Nov 4, 2026
3 min read
A High Court challenge to the refusal of bail for Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed faces further delay after the State contested the main evidence supporting it.
Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall, SC, asked the Demerara High Court on Wednesday to strike out a 100-paragraph affidavit sworn by Mohamed's mother, Bonita Mohamed, or to remove the paragraphs he considers inadmissible. The matter was before Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif.
Nandlall said the affidavit contains hearsay, opinion and information outside the deponent's personal knowledge, including claims about conditions at Lusignan Prison, which she has never visited. He called it "one of the worst affidavits I've ever read" and said only about six paragraphs were proper. He also described parts of it as scandalous and vexatious.
He said the court must decide which parts can stand before he can respond to the substantive application, adding that little or no case would remain if his request succeeded.
Defence attorney Siand Dhurjon described the objections as "whimsical" and accused Nandlall of prolonging the matter and keeping Mohamed in custody. He said the Government should be addressing whether Mohamed should be granted bail, and characterised the offence for which he was remanded as non-serious under the relevant legislation.
Defence attorney Roysdale Forde disputed that the affidavit was hearsay. He said the defence would submit an affidavit from Mohamed himself by 6pm on Wednesday if the court accepted the objections.
The defence also raised concerns about Mohamed's detention, saying he is held in solitary confinement in inhumane and oppressive conditions, including a bright light that allegedly stays on in his cell around the clock. The defence said Mohamed told his lawyers about the conditions, and he challenged the Prison Service to allow the media to inspect the facility.
Justice Chandra-Hanif said that if such conditions exist, Mohamed should not be kept in oppressive conditions. Forde acknowledged the court could not make a finding on the allegations at this stage.
Nandlall rejected the claims, saying prison authorities had repeatedly denied that Mohamed was in solitary confinement, as set out in three press releases. He said the three people Mohamed named as visitors were allowed access, meals were being delivered, and his lawyers had visited, including for about two hours on Sunday. He asked why the defence had not filed a separate constitutional application if it believed Mohamed's rights were being breached.
He said the Prison Service had provided photographs of the cell, which he will include in an affidavit, and noted that the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules set minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners. The court has not determined the competing accounts.
The defence explained that the proceedings are a judicial review of the magistrate's decision to refuse bail, not a fresh application. The Bail Act 2022 provides two routes, an appeal to the Full Court under section 17 and judicial review under section 20, and the defence chose the latter as more targeted and efficient.
Nandlall said he expects to file his defence around November 17, and the Director of Public Prosecutions must also file one. Justice Chandra-Hanif set strict timelines for supplemental filings and adjourned the matter to November 23.
Mohamed is jointly charged with Police Constable Ryan Greene over allegations that they obtained CCTV footage from the Government's Safe City Initiative in exchange for $800,000.
