By Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News |
GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman has firmly shut down an attempt by defense counsel to introduce a controversial Guyana Police Force (GPF) press release into the ongoing extradition committal proceedings against businessmen Azruddin Mohamed and Nazar Mohamed.
The defense team had accused police corporate communications of deliberately mischaracterizing and sanitizing the sworn testimony of Head of Special Branch, Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, while the senior officer remained actively under cross-examination. Defense attorney Siand Dhurjon went as far as characterizing the public release as an extrajudicial attempt to pervert the course of justice.
However, Chief Magistrate Latchman refused to entertain or inspect the document, reaffirming that the court remains insulated from external media narratives and will rule exclusively on sworn testimony and physical exhibits properly tendered inside the courtroom.
“I don’t want to see it,” Chief Magistrate Latchman ruled from the bench on Monday, cutting short the defense’s application.
The Destroyed Notes: ‘Condemned Furnace’ vs. ‘Official Incinerator’
The dispute stems directly from explosive admissions made by Senior Superintendent Prem Narine regarding the destruction of his contemporaneous working notes following the arrest of the Mohameds.
- The Sworn Testimony: Under cross-examination, Narine testified that he shredded his personal handwritten operational notes and subsequently burned the remnants in an open area adjacent to a “condemned furnace” located at Special Branch headquarters.
- The GPF Public Rebuttal: Following widespread media coverage of Narine’s admissions, the Guyana Police Force issued a formal public release. The Force claimed Narine had testified that the documents were disposed of within an “official incinerator” at Special Branch in strict compliance with standard operating procedures.
- Institutional Preservations: The GPF release further maintained that no material evidence relevant to the United States extradition request had been compromised or destroyed, asserting that all formal, admissible records were preserved and tendered into the court record.
- The Defense Challenge: Dhurjon fiercely contested the state’s framing, submitting that the GPF’s statement was an improper post-hoc institutional attempt to alter and justify the testimony of a prosecution witness while he remained in the witness box.
Strict Evidentiary Standards Upheld
Despite Dhurjon’s vigorous arguments that the police hierarchy had committed an actionable contempt of court by attempting to influence the evidentiary record, Chief Magistrate Latchman maintained an unwavering stance on judicial insulation:
- Media Insulation: The Chief Magistrate explained that she deliberately avoids engaging with external press, broadcast commentaries, and social media commentary concerning active trials to preserve complete impartiality.
- Admissibility Barrier: The court ruled that extrajudicial disputes between defense attorneys and police public relations units regarding press releases have no bearing on the committal proceedings unless properly formulated and admitted under statutory rules of evidence.
- Status of Proceedings: The extradition committal hearing continues before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, with Senior Superintendent Narine scheduled to face further cross-examination from defense counsel regarding the handling of investigative files, cross-border evidence sharing, and communications with foreign law enforcement personnel.
