ACTING Chief Justice Roxane George, S.C, on Wednesday, ordered the State to pay $3.1M to a 56-year-old Jamaican woman who said she was unlawfully detained and kept in the inhumane conditions at the East La Penitence Police Station.

Sandra Russell’s attorney, Darren Wade, in 2019, had filed a lawsuit in the High Court against the Attorney-General, the Commissioner of Police and the Chief Immigration Officer for wrongful imprisonment and inhumane suffering.

Wade contended 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.

Further, he had contended that his client’s fundamental rights as guaranteed under Articles 139, 141 and 148 of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana were not only breached and encroached, but also infringed by members of the Guyana Police Force and immigration Officials.

The Chief Justice, on Wednesday, ruled that Russell was indeed unlawfully detained and deprived of her freedom of movement and was also subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment given the conditions at the police station.

“The State must do better as regards to facilities for the incarceration of persons. The claim of so-called third world status cannot be permitted as a continual excuse for poor conditions and cannot be countenance as being the best the state can do,” Justice George said while delivering her ruling.

As such, she awarded Russell compensatory damages in the sum of $2.5 million for false imprisonment and $600,000 for being subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment.

Additionally, the Chief Justice ordered Russel to leave Guyana and travel back to her homeland at her own cost.

The AG was also ordered to pay $250,000 cost.

In 2018, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court had sentenced Russell to eight months in prison after she pleaded guilty to a drug-trafficking charge. She was also fined $135,000.

The case against her was that on June 25, 2018 at Omai Landing, she had 70 grammes of marijuana in her possession.

She was released early from the New Amsterdam Prison after her sentence was reduced by half. On November 10, 2018, she was released and placed in the custody of a female immigration officer, after being informed that preparations were being made for her deportation back to Jamaica. However, she was taken to the East La Penitence Station and kept in custody for eight months. On July 7, 2019, Russell was released on $10,000 bail.

Russell, through her attorney, sued 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.