Guyana High Court refuses to halt extradition case

The High Court in Guyana has refused an application by businessmen Nazar Mohamed and his son Azruddin Mohamed to halt extradition proceedings in the magistrate's court.

In a decision delivered on Monday acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh ruled that the applicants failed to meet the high threshold required for an interim stay of the committal proceedings.

Before the Magistrate's Court, the applicants challenged the constitutionality of the Fugitive Offenders (Amendment) Act 2009 and sought a referral of constitutional questions to the High Court.

In refusing the stay, Chief Justice Singh emphasized that the mere filing of constitutional proceedings does not automatically suspend parallel statutory processes.

He stated that stays in extradition matters were "exceptional, not routine,"