-as lawyers challenge refusal of bail
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed and Police Constable Ryan Greene were yesterday afternoon remanded to prison by Magistrate Abigail Gibbs in connection with the alleged unauthorised obtaining and disclosure of police surveillance footage, with their lawyers announcing plans to seek bail in the High Court.
Members of the media were locked out of the courtroom and could not hear the proceedings. Attorneys Roysdale Forde SC and Darren Wade subsequently spoke to reporters outside the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Courts. As they addressed the media, police whisked Mohamed and Greene away.
It is unclear who gave instructions to lock the media out of the courtroom as the judiciary has repeatedly said that the courts are to be open to the public.
Forde, who represented Mohamed, criticised the exclusion of the press and challenged the magistrate’s refusal of bail. He said the defence would apply to the High Court and, if necessary, pursue the matter through the appellate courts.
“There is absolutely no basis for the refusal of bail,” he said.
According to Forde’s account of the decision, the magistrate cited concerns about Mohamed allegedly committing further offences while already on bail.
Forde disputed that reasoning, arguing that repeated charges brought by the authorities could not themselves establish that an accused person had committed offences. He said Mohamed’s attendance at previous court proceedings should also have weighed in favour of his release.
The case concerns surveillance recordings relating to the October 12 shooting incident involving Mohamed and Head of Special Branch, Senior Superintendent Prem Narine, in Kitty, Georgetown.
Forde said Mohamed was charged under Section Nine of the Cybercrime Act. He argued that the provision required the prosecution to establish both the obtaining of data and its provision to another person, and maintained that the allegation against his client did not identify anyone to whom he had supplied the material.
“The charge is flawed,” Forde said.
He added that although the prosecution had described it as a joint charge, the defence maintained that the necessary elements still had to be established.
Wade, who represented Greene, likewise challenged the refusal of bail, saying the constable had never previously been charged.
According to Wade, the magistrate cited concerns that Greene might interfere with the investigation. He argued that no evidence had been presented to support that concern and said the defence would approach the High Court for bail.
Wade maintained that Greene remained entitled to the presumption of innocence and to his liberty pending trial.
He also disputed the characterisation of the footage’s disclosure as a national security matter, arguing that the recordings concerned events on public streets relating to the disputed shooting.
Both attorneys alleged that their clients were being persecuted by the State and challenged the legal basis of the proceedings.
The remand decision follows Mohamed’s release of CCTV recordings at an October 26 press conference, where he maintained that they supported his account of the encounter with Narine.
Police have alleged that Greene, who was attached to the Police Command Centre, obtained surveillance recordings without authorisation and supplied them to Mohamed for $800,000. Mohamed has disputed allegations that he paid for the footage. :
On Thursday, High Court Judge Christel Lambert declined to order Greene’s release after finding that police had reasonable grounds to suspect his involvement in the alleged unauthorised disclosure.
However, she ordered the release of his mother, Nikita Greene, after finding that the authorities had not established reasonable grounds to suspect her of a criminal offence. Those proceedings concerned the legality of their detention rather than a determination of guilt.
Mohamed, his driver Eugene Thorne and videographer Mario Mohamed face separate charges arising from the October 12 incident. They pleaded not guilty to firearm, ammunition and attempting to obstruct the course of justice charges and were each granted $750,000 bail on October 16.
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