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Opposition MP released on self-bail for cybercrime charge
Kaieteur News – A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson, was yesterday placed on self-bail when she appeared before a City Magistrate to answer to a cybercrime charge.
Opposition Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson
The Opposition MP appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Senior Magistrate, Leron Daly, in the company of her lawyer, Lyndon Amsterdam.
Ferguson denied the charge, which alleges that on June 15, 2021, she used a computer system to transmit data with intent to cause substantial emotional distress to a senior officer of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Colonel Omar Khan.
In Amsterdam’s address to the court, he stated that his client is a public figure and then made an application for Ferguson to be released on self-bail. The lawyer also told the court that his client would attend all court hearings if placed on bail.
As such, Senior Magistrate Daly placed Ferguson on her own recognisance and the matter was adjourned to July 26, 2021.
According to reports, the Opposition MP is charged for falsely alleging in a Facebook post that Khan will be in charge of a ‘killing squad.’
Kaieteur News understands that Ferguson’s post, which refers to the “setting up of Death Squad and Black Clothes groups”, stemmed from discussions had during the considerations of Financial Paper 2/2021 during the parliamentary session on June 14, 2021.
During the debate, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, told the House that the concept of the Regional Joint Support Teams is a new crime-fighting initiative formulated in April 2021, and that the supplementary provision for the period ending December 2021 is to “set up” the initiative.
The Government MP had explained that the Regional Joint Support Teams will not denigrate or usurp the functions of the GDF or the GPF, but is intended to enhance the capacity of the law enforcement agencies in Guyana to fight crime, regardless of the type of crime, with the support of the GDF.
However, following that parliamentary session, an online news agency published a story headlined, “Exclusive: PPP secures $250 million budget to resuscitation Black Clothes Death Squad.” The Opposition MP subsequently shared the article with her own commentary. Both the Joint Services Coordinating Council (JSCC) and the Ministry of Home Affairs had condemned the Opposition MP’s post and cautioned citizens against the “reckless and irresponsible social commentary.”
Additionally, the Opposition MP is also before the court facing a joint procession charge.
In May 2021, Ferguson along with Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones and four coalition supporters were charged for illegal procession during 2020 elections.
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