‘Bail Cannot Wait for Extradition’: Mother of Azruddin Mohamed.

By Travis Chase | HGP Nightly News |

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA — The high-stakes legal confrontation surrounding the pretrial incarceration of Leader of the Opposition Azruddin Mohamed escalated on Wednesday, with his mother, Bonita Mohamed, filing an urgent High Court application demanding his immediate release on interim bail, while the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) moved to strike out six key sections of Mohamed’s personal affidavit on grounds of inadmissible hearsay and improper legal argumentation.

Both contentious applications are scheduled to be heard before the Demerara High Court on Thursday, November 12, 2026, setting up a direct constitutional and procedural clash over whether the political leader should remain detained at the Lusignan Prison or be granted temporary liberty pending full judicial review.

Mohamed was remanded to prison on October 30 by Magistrate Abigail Gibbs at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Court alongside 20-year-old Police Constable Ryan Greene. Both men face charges under Section 9 of the Cybercrime Act 2018 in connection with the alleged unauthorized procurement and disclosure of closed-circuit surveillance footage from the Guyana Police Force Command Centre. State prosecutors allege that Greene extracted the footage in exchange for an $800,000 cash bribe—a claim Mohamed strongly denies.

Urgent Interim Bail: Challenging the State’s Adjournment Strategy

The fresh motion filed by Bonita Mohamed, dated November 8, 2026, seeks an immediate grant of interim bail pending the final determination of substantive judicial review proceedings challenging Magistrate Gibbs’ decision to refuse bail:

• Prejudice of Continued Incarceration: Represented by Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, Siand Dhurjon, and Damien Da Silva, the defense argues that keeping Mohamed incarcerated until the substantive judicial review hearing on November 23—just 24 hours before his scheduled November 24 return to the Magistrates’ Court—causes severe and irreversible prejudice to his constitutional rights and political duties.
• Resisting AG’s Extradition Postponement: The application directly opposes a request submitted by the Attorney General to defer the bail hearing until after November 26, a maneuver the State sought by citing overlapping United States extradition proceedings involving Mohamed and his father, Nazar Mohamed. Defense counsel argues that the determination of personal liberty under the Bail Act is an urgent constitutional priority that must not be subordinated to external proceedings.
• Expedited Hearing Alternatives: In the alternative, the defense is urging the court to hear the substantive bail matter on Friday, November 13, or bring forward the entire judicial review timetable.

Stringent Bail Conditions Proposed, National Assembly Exemption Sought

To address potential prosecution objections regarding flight risk or witness interference, the defense outlined a rigorous supervisory framework under which Mohamed would be admitted to bail:

• Surrender of Travel Credentials: Immediate lodgment of all valid passports and travel documents with the High Court Registry.
• Jurisdictional Confinement: Formal undertakings and border-control alerts barring Mohamed from leaving the jurisdiction of Guyana without express judicial sanction.
• Routine Police Reporting: Mandatory scheduled reporting to designated police stations at specified intervals.
• No-Contact Injunctions: Explicit legal prohibitions restraining Mohamed from contacting prosecution witnesses or his co-accused, Constable Ryan Greene.
• Parliamentary Exemption: Should the High Court impose a nighttime curfew, the defense specifically requests a carve-out permitting the Opposition Leader to carry out his constitutional responsibilities by attending formal sittings of the National Assembly.

DPP Pushes Back: Moving to Strike Out Six Affidavit Paragraphs

Appearing on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, King’s Counsel Darshan Ramdhani and State Counsel Madana Rampersaud filed a cross-application urging the bench to strike out six distinct portions of Mohamed’s sworn affidavit dated November 4:

• Allegations of Footage Destruction: The DPP takes strong exception to Mohamed’s sworn statements alleging that government officials and senior police officers directed the systematic deletion and destruction of surveillance recordings related to the October 12 shooting outside Special Branch Head Senior Superintendent Prem Narine’s Kitty residence. The prosecution contends that Mohamed failed to state the source of this information and named individuals who are not parties to the litigation.
• Hearsay and Speculation: The State submits that the challenged paragraphs consist of speculative conjecture and inadmissible hearsay rather than direct factual matters within the personal knowledge of the deponent.
• Pleading Law as Fact: Ramdhani argued that Mohamed improperly included legal interpretations and statutory arguments regarding the elements of Section 9 of the Cybercrime Act within a factual affidavit, maintaining that such points are strictly matters for oral legal submissions by counsel.
• Defense Counter: Forde and Dhurjon maintain that the application for interim bail remains legally robust and viable even independent of the disputed paragraphs.

Scrutiny on Custodial Regimes at Lusignan Prison

The application also renews urgent calls for judicial intervention regarding Mohamed’s conditions of detention inside Lusignan Prison.

The defense reiterated claims that Mohamed is being subjected to unlawful and oppressive confinement—spending roughly 23 hours and 50 minutes daily locked in an isolated cell with inadequate air circulation and a continuous high-intensity light. While the Guyana Prison Service (GPS) has disputed claims of mistreatment, asserting that Mohamed is housed in accordance with security protocols governing high-profile detainees, the defense continues to press the court for protective orders.

The High Court is set to convene on Thursday morning to hear both applications, with the outcome determining whether the Opposition Leader remains in custody or walks out on interim bail ahead of next week’s hearings.