Foreign Affairs P.S on stand for over two months as extradition hearing examines correspondence records

The committal hearing in the extradition proceedings against Azruddin and Nazar Mohamed continued on Tuesday before Magistrate Judy Latchman, with Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sharon Roopchand-Edwards remaining under cross-examination by defence attorney Roysdale Forde, SC.

Roopchand-Edwards first took the stand in the matter on January 6, 2026, meaning she has now been before the court for more than two months as the case continues.

Her evidence initially centred on tendering diplomatic documents linked to the United States’ request for the Mohammeds’ extradition. Among the documents she presented were Diplomatic Note No. 417, which she said was received on October 30, 2025, along with a bundle of supporting documents that launched the extradition request.

Since then, the Permanent Secretary has been asked to return to court on several occasions to produce additional material. Last week, she was asked for her notepad, but said she could not locate it. On Monday, she was required to tender sections of the Ministry’s incoming correspondence books, including the Office of the Permanent Secretary’s incoming correspondence records.

On Tuesday, Roopchand-Edwards continued giving evidence that the documents she received carried official United States State Department seals and that she promptly forwarded them to Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn’s ministry, then under Minister Oneidge Walrond at the relevant time.

Under questioning, Roopchand-Edwards agreed that the entry for documents received on October 30, 2025, may not have been made on that same day, since she said she only informed staff of the documents on the morning of October 31. She told the court that after receiving the documents between 5 pm and 7 pm on October 30, her staff did not have access to them and that she later provided the information that led to the records being entered.

She also acknowledged that the incoming correspondence book entry did not specifically mention a “diplomatic note,” “note verbale,” “supplemental documents,” or the names of individuals said to have delivered the package. Instead, the subject was recorded generally as “extradition documents.”

Forde pressed her on whether the records showed any courier signature, any subordinate signing to acknowledge receipt, or specific references to the various affidavits and certifications contained in the extradition package. Roopchand-Edwards repeatedly answered that such details were not reflected in the correspondence books.

A further issue arose over an entry dated October 29, 2025, which also referred to “extradition document.” Roopchand-Edwards eventually told the court that the October 29 entry “has nothing to do with the extradition” involving the Mohammeds and was instead an error in the ministry’s internal records.

The cross-examination also opened a new line of inquiry into correspondence sent by the Guyana Government to the US Embassy after the extradition request had been received.
Roopchand-Edwards confirmed that on December 3, 2025, a note was sent to the US Embassy in Georgetown on behalf of the Government of Guyana and that a subsequent US note, numbered 458, was received in response.

She said the note was sent under instructions from her minister after consultation with a legal officer, and agreed that it related to seeking assurances from the United States in connection with Article Seven of the extradition treaty. That article addresses restrictions on trying or detaining an extradited person for offences other than those for which extradition was granted.

When it was suggested to her that the communication was meant to secure assurances from the US in the event the issue arose during the court proceedings, Roopchand-Edwards said she believed that was “something to that effect.”

Defence efforts to have the note shown to the witness in court were, however, denied after the prosecutor, Herbert McKenzie, raised objections and the magistrate found no legal foundation had been laid at that stage for the document to be put to the witness.

Cross-examination was later deferred after lawyers had to attend the Court of Appeal for a ruling in the judicial review proceedings filed by the defence.

The extradition hearing is set to continue on Wednesday.

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