…police confirm two arrested for torturing Guyanese miners

THE two Russian guards at the centre of allegations that they tortured two Guyanese miners have been arrested and police said they were in breach of their uniform dress code since, as supernumerary constables, they ought to have been attired in the prescribed manner approved by the force’s administration for that company, and not as seen outfitted in the video.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, police said a thorough investigation has been launched into the incident. As such, a police investigative team from CID Headquarters received much-needed assistance from a miner who ferried the ranks to Quart Stone, Cuyuni, where the incident allegedly occurred.

Police said the two foreign nationals in question, one of whom allegedly assaulted a ranger employed in a private capacity, are in custody and assisting with the investigation. The two Russian nationals who are employed by West Bank Demerara Gold Inc., which is licensed to operate in Guyana, are sworn supernumerary constables and authorised to carry firearms.

Reports are that the miners were executing their normal duties on their employers’ claim in Quart Stone, near the Quart Stone River in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), when they were intercepted by two Russian operatives of West Bank Demerara Gold Inc. Reports are that the Russians attempted to prohibit the Guyanese miners from going farther on the said land when the incident occurred.

Meanwhile, officials of the Russian Embassy in Georgetown on Tuesday offered no comment until a decision is made to do otherwise as the authorities continue to investigate the brutal assault on the miners. On Monday, the Ministry of Natural Resources ordered an immediate investigation into the assault on miners by Russian security guards working in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni at a claim operated by Hopkinson Mining Logistics, a company which is owned by Guyanese large-scale miner Shawn Hopkinson.

On Tuesday, the Guyana Chronicle contacted the embassy for a comment on the issue. An embassy official from Pere Street, Kitty, told this newspaper by email that while it appreciates the collaboration with the local press, the foreign entity could not comment on the issue at this time until a decision is made to do so.

Calls to the landline numbers provided for the company at the centre of the incident, West Bank Demerara Gold Inc, went unanswered all day on Tuesday.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Ministry of Natural Resources said it has noted with deep concern and strong consternation a video circulating on social media which appears to show a confrontation at a mining location between an alleged foreigner and a Guyanese miner. “The video clearly shows that the alleged foreigner is armed with a firearm and behaving in an aggressive, hostile and condescending manner towards the man who appears to be a Guyanese national,” the statement read.

The incident occurred in April this year. The Hopkinson security guard recorded the incident with his cellular phone. The video recording shows a Russian operative, who is known in the concession area as ‘Batali,’ demanding documentation and challenging the two miners ,Edwards and Charles’ right to be on their employer’s claim. He subsequently attempted to block their access. ‘Batali’ then punched Edwards in his face. When Edwards attempted to defend himself, Batali punched him a second time, then pulled a gun on the men.

West Bank Demerara Gold Inc. Is a company which acquired and now operates a mining concession known as Chunnylall Babullal & Ricky Ramnarine (CB&R) concession. Hopkinson Mining Logistics ostensibly has mining claims within the CB&R concession that predates its acquisition by West Bank Demerara Gold Inc. The Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), in a statement condemning the incident, called on the Guyana government to investigate what it described as alleged torture, harassment of Guyanese miners and workers by the Russians.