CHIEF Justice Roxane George is expected to soon rule in the multi-million-dollar lawsuit brought against the State by a 56-year-old Jamaican woman, who was held for eight months at the East La Penitence Police Station without being charged or making a court appearance. Sandra Russell’s attorney, Darren Wade, in 2019, had filed a lawsuit in the High Court against the Attorney-General, Commissioner of Police and Chief Immigration Officer for wrongful imprisonment and inhumane suffering. The CJ had previously issued an order for mediation but after this failed the case went to trial. Wade is contending that the police and immigration authorities had no legal authority to hold Russell beyond 72 hours without seeking an extension from the courts.

Wade is also contending that Russell was falsely imprisoned by the police and immigration authorities, and that whilst in custody, she had no proper bedding, the food she was given was inadequate, the lock-ups had inadequate space and lighting, and ventilation was poor. The lawyer is further contending that his client’s fundamental rights as guaranteed under Articles 139, 141 and 148 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana were not only breached and encroached, but also infringed by members of the Guyana Police Force and Immigration Officials. Russell, through her attorney, is suing the State for $10M per day for every day she unlawfully spent in custody, in excess of $20M for the inhumane and degrading treatment she suffered, another $20M for the breach of her freedom of movement and $50M for false imprisonment.

In 2018, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates Court had sentenced Russell to eight months imprisonment and fined her $135,000 after she threw herself at the mercy of the court.
Russell had pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. The case against her was that on June 25, 2018 at Omai Landing, she had 70 grams of marijuana in her possession.
However, while serving her time at the New Amsterdam Prison, she was released early after her sentence was reduced by half, and on November 10, 2018, was released from prison and placed in the custody of a female immigration officer, after being informed that preparation was being made for her deportation back to Jamaica.

In court documents seen by this newspaper, Russell is quoted as saying that the immigration officer into whose custody she was released, after receiving a phone call from sources unknown, informed her that she was no longer being taken to ‘Immigration’ but rather the East La Penitence Police Station.
Russell also alleges that while at the East La Penitence Station, she was not taken before a magistrate or a judge.

“While at the East La Penitence Police Station, I fell ill because of poor conditions, and not having proper and adequate meals and supplements, and as a result, I was taken to a doctor at the East La Penitence Health Centre, where I was treated and given medications.”
She also claims that she was prevented from conducting an interview she had scheduled with a Kaieteur News reporter, which led to her eventually becoming depressed and stressed among other atrocities. On July 7, 2019, Russell was released on $10,000 bail.