“I was not detained nor interrogated” – Min Bharrat

…Enrico Woolford slapped with lawyer’s letter demanding retraction, apology for libellous post

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat has denied mischievous reports that he was detained and interrogated at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
In a Facebook post on Friday morning, journalist Enrico Woolford alleged that the minister was escorted and questioned by Federal agents at the JFK Airport upon his arrival there on Thursday evening.
However, when contacted via WhatsApp on Friday, Bharrat told Guyana Times from the United States that, “I was not detained nor interrogated.” In fact, he explained that he was at the time travelling to the US to see his father, who has been hospitalised and is not doing well.
“[The trip] came on as an emergency,” the minister explained, adding that the US authorities had extended courtesies to expedite the immigration clearance process so that he can rush to be with his family.
In fact, Bharrat subsequently took to social media, on his personal Facebook page, expressing wishes for his father’s speedy recovery at the Montefiore Medical Center – the University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine – in Bronx, NY.
He also used the opportunity to thank the US authorities for expediting his clearance at the JFK airport. “Special thanks to the US Authorities for the kind courtesies and professionalism,” the senior Guyanese Government official stated in the post.
In addition to Woolford’s post, Treasurer and Economic Advisor of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Elson Low, also raised the issue of the minister’s alleged arrest during a weekly press conference hosted by Office of the Opposition Leader on Friday.
Minister Bharrat expressed his disgust at the allegations levied against him especially at a time when he and his family are going through this ordeal at a personal level. Consequently, Bharrat, through his lawyer, has since written Woolford demanding a full and public apology.
The letter, which was sent by Attorney Sanjeev Datadin and seen by the Guyana Times, informed Woolford that his “…account of what transpired is totally false. Your allegation and insinuation [are] utterly false and without merit.”
“Your libelous publication was maliciously posted to deliberately cause damage to my client’s reputation and character. I am instructed to inform you that your statement is defamatory and has caused injury to my client’s reputation and good character.”
The lawyer indicated to Woolford that he has to issue a “clear, unqualified and unconditional apology and retraction in a form, manner and terms to be agreed on or before the 14th July, 2024 at 2 pm.”
In addition to the apology, Datadin is also seeking “substantial compensation and reasonable legal costs” given the gravity of the false allegations that were made. (G8)