A resident of Lethem, Region 9, Guyana, South America has alleged that a gang of GDF soldiers stationed at Camp Base Kanuku in Lethem has brutally beaten her brother leaving him severely wounded and receiving treatment at the Lethem Regional Hospital.
The young woman said via a Facebook post that the soldiers are regularly “beating up” residents in Lethem with no consequence, adding that the worst that happens is that they get transferred to another location, and questioned if that is any sort of justice. But the young woman, having posted the photos of her badly wounded brother on Facebook, vowed to get justice for her brother.
According to the woman, the GDF soldiers, after having beaten the young man, claimed that they mistook him for someone else. She further said that a police woman tried to diffuse the situation and protect the victim, but that the gang of soldiers took away the police woman’s phone and stood her down.
The young woman lamented that it was a whole gang of GDF soldiers against his brother alone, and thus the victim did not get a chance to defend himself. She questioned what would have been the consequences if her brother had died from the attack. What would they have said to the man’s parents?
GDF soldiers unlawfully beating citizens is not uncommon in Lethem, but it is seldomly reported. The young woman said that a gang of GDF soldiers had beaten another guy up only two weeks ago.
In 2016, a former LT was badly beaten at a nightclub by a gang of GDF soldiers although the motive for the attack was never established nor were any charges laid. GDF soldiers in Region 9 were also accused of rape of young indigenous women on several occasions.
Several other residents of Lethem confirmed tonight’s incident, stating that they were at the night club in peace and having a good time when the gang of GDF soldiers arrived and started to disturb the peace.
Team Guyana, South America wishes to advise all service members of the Guyana Defense Force that they are being paid by the tax dollars of every Guyanese to protect and serve the Guyanese people. In this context, the members of the Guyana Defense Force are servants of the general Guyanese public. And it is totally unacceptable for servants to beat their masters.
We’d like to call for a thorough probe of this incident and for those GDF officers in contravention to face the full force of the law.
