GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mar 14, CMC – The opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) Friday said it is concerned that the detention of social media activist, Melissa ‘Melly Mel’ Atwell in the Unted States by that country’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, will have a serious impact on national efforts to expose corruption and unlawful conduct in Guyana.
Atwell is currently in a detention facility in Louisiana and is being questioned by US authorities in New York. It is unclear why she has been detained or whether she is facing any charges..
In a statement, the AFC, a partner in the coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), said that like most Guyanese, “we have serious reservations on whether Ms. Atwell would get anything like a fair trial if she was ever to return to Guyana”.
It said that Atwell “is viewed by the present regime as an enemy of the State” and that her current circumstances may not be unconnected to efforts by the present administration to have her humiliated and brought to Guyana as a message to other critics of the present regime.
The AFC said that Atwell, has been using her social media posts, “often corroborated with evidence” to show how the ruling party was “siphoning off money to their friends, families and favourites.
“Melly Mel’s activism on social media for a better Guyana made her a target for the PPP (People’s Progressive Party) despots. However, despite all their threats and attacks she continued to bravely expose the PPP’s corruption, discrimination and negligence, placing her high up on the PPP list of persons targeted for victimisation and suppression.”
The AFC said that instead of bringing evidence to debunk Atwell’s claims, the PPP sought to silence her by making spurious accusations against her.
“It was a relentless attack oftentimes utilising resources of the state funded by taxpayers to silence a Guyanese woman using her own resources to fight for a better Guyana. The battle for independent thought and legitimate resistance must be defended and protected.
“If we fail to identify the sinister actions which are designed to ultimately silence all of us in our struggle for a better Guyana, we will ultimately be without our brothers and sisters in our collective struggle for a fairer and better Guyana.”
The AFc said that it will pay keen attention to the developments in relation to Atwell and is prepared to “sound the bell and stop efforts which are designed to silence all critics of the present regime.
“The PPP is well advised that no amount of intimidation will silence the thousands prepared to continue the fight through the ballot,” the AFC added.
Last September, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo refuted allegations that a recent police raid on the home of the parents of Atwell, had been undertaken at the urging of the government.
“I am sure that there was no plot by the government or anybody in the government to plant marijuana on this social media influencer. Because, although she may be critical of us, she has a right as a Guyanese citizen. We defend people’s rights all the time,” Jagdeo told a news conference.
Lawyers representing Atwell and her mother and grandmother, say the police carried out an “unconstitutional search” of the residence in Huyana in retaliation for her criticism of the government.
According to the lawyers, no body cameras were being worn by the police conducting the search, nor was the search video-recorded, despite the capability of the Guyana Police Force to have done so.
CMC//gt/ir/2025