Guyana: High Court allows Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed to file own affidavit in bail application

Guyana: High Court Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif has allowed Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed to file an affidavit in his own name in support of his bail application following the cybercrime charge.

On Wednesday, November 4, Mohamed, represented by his lawyers, Siand Dhurjon and Roysdale Forde, was allowed by Justice Chandra-Hanif to file an affidavit in relation to any issues that may arise from the affidavit filed by his mother Bonita Mohamed.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall questioned why Mohamed had not filed one himself in the first place. The judge noted that Dhurjon had raised concerns about access to his client.

Defence lawyers were given access to Mohamed between 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm, with the affidavit due by 6:00 pm.

The AG was given until Friday, November 6, to file objections, with the defence to respond by Sunday, November 8. The court will also decide whether parts of Bonita Mohamed’s affidavit should be removed, leaving only what is strictly necessary.

Nandlall said about 33 of its 50 paragraphs should be struck out as scandalous, vexatious or outside her personal knowledge.

The defence chose judicial review under Section 20 of the 2022 Bail Act, arguing that the charge is classified by statute as a non-serious offence.

The application also claims the length of the remand exceeds the limit under the Criminal Law Procedure (Paper Committals) Act 2024, and argues that the charge was improperly framed because the prosecution named Mohamed as the recipient of the footage, not the person who obtained it from a protected computer system.

Mohamed and 20-year-old Police Constable Ryan Greene were remanded on October 30 until November 24. They are charged under Section 9(2)(b) of the Cybercrime Act, which covers obtaining electronic data relating to national security or protected from unauthorised access and giving it to another person. On indictment, the penalty is five years in prison and an $8 million fine.

The charge stems from Greene’s alleged downloading of video of an October 12 shooting involving the vehicle in which Mohamed was travelling. Mohamed played the video of more than 20 minutes at a news conference last month, which led to a police probe.

Mohamed is on bail on separate charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition and attempting to obstruct the course of justice, over the alleged discharge of a loaded firearm near the residence of Senior Superintendent Prem Narine. Narine is a key witness in the US request to extradite Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed.

The bail matter returns to court on November 12 as further investigations remain ongoing.