Extradition hearing for Mohameds adjourned after court closes disclosure

The Mohameds at court this morning

The extradition proceedings involving United States-indicted businessmen Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin Mohamed, were adjourned on Thursday to February 5 and 6 after a magistrate ruled that the prosecution would not be permitted to make any further disclosures in the case.

Principal Magistrate Judy Latchman, who is presiding over the committal hearing at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, ordered that disclosure is now closed, cautioning prosecutors that the proceedings are “not a game of chess”. The ruling followed objections from defence counsel after the prosecution attempted to introduce a statement from Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd, which had been emailed to defence attorneys the previous day.

The Mohameds are contesting their extradition to the United States, where they face charges in a Florida court for alleged serious financial crimes, including money laundering.
Earlier this week, before the first witness testified, Magistrate Latchman rejected a separate defence attempt to delay the proceedings. On Tuesday, defence attorneys urged the court to adjourn the hearing, citing several pending legal challenges, including a constitutional motion, a judicial review application, and a notice of appeal filed with the Full Court.

Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, appearing with attorneys Siand Dhurjon and Damien DaSilva, argued that the committal hearing should not proceed until the High Court had ruled on the constitutional and judicial review matters. The defence maintained that unresolved constitutional issues went to the heart of the extradition process and warranted a pause in the magistrate’s court.
The defence also relied on a decision delivered on Monday by acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh, who refused to grant a stay of the extradition proceedings. In that ruling, Justice Singh held that while the Mohameds are entitled to pursue constitutional relief, they had not met the high legal threshold required for interim orders halting the extradition process.

He noted that the filing of constitutional proceedings does not automatically suspend statutory extradition proceedings, stressing that stays in such matters are “exceptional, not routine”. The acting Chief Justice is scheduled to hear arguments on the substantive constitutional challenge next Wednesday.
Dhurjon told the court that the defence had sought to stop the proceedings through multiple avenues, including an appeal to the Full Court against Justice Singh’s ruling and a separate judicial review application, both aimed at preventing the committal hearing from continuing.

In response, Jamaican attorney and prosecutor Herbert McKenzie argued that the mere filing of an appeal does not result in an automatic stay. Citing authorities from the Caribbean Court of Justice, Guyana’s final appellate court, McKenzie submitted that no higher court had issued an order staying the proceedings and that the magistrate was therefore obliged to allow the hearing to continue.
After considering the submissions, Magistrate Latchman refused the defence’s request for an adjournment. “There is no stay granted in this matter,” she said, instructing the prosecution to proceed. “Prosecutor, call your first witness.”

Before testimony began, the prosecution outlined the local statutory equivalents of the offences for which the Mohameds are charged in the United States. Lead prosecutor, Jamaican King’s Counsel Terrence Williams, detailed the alleged conduct underlying the extradition request, and several diplomatic and extradition-related documents were tendered and admitted into evidence, formally commencing the committal hearing on Tuesday.

The prosecution’s first witness was Sharon Roopchand-Edwards, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. She testified about her role in handling documents received from the United States Embassy in Guyana in connection with the extradition request.
Roopchand-Edwards told the court that she oversees financial, operational and technical matters at the ministry, including issues related to Guyana’s foreign missions, and that the ministry is headed by Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd.

Under examination by McKenzie, the witness confirmed that on October 30, 2025, she received an envelope from the United States Embassy containing a bundle of documents. She said these included diplomatic note number 417, which formally requested the extradition of Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed.