunshots being heard as the prisoners were being moved, Samuels relayed that while no prisoners were shot at, at varying times warning shots were fired into the air to quell the prisoners as situations arose.

“In order to keep prisoners from exiting the back gate, officers discharged shots. At front gate, a round was discharged to restore some amount of calm, after we implemented a system to spot-search the prisoners going into the holding bay, and a number of the prisoners were in possession of knives and cutlasses,” Samuels noted.
Samuels said one particular prisoner in possession of “a brand new ‘22’ cutlass in his waist” was refusing to hand over the tool, which resulted in the firing of a warning shot, subsequent to which the prisoner handed it over. Though there were no escapes, Samuels noted that it was not for the want of trying, as some prisoners did make attempts to escape, however the concerted Joint Services effort that was effected as the situation unfolded was able to ensure the prisoners remained contained.
As the relevant Joint Services protocol was activated on Sunday, several units from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and Guyana Police Force (GPF) were sent to the scene. Given that the situation has calmed down, the presence of the GDF units have since been removed from the location, however some amount of assistance from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) remains on the ground to aid the GPS guards.