GEORGETOWN - The People's National Congress Reform (PNCR) has condemned the torture of a 15-year-old boy and demanded an immediate response from Commissioner of Police Henry Greene on the case.

The opposition party in its statement said: "The PNCR condemns the most recent reported acts of torture by ranks of the Guyana Police Force on a [15-year-old] while in their custody a few days ago.

The shocking photographs published in the Kaieteur News Saturday provide evidence of the reprehensible conduct of the ranks, allegedly from the Leonora police station, and require an immediate response from the Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene."

No justification, the PNCR said yesterday, could be offered for such "brutal acts".

This brutal act, according to the opposition party, during which the police allegedly set alight the youth's genital area after soaking it with methylated spirits, "only confirms that the culture of the force permits such behaviour".

Condemning this act, the PNCR said the state of mind of the accused police ranks "needs investigation and the incident suggests the need for serious psychological evaluation of members of the GPF [Guyana Police Force]".

In an earlier statement the PNCR said the adminstration which is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture, "seems comfortable with the state of affairs in Guyana".

The refusal of the Jagdeo Administration, the PNCR said, to take condign action whenever such cases were reported had conveyed the impression to the security forces that such behaviour was acceptable.

(Stabroek News)