Moments after Presidential Candidate Azruddin Mohamed of the We Invest in Nationhood party was released from police custody over allegations of obstructing justice, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo dismissed claims of targeting and persecution made by Mohamed.
At a press conference today, Jagdeo defended the police’s actions in sending officers with high-powered weapons to the WIN campaign headquarters late last night in search of the presidential candidate. He emphasized that the police’s duty is to investigate criminal acts and that they had a right to follow up on the report they received.
“The police are obligated by law,” Jagdeo stated, arguing that questioning Mohamed was necessary in light of the allegations. “Are they saying that because he is Mohamed, the police can’t question him? They are looking for sympathy again. He really thinks that because he is a presidential candidate, he should not be held accountable for covering up the brutal beating of this woman,” he added.
Jagdeo maintained that Mohamed does not pose a threat to the PPP in the upcoming elections, asserting that if the police had not acted, it would have appeared that the law was being applied unequally. “If they didn’t go, everyone would say he is being treated differently. This is a criminal act, and he is directly linked to it,” he said.
Describing the woman’s account as horrifying, Jagdeo suggested that the party’s distancing from its activist was merely a façade. “The girl who was brutally beaten gave a statement to the police saying that he took ‘Doggie’ and the girl to his home after the incident and kept her there against her will, threatening her when she tried to leave,” he noted.
Mohamed has denied all allegations and was released from police custody without any charges or bail being required.
Azruddin Mohamed Accuses State of Political Prosecution
