Social Media activist Atwell, parents threaten legal action for unconstitutional search of residence

Last Updated on Sunday, 22 September 2024, 17:37 by Writer

Social media activist Melissa “Melly Mel” Atwell and her mother and grandmother, through a battery of lawyers, have threatened legal action against the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for what they say was an unconstitutional search of their residence earlier this week in retaliation for her criticism of the government.

“Our clients have instructed us to request from you, as we hereby do, the factual and legal basis upon which your ranks purported to search our clients’ residence and their persons, in written form, inclusive of any documentary sources that informed your actions,” said the lawyers Roysdale Forde, Nigel Hughes, Joseph Harmon, Eusi Anderson, Dr. Dexter Todd, Narissa Leander, Iyanna Butts, and Darren Wade.

Their lawyers said that Tuesday, September 17, 2024 police searched the 86 BB Eccles, East Bank Demerara residence of Debbie Tyson, Ms. Josephine Tyson. Police said the home of 56-year-old Debbie Atwell was searched and during that exercise they saw a black plastic bag, with a Ziploc bag containing 27 grammes in marijuana in a nearby alleyway.

Police said in their statement that a gazetted officer led a team of police to execute a search warrant.

The Tysons and Ms Atwell’s lawyers said in light of that matter they expect a response stating a justification for the search within 48 hours of receiving the letter dated September 19, 2024 or legal action would be taken. ” Failure to respond within this timeframe will result in the institution of legal proceedings against the State of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana,” he lawyers said.

Saying that Ms Atwell is a well-known human rights activist who has been using her social media platform to advocate against widespread cases of alleged corruption within the Government of Guyana and the GPF, the lawyers said they have informed their clients that these actions constitute trespass and a violation of their clients’ constitutional right against arbitrary search and entry, as afforded to every Guyanese under Article 143 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

“We are instructed that the unlawful actions of the Guyana Police Force constitute an attempt to harass, bully, and intimidate Ms. Atwell into remaining silent in relation to her criticisms of the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Police Force,” the lawyers said.

The Tysons and Ms Atwell, according to the letter, informed their counsel that during the “unlawful search, conducted themselves in a manner amounting to a violation of Article 141 of the Constitution”, which provides protection against inhuman or degrading treatment.

The Tysons and Ms Atwell, according to the letter from their counsel, observed no body cameras being worn by the ranks conducting the search, nor was the search video-recorded, despite the capability of the GPF to have done so.