LOO did not request permission to join Parliament virtually

Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir has clarified that the United States-sanctioned Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, who is currently on remand on a criminal charge, did not seek his permission to participate virtually in Wednesday’s sitting of the National Assembly.

Nadir explained that Members of Parliament (MPs) who wish to participate in sittings remotely are required to formally request permission from the Speaker before doing so.

He said that, for Wednesday’s sitting, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira was the only MP who submitted a request to participate virtually and followed the required procedure.

Addressing members of the National Assembly on the matter of joining Parliament virtually, the Speaker said, “For persons to come online, they need to seek the permission of the Speaker. I received no such indication from any member except the Honourable Member Gail Teixeira. So people just can’t sign in online. And today we had an issue with all kinds of names signing in online unauthorisedly.”

The speaker’s clarification comes amid claims that Mohamed was prevented from joining the parliamentary proceedings remotely from Lusignan Prison, where he is currently being held on remand.

Mohamed’s sister, Hana Mohamed, claimed on Wednesday that prison officials were prepared to facilitate his virtual participation but later alleged that the government had blocked his participation in the sitting.

One local media entity reported that Mohamed’s attorneys had said a request for him to participate virtually had been denied by the Guyana Prison Service.

However, Director of Prisons Nicklon Elliott has also clarified that no such request was made to him.

Mohamed was remanded to Lusignan Prison by Magistrate Abigail Gibbs after being charged for a cybercrime case involving the unauthorised disclosure of surveillance footage from the GPF’s Safe Country surveillance system.

In that matter, Mohamed and 20-year-old Police Constable Ryan Greene were jointly charged in connection with the alleged unauthorised disclosure of electronic data relating to national security.

The prosecution alleged that Greene obtained footage of the October 12 shooting incident involving Mohamed and supplied it to him in exchange for $800,000.

Another Police rank, Constable Ashton Chappelle, was subsequently charged in connection with the alleged unauthorised disclosure of the footage and was also remanded to prison.