Guyana’s judiciary now operates in fear, it is detectable — GHK Lall — Opinion

Guyana’s judiciary now operates in fear, it is detectable

September 25, 2026·3 min read

Published in

Kiskadee Watch ·Sep 25, 2026

Dear Editor,

At last! At last, someone with the courage.

To contemplate and question, even challenge, the mighty American Eagle. Who knows what next it will swoop to destroy? My thanks to Justice Courtney Abel, in his silver headed years, the head of the UG Department of Law spoke. He said what had to be said. Squeeze Justice Gino Persaud^[1] yesterday, there could be others today. Definitely some hesitancy tomorrow. Will this ruling please the president? How will the U.S. ambassador^[1] react to a judgment away from public sight? What will the U.S. State Dept do?

In my first writing in the immediate aftermath of the “visa review” development impacting Justice Persaud, I alluded to the chilling effect on the fraternity. Looking over its shoulder with tentativeness, in timidity. Second-guessing itself. Less for judicial sagacity and acumen, and more of where would the U.S. stand on this? Bluntly, Guyana’s judiciary now operates in fear. It may not be palpable; but it is audible. It is detectable. Fear has its own smell.

This is now less a matter of judicial independence, and more of this. What merit, what standing, national sovereignty? The U.S. barged into Caracas and took out a president. The U.S. put in its own president. In Guyana, the U.S. reached above and around Guyana’s president, Guyana’s Judicial Service Commission, and Guyana’s chancellor and effectively sidelined a sitting judge. Is Guyana still a country, or is it the doormat and toilet of the U.S? If President Ali has any salt left in him, he should raise that question with Ambassador Nicole D. Theriot in their next face-to-face encounter. I would have grabbed the nearest phone, and let her hear that in the sharpest terms. But the so-called special relationship reminds of the limitations to what he signed onto, his role. A bit player, a nobody, in the Great American chessboard.

Hon Attorney General Anil Nandlall faced the public from his cyberspace den and had his say. The PPP government is not pleased with Justice Persaud’s rulings. But the PPP government’s hands are clean. No involvement in U.S. “view review”. Neither initiation tabled nor hint whispered off the record. What to make of the Hon Anil Nandlall’s representation in this instance^[2]? I struggle. For he is the same scholarly citizen, who has told many (and himself) that Guyana is a country where the rule of law reigns, and respect for law and order is paramount. When I look at what Guyanese have for law, and how men feature dominantly in how that law is sometimes applied, sometimes weaponized, and oftentimes wielded, there is difficulty reconciling the PPP Government being hands-off re visa review, despite its disagreement(s) with Justice Persaud.

Of greater concern to me is how the U.S. can swoop and savage a sitting Guyanese jurist. If there, then where else, and with what limit? Where is the Guyana Bar Association?Where is the Judicial Service Commission? Did the chancellor speak and I didn’t read? I have read about cultural imperialism. Now I come across the blatant and arrogant projection of American imperialism into the very heart of the Guyana construct. The Ugly American is back. He is uglier than before. Go ahead! Mark me. Make my day.

What is Guyana and Guyanese today? Sitting ducks or turkeys in a barrel? A pack of bleating sheep just shorn of its wool, and left with only its meow? There is passive and there is docile. Good Lord! Does it have to be of the most obsequious and odious variety. Americans can be attracted to and approve money launderers in Venezuela, but is full of righteous wrath re Gino Persaud.

Whatever this “visa review” entails, it had better be good. Wherever other Guyanese are, there was Justice Courtney Abel^[3]. And next to him, little ole me.

Sincerely,
GHK Lall

References

US Embassy was not aware of information that led to visa review of Judge -Ambassador Theriot - News Source Guyana — newssourcegy.com ↩
Gov't had no role in U.S review of Justice Persaud’s visa - Nandlall - News Room Guyana — newsroom.gy ↩
Justice Persaud's US visa 'sanction' raises questions of ... — demerarawaves.com ↩

Published in

Kiskadee Watch ·Sep 25, 2026

Justice Persaud's US visa 'sanction' raises questions of ...

demerarawaves.com · 2026-09-24

A widely respected Guyana-born Caribbean jurist on Wednesday told the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association (CMJA) Annual Conference that the United States’ (US) decision to bar Guyanese judge Justice Gino Persaud from transiting Florida enroute to Jamaica has serious implications for the independence of the judiciary. ... Justice Courtney Abel, who is a former Belize High Court judge and Head of the University of Guyana’s Department of Law, told the conference being held in Jamaica, that last Saturday’s prevention of Justice Persaud from boarding the flight by an airline because his visa was under review raises a number of questions that go to the heart of judicial independence. ... The question is ... than Justice Persaud. It concerns the judge who comes next. What message does the ... closing of one gate send to every judge who must later approach another?,” Mr Abel told a conference session on the topic “Current tensions between judicial independence and ... rule of law.” ... For Justice Abel, he regards the US visa review as a form of punishment of the Guyanese judge. “The United States has not publicly called the measure a sanction. Yet an unexplained restriction imposed by a foreign power upon a serving judge, preventing him from travelling, operates as a sanction in practical effect. A sanction need not announce its name,” said Mr Abel, a former president of both the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Bar Association and the Organisation of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations. ... Mr Abel reasoned that the visa review seemed to be at the confluence of Justice Persaud’s decision of “politically sensitive cases” including the tax matters involving the Mohameds. He said though the US and the Guyana governments have not admitted that the judge’s decision had anything to do with the visa review, there are chronology, context and concern. While there is not yet proof, and suspicion is not evidence, he also said silence is not an answer. ... “The context is more charged still. Members of the Mohamed family have been sanctioned by the United States and are the subjects of American extradition proceedings. The action affecting the judge therefore lies at the meeting point of domestic politics, judicial decision-making and American executive power,” said Mr Abel who has practiced law in Anguilla and St Kitts ... Nicole Theriot ... ” means that ... the US Embassy ... In his presentation titled “Who writes the judgment. The Airport Gate The Acting Appointment The Algorithm”, he said he ... judge in a small jurisdiction. He said he learned ... arrives wearing a name badge ... He said power does not always command but arranges the atmosphere by prolonging an acting appointment until expectation and insecurity merge, criticise a judgment without confronting its reasons, unsettle relationships with staff, alter security arrangements, leaving the judge to wonder who protects, who observes and who reports. He said, too, that such a situation may include no direction and no threat but the judge remains in office, salary paid, courtroom opens and the appearance of independence survives. ... In apparent reference to Justice Persaud’s experience, he said “The airport gate reveals another vulnerability. A judge in a small postcolonial state lives within an unequal international order. The state may face sanctions, diplomatic pressure or economic consequences. The judge may have to travel through a larger state and submit to immigration decisions for which no explanation need be given.” ... He said each encounter may be lawful, ach question may be routine and judges do not acquire diplomatic immunity by purchasing an airline ticket. However, he added that context, timing and silence matters. “A constitution may protect a judge from the executive at home. Who protects the judge from the collateral power of an executive abroad?,” he also queried.

US Embassy was not aware of information that led to visa review of Judge -Ambassador Theriot - News Source Guyana

newssourcegy.com · 2026-09-23

US Embassy was not aware of information ... visa review of Judge -Ambassador Theriot - News Source ... Explaining that the US Embassy would at times furnish information to Washington on visa holders and their eligibility to continue holding on to their visas, the US Ambassador to Guyana said today said the embassy was not aware of information related to the visa review for Justice Gino Persaud. ... The High Court Judge was blocked on Sunday morning from boarding a US bound flight at the Cheddi Jagan Airport and was informed that his US visa was under review. ... “On occasion we would submit that information, but in the case that I think you are talking about, we were not aware”, the Ambassador told reporters this morning on the sidelines of a security conference in Guyana. ... The US Envoy explained that a visa could be placed under review when a US agency receives information from a source about the holder of a US visa. ... “It means that from some US Government source, they have received some information that would cause them to reconsider whether that person is eligible for a visa”, Ambassador Theriot said. ... While not offering details on the specific case of Justice Gino Persaud, the US Ambassador said visa reviews are done back in Washington and the Embassy would not be told about the review until a decision is made. Once that decision is made, the Embassy would be tasked with relaying that information over to the visa holder. ... Justice Gino Persaud has not offered any comment about the US Government’s move to review his visa. He is expected to visit the local embassy for information on the issue. He is currently attending a Commonwealth Judicial Conference in Jamaica. ... Meanwhile, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has since dismissed claims that the Guyana Government may have been responsible for the US visa review for the High Court Judge. On his issues in the News television programme on Tuesday, the Attorney General said the Guyana Government and its officials do not have any such authority over US foreign policy.

US Embassy was not aware of information that led to visa ...

newssourcegy.com · 2026-09-23

US Embassy was not aware of information that led to visa review of Judge -Ambassador Theriot - News Source Guyana # US Embassy was not aware of information that led to visa review of Judge -Ambassador Theriot By News Source Guyana on September 23, 2026 Explaining that the US Embassy would at times furnish information to Washington on visa holders and their eligibility to continue holding on to their visas, the US Ambassador to Guyana said today said the embassy was not aware of information related to the visa review for Justice Gino Persaud. The High Court Judge was blocked on Sunday morning from boarding a US bound flight at the Cheddi Jagan Airport and was informed that his US visa was under review. “On occasion we would submit that information, but in the case that I think you are talking about, we were not aware”, the Ambassador told reporters this morning on the sidelines of a security conference in Guyana. The US Envoy explained that a visa could be placed under review when a US agency receives information from a source about the holder of a US visa. “It means that from some US Government source, they have received some information that would cause them to reconsider whether that person is eligible for a visa”, Ambassador Theriot said. While not offering details on the specific case of Justice Gino Persaud, the US Ambassador said visa reviews are done back in Washington and the Embassy would not be told about the review until a decision is made. Once that decision is made, the Embassy would be tasked with relaying that information over to the visa holder. Justice Gino Persaud has not offered any comment about the US Government’s move to review his visa. He is expected to visit the local embassy for information on the issue. He is currently attending a Commonwealth Judicial Conference in Jamaica. Meanwhile, Attorney General Anil Nandlall has since dismissed claims that the Guyana Government may have been responsible for the US visa review for the High Court Judge. On his issues in the News television programme on Tuesday, the Attorney General said the Guyana Government and its officials do not have any such authority over US foreign policy.

Gov't had no role in U.S review of Justice Persaud’s visa - Nandlall - News Room Guyana

newsroom.gy · 2026-09-23

# Gov't had no role in U.S review of Justice Persaud’s visa - Nandlall - News Room Guyana Published: 2026-09-23T15:14:05+00:00 Source: newsroom.gy (newsroom.gy) Language: en ## Story Gov't had no role in U.S review of Justice Persaud’s visa - Nandlall - News Room Guyana # Gov’t had no role in U.S review of Justice Persaud’s visa – Nandlall Politics September 23, 2026 Justice Gino Persaud Attorney General Anil Nandlall says the Guyana Government had no role in the United States’ decision to place High Court Justice Gino Persaud’s visa under review, rejecting suggestions that the development was linked to the judge’s rulings involving businessman Nazar Mohamed and his son, Azruddin. Justice Persaud was stopped from boarding a flight through Miami to Jamaica last Saturday, where he was scheduled to attend a conference of the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association. He was reportedly informed by airline officials that his U.S. visa was under review and that he should contact the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown. No reason for the review has been made public. Justice Persaud has not publicly commented on the matter. Speaking Tuesday on his weekly programme, Issues in the News, Nandlall said neither he nor President Irfaan Ali or Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo had any influence over the U.S. decision. “The government of Guyana, including the President, the Vice President and the Attorney General have absolutely no influence whatsoever over American, US foreign policy or any aspect of US governance and in particular certainly no influence whatsoever in relation to whom the US would permit to travel to the United States of America,” Nandlall said. He described suggestions that the Guyana Government was responsible for the visa review as “absolute nonsense”. Nandlall acknowledged that the Government had publicly criticised a decision by Justice Persaud in litigation involving the Guyana Revenue Authority and the importation of luxury vehicles linked to the Mohamed family. The GRA has appealed that decision. The Lamborghini matter had also featured in a U.S. grand jury indictment against Nazar and Azruddin Mohamed, who are facing extradition proceedings in Guyana over allegations of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering. The two men have denied the allegations. Nazar Mohamed has separately denied having any personal, professional or business relationship with Justice Persaud, saying the family’s only connection to the judge was through matters involving them that came before him in his judicial capacity. Following the reports about the visa review, Mohamed questioned whether the development could have implications for judicial independence and said it would be “foolish to ignore the circumstances surrounding it.” Those claims remain unsubstantiated publicly. No evidence has been produced showing that Guyanese officials influenced the U.S. decision, while the U.S. has not disclosed the reason for the visa review. Nandlall’s comments come amid a wider debate over the relationship between judicial independence, public criticism of judges and the Government’s response to judicial decisions. The Attorney General has previously defended the Government’s right to criticise judicial decisions while maintaining that judges must remain accountable to the public. Justice Persaud has served as a High Court judge since his appointment was confirmed in 2024, following several years as an acting puisne judge.