Defence says Mohamed held in near-solitary confinement; State disputes claims as High Court sets filing deadlines
The conditions under which Azruddin Mohamed is being held in custody took centre stage at Wednesday’s High Court hearing, as his defence team alleged he is being kept in near-solitary confinement, claims the State firmly rejected.
Defence counsel Roysdale Forde told the court Mohamed is being held in what amounts to solitary confinement for 23 hours and 50 minutes a day without proper ventilation, conditions he called “oppressive and unlawful.” Fellow defence counsel Siand Dhurjon said a bright light being shone on Mohamed amounted to “psychological abuse” and asked that he be moved.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall rejected the claims, telling the court Mohamed is being held in a high-profile prison cell, and released a photograph of the cell at Lusignan Prison to back his position. The Guyana Prison Service has also disputed the allegations. According to official logs released by authorities, Mohamed spent more than nine hours outside his cell, raised no complaints over the weekend, and received family visits, medical attention, counselling, attorney visits and phone calls.
Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif said she expects that the alleged conditions “do not exist” and, “even if they do, they will not be continued.” But she was cautious about ordering Mohamed moved into the general prison population, out of concern for his safety.
The exchange grew heated when Dhurjon said “the people in the prison would love Mr Mohamed.” Nandlall shot back: “You know how irrational, immature, and reckless such a statement is.”
The hearing, held on Wednesday, November 4, was on an application filed by Mohamed’s mother, Bonita Mohamed, seeking a judicial review of the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Court decision refusing him bail. The application names the Director of Public Prosecutions, Magistrate Abigail Gibbs and the Attorney General as respondents. Justice Chandra-Hanif identified deficiencies in the application and gave the defence time to fix them.
Nandlall also challenged the supporting affidavit, which he said runs to 136 paragraphs over more than 50 pages, arguing that it contained inadmissible hearsay and material that was “scandalous” and “vexatious.” “This is one of the worst drafted affidavits I have ever seen,” Nandlall told the court. He asked that roughly 33 paragraphs be struck out, and argued that the State had been given only about 24 hours’ notice to respond to serious allegations against the police, prison service and the magistrate. “Justice must not be rushed, justice rushed is justice crushed, so the State will not be rushed,” he said.
The State has until Friday, November 6, to file its objections, and the defence must respond by November 8. The bail matter resumes on November 12, with a ruling expected the following day.
Mohamed and 20-year-old Police Constable Ryan Greene were remanded on October 30 after being charged under Section 9(2)(b) of the Cybercrime Act. The charge relates to allegations that they obtained Safe City CCTV footage of an October 12 shooting in exchange for $800,000. If convicted on indictment, they face a fine of up to GYD$8 million and five years in prison.
The footage relates to the October 12 shooting at a car carrying Mohamed, his driver and a staff member, allegedly by Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, head of the police Special Branch. The video was shown at a news conference last month, triggering a police probe.
Narine is a key witness in the United States’ request to extradite Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed. Mohamed is on bail in the extradition case, as well as in a separate case in which he is accused of firearm and ammunition possession and of attempting to obstruct the course of justice. If bail is refused in the High Court matter, Mohamed remains on remand until November 24.
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