Court dismisses defamation case against Guyana Times filed by Charles Ceres

…editor, publisher awarded $1M in costs

The High Court has dismissed a defamation claim against the editor and publisher of Guyana Times, which was filed by engineer Charles Ceres over statements made by People’s Progressive Party General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice Fidela Corbin-Lincoln ruled that Guyana Times editor Tusika Martin and publisher Guyana Times Inc successfully established the defence of statutory qualified privilege in relation to an article reporting on allegations made by Jagdeo concerning the allocation of state lands.

The court found that the publication constituted a fair and accurate report of a public meeting within the meaning of Section 14 of the Defamation Act. The judge held that there was no evidence of malice and no evidence that Ceres had requested the publication of a statement or correction that was subsequently refused.

As a result, the claim against Martin and Guyana Times Inc was dismissed, and Ceres was ordered to pay the newspaper defendants $1 million in costs.
Guyana Times was represented by attorneys-at-law Devindra Kissoon, Natasha Vieira and Abhimanyu Dev.

The case stemmed from statements made by Jagdeo at a June 27, 2019 press conference in which he alleged that large tracts of state lands had been distributed to persons connected to the then APNU+AFC administration following the December 2018 no-confidence motion.

During the press conference, Jagdeo named Ceres, the former husband of a Department of Environment employee, and alleged that he had received more than 1,200 acres of land in Canje Creek, 112 acres at Bohemia and other parcels of land in strategic locations.

Ceres subsequently filed a defamation claim against Jagdeo, Kaieteur News editor Adam Harris, National Media and Publishing Company Ltd, Martin and Guyana Times Inc, contending that the statements suggested he had acquired state lands through corrupt and improper means.

In examining the claim against Jagdeo, the court found that the statements conveyed the meaning that Ceres had conspired with others to acquire state lands through corrupt, illegal or improper conduct.

Jagdeo was ordered to pay Ceres $15 million in damages for defamation along with prescribed costs of $2.15 million.

The claim against Kaieteur News and its publisher was also dismissed.