Amnesty International Report 1996 - Guyana
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Date:
1 January 1996
At least four people were sentenced to death and 19 people remained under sentence of death for murder. No executions were carried out. An inquest was still pending into the case of a man who died in police custody in 1994. At least four people were sentenced to death for murder and 19 people were under sentence of death at the end of the year. No executions were carried out during the year. In May the Ministry of Home Affairs responded to Amnesty International's inquiries about Shivnarine Dalchand, who died in police custody in August 1994 (see Amnesty International Report 1995). It stated that an inquest was still pending into his death. In May and September the Ministry of Home Affairs also responded to Amnesty International's inquiries about the alleged ill-treatment of Zabeeda Hussain, who alleged that she suffered a miscarriage after police had beaten her in custody, and others who alleged ill-treatment by police in July 1994 (see Amnesty International Report 1995). The Ministry stated that Zabeeda Hussain had not reported that she had been ill-treated to the relevant authority and that police officers and members of the public who had been present at the time of the July 1994 arrests denied any knowledge of the reported assaults. In its response, the Ministry also claimed that it was not unusual for persons alleging assault to produce medical certificates whose authenticity had not been verified. Inquests had not yet taken place into the cases of Rickey Samaroo and Joseph Persaud, who were shot dead by police in September 1993 (see Amnesty International Reports 1994 and 1995). Amnesty International continued to seek more information on the case of Zabeeda Hussain.
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