GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Guyana police Wednesday said they had served a summons on the US-based Guyanese political activist, Rickford Burke, President of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), to attend Court in March 2024 on charges related to extortion, sedition and inciting public terror.
“On December 16, 2023, ASP Rodwell Sarrabo met with Mark Wasserman, a Process Server based in the United States of America, and they served both defendants summons on Rickford Burke at his home address at Maple Street, Brooklyn, New York. Both defendant summons were read to Rickford Burke, and he said he understood,” the police said in a statement.
According to the statement, Burke, a former advisor to the late Guyana president Desmond Hoyte, is wanted on several offenses, including “the 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. As well as seditious libel contrary to common law”.
The statement said he is also wanted on “seditious libel under the peace under the Summary Jurisdiction Offences Act and inciting public terror under the Criminal Law Offences Act.”
The statement said that on September 29, 2022, the Guyana Police Force again issued a “Wanted Bulletin for Rickford Burke about the offense of Conspiracy to Commit a Felony, Contrary to Section 33 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act…with regards to the publication of a defamatory libel to extort money from Afras Mohammed”.
It said that on August 18, 2023, two charges were filed at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court against Burke about the offenses. It said Burke did not show up in Court.
“As such, the Magistrate ordered that the ‘defendant summons’ be prepared and served on Rickford Burke to attend the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court on March 28, 2024. As such, under the order of the Court, two (2) defendant summons were subsequently prepared. On December 13, 2023, an Officer of the Guyana Police Force, ASP Rodwell Sarabo, left Guyana and traveled to the United States of America with both defendants summons in his possession.”
The statement said that Sarabo subsequently met with Wesserman, a US-based process server, and they served both defendants’ summons on Burke at his home address.
“The Guyana Police Force wishes to make it known that a similar course of action will be adopted against persons outside of the jurisdiction and engage in criminal conduct<‘ the statement said.
and then 