– adds extradition case “bordering on a circus” amid delays

FOLLOWING Wednesday’s extradition hearing for businessmen Nazar Mohamed and his son Azruddin Mohamed, prosecuting attorney Glenn Hanoman spoke candidly about what he described as a pattern of delays and procedural manoeuvring by the defence.
Hanoman highlighted the role of diplomatic notes exchanged between Guyana and the United States. He explained that one note from the Guyana government requested assurances “as a precaution” that the Mohameds would not be re-extradited to a third country or for other offences without ministerial consent.
The United States responded with an assurance, “even though they didn’t recognise anything amiss with the laws on this issue, just as a precaution in this particular case, they were given an assurance for the Mohameds that they were not going to be extradited to a third country or for any other offence.”
“These diplomatic notes were clearly an attempt by the government of Guyana to “protect” the Mohameds from re-extradition,” Hanoman said. “So, it’s hard to imagine that this is a document that the defence or the Mohameds can have any complaints about.”
Hanoman then turned to the conduct of the defence, asserting that the Mohameds’ legal team has repeatedly sought delays.
“Every single manoeuvre that they make is to effect this purpose [delays]. They have filed applications for stays in the High Court, in the Court of Appeal, and all of those courts have found that there are no grounds for these proceedings to be stayed,” he said.
He recounted the confusion surrounding court dates, including a claim that Thursday was a Muslim holiday, conflicting information about Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde’s Friday appearances in the Court of Appeal, and the absence of two of the Mohameds lawyers on Wednesday. The attorneys are Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva.
Attorney Dhurjon is appearing for the elder Mohamed, while Forde represents his son.
“We had originally fixed Thursday, meaning tomorrow, for the continuation. And Mr. Forde had long ago indicated that he had certain appearances in the Court of Appeal on Friday. So, we had already decided that on Friday, we will not have court.
Hanoman said that Forde submitted documents on Wednesday admitting he made a mistake, clarifying that his court appearance was actually scheduled for Thursday, not Friday.
He said that on Tuesday, Azruddin, through his attorney, had indicated their belief that Thursday would be observed as a Muslim holiday and that they should therefore be excused from attending court. However, Hanoman noted that he had clarified that his information indicated the holiday would instead be observed on Friday.
“The two lawyers [Siand Dhurjon and Damien Da Silva] did not show up today. I understand that a letter was sent to the court. That courtesy was not extended to us [the prosecution],” the prosecutor added.
“Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde was specifically instructed that he is not allowed to hold the matter for his colleagues. And Mr. Nazar Mohamed said he didn’t understand what was happening. “It is highly unusual for a senior counsel—a man who has always represented the team—to now say he is not in a position to hold the matter,” Hanoman noted.
Reflecting on the overall situation, the prosecutor said: “All of that proves, in my view, that all sorts of shenanigans are going to go on to try to achieve delays. I expect that various persons will fall ill on the defence side, whether the lawyers or fugitive offenders.”
He added that while the court has given the defence latitude, the irrelevant questioning has no bearing on the substantive issues before the court.
Hanoman stated: “The court is giving the defence a lot of latitude and that is the court’s right…We’re now bordering on the verge of this thing becoming a circus,” he said, pointing out that the defence attorneys are asking a series of irrelevant questions.