The Attorneys for Opposition Leader, Azruddin Mohamed, have stated that their request for him to be allowed to join today’s sitting of the National Assembly virtually has been denied by the Guyana Prison Service.

The National Assembly meets this afternoon at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre after more than three months. The Opposition Leader is currently on remand in connection with a cyber crime case related to the publishing of video recordings of the shooting incident involving the Special Branch Head.

According to Mohamed’s Attorney, Siand Dhurjon, the request for the Opposition Leader to join the National Assembly sitting was made on Tuesday, but he was informed this morning by the Acting Assistant Director of Prisons that the request has not been granted.

“I spoke to the Assistant Director of Prisons, Mr. Gyandat, at least 24 hours before the Parliamentary sitting, this was around 2pm yesterday (Tuesday) and I told him that it is the intention of the Opposition Leader and his instructions to me is that he wants to partake in the Parliamentary sitting and we asked for arrangements to be made so that he could appear virtually because being in custody does not extinguish your constitutional obligations, he is not disqualified from Parliament at all under the Constitution or any law. It is up to the authorities to take all necessary steps to ensure that Constitutional office holders can still fulfill their duties, their statutory constitutional duties…I received word, just an abrupt message when I asked for an update earlier this morning, and I was told that the application was refused by the Director of Prisons and that was Mr. Gyandat’s update to me”, the Attorney said.

However, when contacted by News Source this morning, the Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliott said if such an application was made for the Opposition Leader to be allowed to join the Parliamentary sitting virtually, he has never seen it. He said no request was made to him.

The Attorneys for the Opposition Leader intend to take the matter further if it is not addressed. They said they are aware that the National Assembly has provisions in place for any member to join the sittings virtually if they cannot do so in person, and therefore they believe the Opposition Leader ought to be allowed to join the sitting virtually from the Prison’s custody.

There are currently a number of prisoners, including convicted murderers, who are allowed access to attend University and other educational classes virtually. Some have even attended their graduation ceremonies virtually. The Attorneys for the Opposition Leader believes he should be allowed access to attend the Parliamentary sitting virtually.

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