Attorney detained by SOCU sues State for false imprisonment 

Attorney-at-Law Tamieka Clarke, who was arrested and detained by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) on October 28, for reportedly advising her client to exercise his constitutional right to remain silent, has kept good on her promise to sue the State for false imprisonment.

On Friday, lawyers Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels, and Shawn Shewram, on her behalf, lodged a lawsuit at the Demerara High Court in which more than $300,000 is being sought in damages for, among other things, false imprisonment and violations of her constitutional rights.
The sum includes damages over $100,000 for her wrongful arrest and detention at SOCU’s Camp Street, Georgetown headquarters, damages in excess of $100,000 for false imprisonment, exemplary damages for the threat to arrest her for attempting to pervert the course of justice on the basis of advice she gave to her client and more than $100,000 in damages for breach of her fundamental rights and freedom as set out in Article 40 of the Constitution of Guyana.
According to Clarke’s attorneys, Article 40 of the Constitution entitles every person in Guyana to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual which include the right to personal liberty, the right to silence, the right to retain and be advised by an attorney, and the right to consult with and communicate with an attorney in private.
Clarke, who previously served as a State Counsel in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), was only released after the intervention of Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, who has 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. SOCU is an arm of the GPF tasked with probing organised crimes.
In her lawsuit, Clarke is asking a Judge to declare that a lawyer admitted to practice in Guyana is entitled to advise a client of his/her entitlement to remain silent when being questioned by members of any law enforcement agency in the country.
She further wants a declaration that “An attorney admitted to practice at the Bar of Guyana is entitled to consult with his/her client in private without the contents of the said consultation being recorded in any way including by means of audio/visual recording by any law enforcement agency in Guyana or elsewhere.”
In her lawsuit, the lawyer recounted that while she was in custody, she was wearing a Samsung smartwatch which allows her to make and receive calls and that she observed she was receiving a call from her attorney, Hughes, which she answered.
According to her, she informed her counsel that she had been arrested by SOCU. At this point, she submitted, “Officer Alder demanded that I hand over my watch and she attempted to take my watch from me. I then observed that my phone became disconnected from my watch.”
In an affidavit, she deposed that when she attempted to leave the room, the exit was blocked by a Police Sergeant. Besides damages, Clarke is asking the court to award her costs, and interests on any sum awarded and such further or other orders the court deems just.
Among those criticising Clarke’s arrest is the main parliamentary Opposition APNU/AFC, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the Jamaican Bar Association (JBA), the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the Organisation of Caribbean Commonwealth Bar Associations (OCCBA) and the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL).