‘Half Way To Hell’: Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed Details Life In Lusignan’s Building 5
Originally published by News Americas Now Read the original
By NEWS AMERICAS STAFF WRITER
News Americas, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sun. Nov. 87, 2026: For the first time, jailed Guyana Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed has described in his own words the conditions he says he faces inside Building 5 at the Lusignan Prison, calling it “half way to hell.”
In a detailed statement published by Demerara Waves, Mohamed lists more than 30 complaints about life in the maximum-security block where he has been held on remand since October 30. The Guyana Prison Service has previously rejected claims that he is being mistreated.
‘The Building Is A Furnace’
Among Mohamed’s allegations:
- Constant light and heat: He says there is no fan in his cell, the building is a “furnace,” and a large light in his cell, with no switch, stays on 24 hours a day, making it impossible to sleep.
- Near-total lockdown: He says inmates spend 23 hours and 50 minutes a day locked in their cells, with the remaining 10 minutes used for bathing.
- No windows, no clock: He describes a fully enclosed building with no windows and no clock, so inmates “can’t know when is day or night.”
- Meals through a slot: Meals are passed through an 8-by-6-inch trap door in the cell door. “Feed you like animals,” he wrote.
- Shackled showers: He says he showers twice a day for five minutes, in foot shackles, with a camera in the bathing area and two armed prison officers present.
- Limited family contact: He says family visits are allowed only on Saturdays for up to 20 minutes, with officers listening and with him in cuffs and shackles, and that outgoing calls are limited to one five-minute call a week.
- Religious observance: Mohamed, a Muslim, says there is no halal food, no clock to know prayer times, and that inmates in Building 5 cannot attend Friday Jumu’ah prayers held elsewhere in the prison.
‘Hoping To Break Me Mentally’
Mohamed says he is the only inmate on the building’s top floor. He alleges that other inmates told him 17 prisoners were moved out of Building 5 about three hours before he arrived, suggesting, he said, that prison authorities knew he was coming before he was remanded. He accused the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government of “hoping to break me mentally,” and alleged that other inmates in the building had suffered serious harm to their wellbeing under the conditions there.
Mohamed also said fellow inmates told him the Minister of Home Affairs has never visited the building. He called on the U.S. Embassy, the British and Canadian High Commissions, the European Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, CARICOM and the Commonwealth to take note.
What The Prison Service And State Say
The Guyana Prison Service has rejected claims of punitive or degrading treatment. It has said Mohamed is classified as a high-profile prisoner, a security designation it says is not a punishment, and that he is managed in line with standard protocols and the UN Nelson Mandela Rules.
According to official logs released by authorities, the Prison Service disputes that Mohamed has been locked down for 23 hours a day, saying he spent more than nine hours outside his cell. Officials have said he raised no complaints over the weekend after his admission and received family visits, medical attention, counselling, attorney visits and phone calls. The service has also said it adjusted a ceiling fan serving his cell block.
In the High Court on Wednesday, Attorney General Anil Nandlall released a photograph of Mohamed’s cell and said he is being held in a high-profile cell, not in solitary confinement. Justice Priscilla Chandra-Haniff said she expects that the alleged conditions “do not exist” and, “even if they do, they will not be continued.”
What’s Next
Mohamed is on remand on a charge under the Cybercrime Act. The High Court will resume hearing his bail application on Thursday, November 12, with a ruling expected the following day. If bail is refused, he remains on remand until November 24th.
