Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and Police Constable Ryan Greene were ordered held in prison until November 24 after a magistrate denied them bail on October 30 in a case involving the alleged unauthorized disclosure of government surveillance footage.
They appeared before Magistrate Abigail Gibbs at Sparendaam Magistrates’ Court. They were charged under Section 9 of the Cybercrime Act with allegedly giving access to or disclosing electronic data. Police allege Greene downloaded footage of an October 12 shooting outside the Georgetown home of Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, head of the police Special Branch.
Police allege Greene gave the footage to Mohamed. Investigators allege Mohamed paid Greene GY$800,000 for the recording. Mohamed later played the recording at a news conference.
Mohamed was travelling in a vehicle involved in the shooting. He and two associates face separate charges connected to the incident. They are on bail in those proceedings.
Prosecutors argued that the allegations and ongoing investigation raised concerns about possible further offences. They also raised concerns about interference with witnesses. The defence disputed the reasons for keeping the pair in custody.
It also challenged treating the footage as national-security data. Gibbs cited the nature of the allegations and Mohamed’s other legal matters in refusing bail. Defence lawyers said they would seek bail in the High Court.
The new case is due back in court on November 24.