Attorney-at-law arrested by SOCU after advising client to remain silent

…released after Attorney General intervened
…OPR launches investigation

Attorney-at-Law Tamieka Clarke, who was arrested by the Police on Friday for her advising her client, who is under probe by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), to exercise his constitutional right to remain silent, has mulled suing the State for false imprisonment.
Clarke was released after the intervention of Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, who has already offered her a profound apology for what he described as an “unfortunate incident”.

After inquiring about the circumstances surrounding the arrest of counsel, Nandlall said that in his capacity as the constitutional legal advisor to the Guyana Police Force (GPF), he immediately advised that she be released.
At a press conference shortly after her release, Clarke disclosed that she was retained by a client [name withheld], who was detained last week Friday by SOCU – an arm of the Police Force – for computer-related fraud.
The lawyer said that her client was released that same day on his own recognisance (self-bail) and instructed to return to SOCU’s Camp Street, Georgetown Headquarters on Tuesday. As such, she related that she accompanied him to SOCU’s Headquarters, where Superintendent Krishnadat Ramana began inquiring from the other ranks about if they were ready to take a statement from her client.

Since no one was ready to take the statement, Clarke said that her client was instructed to return on Thursday. She added that she informed the ranks that she had advised her client to exercise his constitutional right to remain silent, and as such, he would not be making any statement.

Threats
At this point, she related that one Superintendent Ramana told her: “Do you know what is obstruction? Your client is compellable to give a statement.”
“So, I told Ramana that my client was arrested, he is a suspect, he was released and he is told to report…that he has been advised to remain silent.”
Superintendent Ramana, she said, then told her that she and her client had to return on Thursday at 13:00h and that if her client did not give a statement, he would arrest her.
Clarke added that when she inquired of the Police rank if he was “arresting her for advising her client”, he replied: “Counsel, all I can advise you is that counsel will need counsel.”
According to her, when she and her client went to SOCU’s Headquarters on Thursday, they were instructed to return on Friday because Superintendent Ramana was busy.
“My client arrived a few minutes before me on Friday. My client told me while he was there, they [the Police] had a statement there already and were asking him to read it and sign it. My client indicated to the officer that he is following his attorney’s advice and he will not be signing any statement,” said Clarke as she recounted what transpired.
The lawyer further said that other ranks informed her that her client could not leave without signing the statement. “My client indicated to me that he has been coming so often and nothing is being done and he wants to leave because nothing is being done,” she said while adding that she went into an office to ask, again, whether her client was under arrest.
“They told me no.”

Arrested
Superintendent Ramana, she pointed out, accused her of preventing her client from giving a statement, and thereby ordered another rank to arrest her for obstructing an officer in the conduct of his duties.
“A male officer arrested me, he took my phone from me, and then another officer [told him] to get the female rank from the gate because she has to be the one to arrest her. I tried to leave… I was walking out… Sergeant Singh ran and block the door…the officer who arrested me, stood by the door, so I couldn’t leave…I didn’t say anything, I remained silent until my attorneys came…” recalled Clarke, who said she was detained for almost an hour.

Rule of law under threat
Nigel Hughes, one of Clarke’s attorneys, said that when he arrived at SOCU’s Headquarters, he contacted the President of the Bar Association, Pauline Chase, to inform her that a practicing lawyer was arrested in the execution of her duties by providing a client with advice.
He explained that the Constitution of Guyana entitles every citizen to remain silent if they are a suspect or if they are the target of an investigation. “If you’re arrested, you don’t have to provide any information to the Police other than your name and address.”
He pointed out that Clarke’s arrest is “particularly disturbing” because the rule of law and the enforcement of the law which the Judiciary is tasked with “to protect citizens from the might and power of the State is under threat” as a result of the Police ignoring and disregarding people’s protected constitutional rights.
Meanwhile, Clarke has signalled her intention to file civil proceedings against the State for false imprisonment to ensure that there is no recurrence of this incident.
Clarke, who previously served as a State Counsel in the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), has been in private practice for the past three years.
SOCU is headed by Senior Superintendent Fazil Karimbaksh.

OPR investigation
The Guyana Police Force in a statement on the issue, said that it is aware of a statement issued by the Guyana Bar Association in relation to allegations of the arrest of Clarke on Friday by SOCU.
“As such, the Police Office of Professional Responsibility has since been instructed to launch an investigation into the allegations,” the Police statement read. (G1)