Opposition leader, constable remanded on cybercrime charges

Oct 31, 2026 News

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…lawyers to move to high court for bail 

(Kaieteur News) – Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and 20-year-old Police Constable Ryan Greenee were remanded to prison on Friday, October 30, 2026, after appearing at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court. The two men were jointly charged with the unauthorised giving of electronic data, contrary to the Cybercrime Act No. 16 of 2018.

The charges stem from an investigation into an alleged offense committed on Saturday, October 24, 2026. Greene was arrested on Monday, October 26, 2026, while Mohamed was taken into custody two days later on Wednesday, October 28, 2026.

Appearing before Her Worship Magistrate Abigail Gibbs, the prosecution was represented by attorneys Darshan Ramdhani, KC. Mohamed, 39, a resident of Houston, Greater Georgetown, was defended by a legal team including Nigel Hughes, Roysdale Forde, and Siand Dhurjon and Damien De Silva. Greene, a resident of Guyhoc Park, Georgetown, was represented by attorneys Dexter Todd, Darren Wade.

Following arguments, Magistrate Gibbs refused bail applications from the defense, ordering both accused remanded to prison. The matter was adjourned to November 24, 2026.

Outside the courtroom, defense attorneys strongly condemned the magistrate’s decision and the handling of the proceedings, noting that members of the media were initially barred from entering the courtroom, though family members were permitted.

Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde announced immediate plans to challenge the ruling, stating, “We are immediately making applications to the High Court for the bail of Mr. Azruddin Mohammed. If it is refused, we will be going to the Court of Appeal. If it is refused there, we will be going to the CCJ. There is absolutely no basis for the refusal of bail for Mr. Azruddin Mohammed. The reason advanced by the magistrate inherently ought to permit the grant of bail.”

Forde argued that the rationale provided by the magistrate, that Mohamed was on bail and accused of committing other offenses, was a product of executive overreach. “It is a sort of chicken and egg situation. I control the police force, I control the institution of charges, and therefore I can charge you again and again and again and therefore ultimately, by a matter of pure logic and consequence, I have committed a number of offenses while on bail at the hands of the very state and the executive who wants to extradite me, who would have initiated, counseled, and procured a very extradition proceeding,” Forde said.

Forde also challenged the legal sufficiency of the charge itself under Section 9 of the Cybercrime Act, calling it “flawed, it is ridiculous, it is preposterous.” He maintained, “A simple reading, a primary school student, a common entrance student would be able to read that section and understand what are the elements of the offense. It requires you to obtain something, in this case data, and it requires you to give it to someone. The prosecution’s case has failed to demonstrate the elements of the offense…”

Attorney Darren Wade, representing Constable Greene, similarly blasted the state’s actions, comparing his client’s plight to historical figures. “In particular, Mr. Greene, I would like, especially the relatives and the friends of Mr. Greene and all concerned Guyanese, to be aware that Mr. Greene has joined the ranks of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and all those who were persecuted by the state. What transpired here today is a terrible act of the state,” Wade stated.

Wade criticised the prosecution’s assertion that Greene might interfere with the investigation or compromise national security, pointing out that public surveillance footage of everyday locations is widely captured. “The allegation against Mr. Greene is that he distributed or gave out information in relation to national security. What transpired at Barr Street, what transpired at Sandy Babb Street, what transpired at Vlissengen Road, in Kitty, is not a matter of national security. I have cameras on my home that take images from the streets. Many of us Guyanese, in addition to the state, the charge of itself is nonsensical.”

Earlier legal battles

The joint charges follow a national security probe centered on the alleged unauthorised extraction of data from the country’s safe camera surveillance network, reportedly tied to an $800,000 bribery allegation regarding surveillance footage of a shooting incident outside a police special branch location.

Earlier in the week, related legal maneuvers unfolded in the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature. Justice Christel Lambert-Meertins ordered the immediate release of Nikita Greene from police custody in the civil jurisdiction matter Randy Greene v. The Commissioner of Police and The Attorney General of Guyana, while permitting law enforcement to keep Constable Ryan Greene detained.

Addressing the broader implications of the case, Attorney General Anil Nandlall defended the state’s position prior to the latest remand, warning of the severe risks posed by safe camera breaches. “Those images if they fall into the wrong hands can jeopardize the safety of every single person in this country… The unauthorised downloading and disposal of images generated by that system can grind this country to a halt… It can push us into a national emergency,” Nandlall said. He further asserted, “What is even more deplorable is that the leader of the opposition is the one implicated in breaching that system, paying a person to sell him images unauthorisedly extracted from that system to help him in a personal criminal cause that he has.”

Defense attorneys fiercely contested the Attorney General’s involvement in those earlier hearings. Darren Wade criticised AG Nandlall for attempting “to give evidence from the bar table, which is inappropriate,” while co-counsel Dr. Dexter Todd remarked, “When you have an attorney general of a country… comes to a court of law and justifies why they should hold this woman in custody, I am telling you, we are in troubling times in Guyana. The police are not concerned about law and order and proper procedure. They just do what they want. This country is a full cowboy country, full cowboy country, and we’re going to pull it back.”

A small group of supporters from the We Invest in Nationhood Party gathered outside the Sparendaam courtroom as Mohamed and Greene were whisked away by heavily armed police following the hearing. Defense teams have confirmed they will press forward with immediate bail applications in the higher courts.

 

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• constable, Cybercrime, electronic data, Opposition Leader, Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court

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