Service of summons to New York-based political activist lawful

Last Updated on Wednesday, 3 January 2024, 15:11 by Denis Chabrol

Attorney General Anil Nandlall on Tuesday defended the State’s decision to serve a summons to New York-based anti-government activist, Rickford Burke to attend a Guyana court for two indictable extortion charges.

“None of the arguments that I have seen has pointed to a provision in the law that prohibits the service of this document overseas,” he said on his weekly Facebook commentary on topical issues.

Indictable charges require accused persons to face a preliminary inquiry to determine if there is sufficient evidence for a High Court trial by a judge and jury.

Mr Nandlall has not yet commented on whether Guyana Police Force Assistant Superintendent, Rodwell Sarabo could have exercised police functions in the United States to participate in the service of the summons.

On Tuesday, the Attorney General relied on Mr Sarabo as a witness to an American Process Server serving the summons to Mr Burke at his Maple Street, Brooklyn, New York residence. “That is why a police officer was present and a Process Server of legal documents in New York was present so that the Guyanese police officer doesn’t have jurisdiction over there, he has witnessed the service by an authorised Process Server and he will appear before the magistrate and say how service was effected and he was part of the servicing of the document as well,” the Attorney General said.

Police said Mr Burke was summoned to appear at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court on March 28, 2024 in connection with two charges for conspiracy to commit a felony, with regards to the publication of defamatory libel in order to extort money from businessman Afras Mohammed.

The Attorney General relied on Section 48 (a) and (b) of the Criminal Law Procedure Act , which deals with enforcing appearance of accused person, and states that a magistrate may issue a summons or warrant to compel the appearance of an accused person before him for the purpose of preliminary inquiry into an indictable offence anywhere in Guyana or “wherever he may be, is accused of having committed an indictable offence within those limits, or on any journey during any part of which he has passed through them.”

He reasoned that if the Guyana court has jurisdiction to try someone for an offence, it followed that “wherever the defendant is the Guyana court must necessarily have that power to bring that defendant before it.”

Guyana’s Criminal Law (Procedure) Act, dealing with summons to accused persons, states that “the summons shall be served by a police or other constable upon the accused person, either by delivering it to him personally, or, if he cannot, with the exercise of reasonable diligence, be encountered, by leaving it with some person for him at his last or most usual place of abode.”  In proving service of any summons, notice, order or other process, that law also provides for a form to be accepted as evidence in all courts.

The Attorney General said none of those, who have been criticising service of the summons Mr Burke, has been applying the correct law. “None of them points to an expressed provision in the law that prohibits the service of this summons outside of Guyana,” he said.

He vowed that if the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) rules that existing laws could not be used to serve documents on persons overseas who are required to face Guyana’s courts, government would amend the law. “Trust me, if it is ruled that the Guyana courts doesn’t have jurisdiction, then I will amend the law to give the court jurisdiction to bring before the court persons who have committed offences against the laws of this country,” he said.

According to Mr Nandlall, Mr Burke was served to inform him that there are court proceedings against him and challenged him “to come and defend” himself if he has not committed any offence. “He stood up and it was read to him. Everything is on tape,” he said.

Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton and Shadow Attorney General, Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde in recent days have accused the Guyana government of attempting to suppress freedom of expression by going after persons in Guyana and overseas who criticise the administration.

On the 3rd December 2021, the Guyana Police Force issued a Wanted bulletin for Mr Burke in relation to the offences of excitement of hostility or ill-will on the grounds of Race, under the Racial Hostility Act; sedition under the Cyber Crime Act; use of a computer system to coerce and intimidate a person, under the Cyber Crime Act; seditious libel contrary to common law; seditious libel under the peace under the Summary Jurisdiction Offences Act, and inciting public terror under the Criminal Law Offences Act.