WHILE reiterating that her arrest was regrettable, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, S.C., said that he intends to meet the aggrieved attorney, Tamieka Clarke.

On October 28, Clarke was arrested by Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) officers after she advised her client not to sign a pre-prepared statement, and to remain silent.

The Attorney General, on Friday, gave a statement on the issue which was streamed on the Department of Public Information (DPI)’s Facebook page.

“Our government is committed to the rule of law. We are committed to the obedience of the Constitution. We are committed to ensuring that the rights and freedoms of our people are respected, and the laws of this land are upheld,” Nandlall said.

He also used the opportunity to debunk claims from certain media outlets that SOCU’s actions are being condoned, and were somehow authorised by an agency of the government or state.

“…That is absolutely not true. There is no policy of our government that will ever be subversive to the rule of law or the constitutional rights of Guyanese.”

While noting that the incident was regrettable and should never have occurred, Nandlall assured the nation that the matter will be dealt with.

He explained that the Guyana Police Force enjoys a “functional independence” and his intervention was a part of his constitutional mandate as the state’s legal adviser.

Against this backdrop, the AG said he has a duty to intervene in matters of this type to prevent a transgression or to ameliorate the situation if there has been a breach of the law or a complaint in respect of its violation.

Nandlall pointed out that there seems to be an “aggressive agenda” being pursued by “other persons.”

He disclosed that he has received a “pre-action letter” from attorneys representing Clarke that legal proceedings will be filed against the Police Commissioner and the SOCU officers.

“The letter demands from the state compensation in the sum of $50 million,” Nandlall disclosed during the broadcast.

Based upon his assessment, Nandlall said that Clarke could not have spent more than 10 minutes under the alleged police restraint. He added that the attorney was not physically incarcerated in a cell, but was simply requested to move from the lower flat to the upper flat of SOCU’s Camp Street headquarters

Nandlall questioned whether Clarke’s best interest is being pursued, following Friday’s protest by lawyers outside the SOCU building.

“… is there another agenda at play? At least one would have thought that having engaged the Attorney General and requesting compensation as absorbent and as excessive as that demand, one would have awaited a response. That did not happen,” Nandlall said.

According to Nandlall, the protest was planned before he was served with the lawyer’s letter or could have met the attorney.

“It’s quite unfortunate that the alleged victim in this unfortunate situation, her interest seems to [be] of secondary importance and other factors seem to be dominating the stage in relation to this matter,” the minister said.

Nandlall promised to reply to the letter, but he hopes that the events unfolding in the public domain do not continue to work against the best interest of Clarke.

The police file on the matter is currently before the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, for legal advice.

Police in a press release on Friday said that the Police Office of Public of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has completed its investigation into Clarke’s alleged arrest.