The High Court will hear a bail application on Tuesday, November 10, for Police Constable Ryan Greene, who was remanded after being jointly charged with Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed over the alleged unauthorised release of CCTV footage of the October 12 shooting incident involving Head of Special Branch, Senior Superintendent Prem Narine.
Greene’s father, Randy Greene, filed the urgent application on his son’s behalf on November 3 through attorney Darren Wade. The hearing notice lists the matter for 3 p.m. before Justice Zamilla Ally-Seepaul in Court 5 of the High Court in Demerara.
Greene, 20, was arrested on October 26 and appeared with Mohamed before Magistrate Abigail Gibbs at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court on October 30. They were jointly charged under the Cybercrime Act with unauthorisedly obtaining and giving electronic data. The charge alleges that footage of the shooting on Barr Street, Kitty, was obtained from a protected computer system at the Guyana Police Force Command Centre in Liliendaal and passed to Mohamed without lawful excuse or justification.
At a press conference before he was charged, Mohamed showed reporters footage from several angles and gave a detailed account of his version of the shooting.
Magistrate Gibbs refused bail to Greene after the prosecution, led by Darshan Ramdhani, KC, objected. The court record cited in his father’s affidavit gives the seriousness of the offence as the reason for the refusal. Randy Greene said he was also informed by Wade that the magistrate expressed concern that his son could interfere with the investigation if released. The criminal case was adjourned to November 24 for disclosure.
The bail application argues that the offence carries a maximum prison term of five years, while the Bail Act defines a serious offence as one punishable by death or imprisonment for more than five years. It also argues that the prosecution presented no evidence that Greene would interfere with witnesses or tamper with evidence. His father says Greene has no previous conviction and will attend court and comply with any conditions imposed.
The application also disputes that the footage falls within the national security provision cited in the charge. It argues that the Safe Country cameras recorded a public street and that live feeds from the system are routinely displayed on public screens at Stabroek Market, Bourda Market and the Kingston Seawall bandstand.
In a police affidavit filed in earlier habeas corpus proceedings and attached to the bail application, Detective Cadet Officer Stephan Hinds alleged that Greene said in a recorded interview that he delivered a flash drive to Mohamed. Hinds further alleged that Eugene Thorne paid Greene $800,000 in cash at Mohamed’s direction. The same affidavit records Mohamed’s arrest on October 28, two days before the joint cybercrime charge was laid.
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