Rickford Burke wanted for extortion; accused releases explanation, recording of conversation with businessman

Last Updated on Thursday, 29 September 2022, 21:43 by Denis Chabrol

Well-known New York-based Guyanese political activist, Rickford Burke is wanted by Guyanese police for questioning about his alleged role in the publication of defamatory libel in order to extort money, according to a bulletin issued late Thursday hours after he released a statement and a recording of part of a conversation purportedly with a businessman.

Police said Mr Burke allegedly committed the offence on August 27, 2022.

The accused man late Thursday night said he was not afraid of a “plot” by certain members of the police force and members of the State’s legal fraternity to frame him as part of a transnational repression scheme to stop him from speaking out. ” They are hoping that this second bulletin will criminalize me, diminish my influence and popularity, and silence me. They have severely miscalculated. The PPP government and the minions in the Guyana Police Force will have to carry through with their conspiracy to kill me to silence me!,” Mr Burke said.

His release of part of an audio conversation purportedly with the General Manager of BM Soat Rameez Mohammed came days after high-level government sources said there was text and audio evidence that possibly implicates Mr Burke.  The accused man said it all stemmed from three persons, who had made certain allegations against the auto dealer. He later said Attorney-at-Law James Bond contacted him  on behalf of Mr Mohammed concerning an offending Facebook post which he asked be amended after assurances were given that the grievances would be settled.

According to Mr Burke’s Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy, businessman Dorwain Bess then contacted him about a GY$170 million dollar debt and eventually a settlement agreement was negotiated to the amount of GY$20-30 million while efforts would be made to recover monies that were paid to Mr Bess’ agent.

According to the statement, Mr Burke again denied claims that he posted content on Guyana News Network’s Facebook page and website n an effort to get money from either of the businessmen. “Mr. Burke has not discussed a social media news article about Arfaaz Mohamed, or removing same, with anyone. His only conversation about a social media post, was his initial conversation with Attorney James Bond and Ramese Mohamed about the post on his personal Facebook page, calling for BM SOAT to resolve the issues with their customers who complained to him,” the organisation said.

Already two media workers- Gary Eleazar and Alex Wayne- have been charged jointly with the same offence and are on GY$100,000 bail each.  According to the Guyana Police Force, Mr Eleazar has already linked Mr Burke to the alleged scheme through Guyana News Network’s Facebook page and website but the accused has denied any connection to that information source.  Separately, Mr Bess was charged on Thursday with the same offence and granted GY$100,000 bail. He and the two others have to return to court on November 1, 2022.

With the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)-led administration repeatedly expressing discomfort with Mr Burke’s persistent accusations on Social Media that the government is corrupt and is an anti-Afro-Guyanese pro-Indo-Guyanese ethnocracy, government officials said he is at the top of a list of persons they hope the United States will send back to Guyana to face trial for a string of offences. This is the second Guyana Police Force wanted bulletin to have been issued for Mr Burke; the first having been in December 2021 when he was cited for the excitement of hostility or ill-will on the grounds of  race in violation of the Racial Hostility Act; sedition, use of a computer system to intimidate in violation of the Cyber Crime Act; seditious libel, inciting the provocation of the breach of peace, and inciting public terror.

Under a reciprocal arrangement through extradition or a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, a number of Guyanese could be sent to the US to face trial, the sources said.