The Jamaican Bar Association (JBA) has joined its counterpart in Guyana in condemning the arrest of attorney Tamieka Clarke for advising a client to remain silent during questioning.
The Guyana Bar Association (GBA), Guyana Association of Women Lawyers, the Organization of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations (OCCBA) and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) have all condemned the arrest.
In a statement, the JBA said it regards the arrest and detention of Tamieka Clarke as “an attack on a fundamental principle of the rule of law.
“We condemn this action and are very concerned about this assault on the legal profession It is a clear departure from the Constitution of Guyana which enshrines the right to silence in the course of criminal investigation consistent with the advice of counsel in the matter. This gross encroachment by the State has the result or undermining the rule of law and we shall remain carefully attentive in this cause,” the Jamaica Bar Association added.
Clarke last Friday moved to the High Court after she was arrested on October 28, by members of the Guyana Police Force’s Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) for informing her client, who has been accused of computer-related fraud, to remain silent.
She has since sued the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for more than GUY$300,000 (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) for her wrongful arrest and detention by police and the temporary seizure of her mobile phone without justification.
Clarke wants the High Court to declare that her fundamental right to personal liberty as guaranteed and protected by Article 139 of Guyana’s Constitution was breached by SOCU officers when she was arrested and detained for advising her client to remain silent.
Further, she is asking the High Court to declare that her fundamental right and freedom against arbitrary arrest as set out and provided for in Article 40 of Guyana’s Constitution was breached and/or violated by police officers when they arrested and detained her at SOCU’s headquarters and that the detention and seizure of her cellular phone by SOCU officers without her permission and without lawful excuse was wrongful.
Tamieka Clarke is seeking a High Court declaration that any lawyer practicing in Guyana is entitled to advise a client of the Client’s entitlement to remain silent when being questioned by members of any law enforcement agency or body in 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, and is entitled to advise any person who has sought her counsel to exercise the right to remain silent when questioned by a member of any law enforcement agency in Guyana.
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