AN appeal has been filed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC against a recent High Court ruling that declared that Roxanne Myers, a former Deputy Chief Elections Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), was unlawfully arrested and detained. Demerara High Court Judge, Simone Morris-Ramlall, rendered the decision on Friday, giving Myers a $2 million damages award.
The appeal was lodged at the Court of Appeal hours after the ruling was delivered.

The Notice of Appeal stated that the appeal stems from Myers’ arrest and detention in August 2020, following the controversial General and Regional Elections held in March 2020.
According to Nandlall, Myers was taken into custody and kept at the Beterverwagting Police Station from August 6 to 9, 2020, as part of an investigation into alleged attempts to rig the elections.
He said that the police questioned her about the whereabouts of GECOM’s Statements of Poll (SoPs), crucial documents in the election results tallying process.
Myers’ right to personal liberty under Article 139 of the Guyana Constitution was infringed by her arrest and confinement, according to Justice Morris-Ramlall’s decision. Deeming the police’s conduct to be illegal, the judge determined that there was no justification for her arrest and imprisonment.

Disappointed with the High Court’s decision, the Attorney General’s Office has filed several grounds of appeal, challenging it. The appeal contended that the judge’s conclusions were flawed in both law and fact. The key grounds for the appeal include the trial judge’s alleged error in finding no reasonable basis for Myers’ arrest and detention, the claim that the judge overlooked or disregarded crucial evidence, including testimony from Assistant Superintendent of Police Ceasar that purportedly justified the arrest, and the argument that Myers’ refusal to cooperate with police inquiries about the SoPs could reasonably be seen as an attempt to pervert the course of justice.

Additionally, the appeal contended that the High Court judge misinterpreted the circumstances surrounding Myers’ refusal to answer questions about the SoPs, which were crucial to the investigation. The AG is seeking to have the entire ruling set aside and is also requesting that the Court of Appeal order Myers to pay for the costs associated with the appeal and the original High Court proceedings. The Attorney General Nandlall, in the appeal, noted that he also reserves the right to add further grounds once the written judgement from the High Court is received.

Myers is one of nine defendants currently on trial at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts for allegedly conspiring to defraud the electorate during the March 2020 elections.
The trial will continue on September 17, 2024, before Senior Magistrate Leron Daly.