The opposition Alliance for Change (AFC) is urging all members of the Nationwide Meeting to repeal Guyana’s blasphemous libel legislation, calling it “archaic and incompatible” with each the nation’s Structure and worldwide human rights obligations.
Guyana’s blasphemous libel legislation, a colonial-era statute, criminalizes the publication of fabric deemed offensive to spiritual beliefs or sacred figures, with penalties of as much as one yr in jail.
“This colonial-era legislation stands in direct contradiction to Article 146 of the Structure, worldwide human rights obligations, together with Guyana’s commitments below the Worldwide Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Guyana is a State Celebration,” the AFC mentioned in a press release on Monday.
The get together’s name comes as Lawyer-at-Legislation Dexter Todd was anticipated to use to the Excessive Courtroom for bail on behalf of Mr. David “Child Skello” Wharton, who was remanded final Friday after being charged with blasphemous libel. The cost stems from a tune he recorded and shared on social media that referenced a Hindu deity. Wharton has since publicly apologized and eliminated the tune from his platforms. If convicted, he faces as much as one yr in jail.
The AFC emphasised that the Structure and the ICCPR assure the proper to freedom of expression, together with the proper to “search, obtain and impart data and concepts of every kind, no matter frontiers.”
“Blasphemous libel legal guidelines, by their very nature, criminalize expressions of spiritual critique or dissent and pose a chilling impact on free speech and open discourse in a democratic society,” the AFC mentioned.
Citing the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s Normal Remark No. 34, the get together famous that blasphemy legal guidelines are thought-about incompatible with the Covenant, “besides in very slender circumstances resembling direct incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.”
“Consistent with these rules and in keeping with world human rights traits,” the AFC added, “we urge all members of the Nationwide Meeting to behave swiftly to repeal all laws criminalizing blasphemy or non secular insult, together with blasphemous libel; affirm the primacy of freedom of expression in a pluralistic democracy, and make sure that any limitations on speech meet the strict exams of legality, necessity, and proportionality below worldwide legislation.”
The AFC highlighted that a number of nations within the Commonwealth—amongst them the UK, Canada, and Eire—have already scrapped blasphemy legal guidelines, acknowledging their incompatibility with fashionable democratic norms.
“It is a second for principled management. We name on all members of the Nationwide Meeting, civil society, and religion communities to face united in defending the rights of all Guyanese to talk freely, query authority, and have interaction in strong dialogue with out worry of persecution.”
Though President Irfaan Ali has set September 1, 2025, because the date for normal elections, Parliament has not but been dissolved. Nomination Day is scheduled for July 14.
