Mother jailed for ganja trafficking granted bail pending appeal
Anitha Qualis
Anitha Qualis

A 35-year-old woman who was last month sentenced to two years imprisonment for trafficking cannabis was on Monday released on $50,000 bail by the High Court pending an appeal hearing.
Anitha Qualis of New Amsterdam, Berbice, was granted bail by Justice Navindra Singh following an application by her attorney Siand Dhurjon.
The attorney in his application contended that the sentence imposed upon Qualis is excessive, inordinate and unduly severe and it fails to take into account the significant mitigating circumstances in favour of the mother of four.

On October 15, Dhurjon appealed Qualis’s sentence. According to the grounds for appeal, Dhurjon is contending that the sentence was inordinate and unfounded. He said too that the magistrate made an irrational exercise of discretion in imposing the sentence.
On October 9, Qualis who confessed to trafficking cannabis to support her children, was sentenced by Magistrate Crystal Lambert at the Bartica Magistrate’s Court to two years imprisonment and slappe/d with a $754,000 fine.

Qualis had confessed that on September 19, at Karrau Village, Essequibo River, she had in her possession 503 grammes of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.
During a sentencing hearing, Dhurjon had pleaded with the court to give his client a non-custodial sentence. Non-custodial sentences are penalties that don’t include time in prison. It involves a promise of good behaviour for a set period, which may include a surety (guarantee or amount of money) and other conditions.
Dhurjon pleaded with the magistrate to be merciful and not to impose a custodial sentence, but rather other alternatives that would prevent her from being behind bars.
The lawyer explained that his client had a hard life and was not able to attend secondary school.

At the tender age of 15, she had her first child and was belittled and abused by her partner, who eventually abandoned her with their children.
Dhurjon told the court that Qualis had lost her job at a snackette and felt an irresistible compulsion to do all things necessary to feed her starving children.
Despite his plea, the magistrate handed down the two- year prison sentence. Dhurjon in a last attempt to keep his client out of prison, applied for a suspension of the sentence under the Criminal Law Reform Act, Cap.11:05.

Magistrate Lambert refused the lawyer’s request and ordered that the woman serve her sentence.
Dhurjon later signalled his intention to appeal the severity of the sentence and to seek his client’s urgent release in light of the COVID-19 epidemic ravaging the prisons.
According to reports, on September 19 around 14:30hrs, ranks were on mobile patrol at Karrau Village when they observed Qualis acting in a suspicious manner.

The ranks intercepted Qualis, who then pulled out a black parcel which was underneath her clothes.
The bag was searched and compressed cannabis was found inside. She was then7 arrested and taken to the Bartica Police Station where she was charged with the offence.

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