Guyana’s High Court judge sentenced five men to death for brutal 2016 piracy attack

Justice Sandil Kissoon of the High Court in Guyana has sentenced five men to death for the 2016 piracy attack that claimed the lives of four fishermen.

Reports are that the men pleaded guilty to killing the four fishermen between May 27 and 28, 2016, in the waters of the Lower Shell area off Nickerie, Suriname.

Death sentence

Justice Kissoon minced no words when he described the murders as a “horrific crime” and an “atrocity of utter and complete savagery.”

He said that the five convicts had engaged in a homicidal rampage involving piracy, hijacking, and robbery.

According to reports, he delivered the death sentence, declaring, “Each of you is hereby sentenced to suffer death in a manner prescribed by law on each count in the indictment.”

Details of the crime

Reports are that the captain of the boat Seepersaud Persaud, and his four crew members found themselves in a challenging situation as they navigated the open sea.

They were attacked by the accused and were cast overboard.

The sequence of events began with the assailants hurling Sookdeo, who was injured and bleeding, into the water. 

Subsequently, the remaining three fishermen were bound and fastened to anchors before being cast into the water.

Reports are that the criminals absconded with fishermen’s catch for the day, fuel, and other equipment.

Sookdeo was rescued by another vessel after swimming for almost three hours.

Days later, acting on received intelligence, law enforcement authorities converged on the foreshore of No. 65 Village, Corentyne, where they encountered a vessel closely matching the description of the one implicated in the piracy assault.

The five individuals on board the vessel were apprehended and subsequently faced charges.