Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 20, 2012 News
Three more witnesses took to the stand yesterday as the Linden Commission of Inquiry continued yesterday.
Ronald Lewis, a driver, yesterday, recalled going to Linden on July 18. He detailed the sequence of events. He told the commission that he took a series of photos showing what transpired on July 18.
Attorney at law Peter Hugh, who is representing the police, suggested that Lewis took approximately 250 photographs. The witness admitted that he took the photos from earlier in the day of July 18. The lawyer suggested to the witness that a sequence of photos was missing. Lewis said he knew nothing of that.
Hugh then made the submission for the photos to be shown to the witness. However there was an objection from Basil Williams who argued about the relevance of the pictures being shown to the witness. The witness also said that he was shot in the leg but did not see the police shoot or the people throw missiles at the officers.
Next was Yolanda Hinds, who was shot in the leg. According to her she was visiting the Linden Hospital on July 18 when she was shot. She said that she was treated by one Dr. Stevens, but was not given a medical certificate.
Hinds further told the commission that she was on 28 days sick leave and upon her return to work she lost some of her benefits. The woman said she has not been paid.
Brian Clarkson was another witness who was called yesterday. His evidence was brief. He said that a protestor was speaking when the police tried searching the man. Clarkson said that he rebuked the police for the way they treated the man, further inquiring if the force didn’t teach them psychology. He said that the police said that they needed to protect themselves.
Kenneth Chance, a member of the “Justice for Jermaine” committee was another witness called. Chance told the commission that he was lucky that he was not shot since the police fired indiscriminately on July 18. He said that he had travelled to the mining town to lend support to the residents.
On the last occasion two wounded Lindeners testified that they saw police ranks shooting at protestors who had gathered on or near the Wismar/Mackenzie Bridge on July 18 when three civilians were slain.
One of the witnesses, 34-year-old mother of three, Alieshaw Barker, told the Commission that she managed to take two small children to safety even though she had been shot in both legs. She testified that she saw a man collapse on the bridge from gunshot wounds and that he appeared to be dead.
The other witness, Linden miner Michael Roberts, recounted fleeing towards the Linmine compound and being shot in the face shortly after. He also alleged that he saw a man collapse in the compound and later learned that the victim was Allan Lewis, one of the slain Lindeners.
The two witnesses stuck to their statements that they saw police ranks shooting at the protestors, despite being subjected to intense grilling by attorney-at-law Peter Hugh, who is representing the Guyana Police Force.
APNU parliamentarian and attorney-at-law Basil Williams is representing Barker and Roberts, who are seeking compensation for their injuries. They both insisted that they were not participating in the protest when they were shot.
JAGDEO ADDING MORE DANGER TO GUYANA AND THE REGION
Apr 18, 2024
SportsMax – West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has been named Wisden’s leading Twenty20 Cricketer for 2023, as she topped all and sundry, including her male counterparts. Alan Gardner looks...Kaieteur News – Compliments of the Ministry of Education, our secondary school children are being treated to a stage... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]