Two Muslim men from India who allegedly overstayed their permit in Guyana were remanded to prison on Monday when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court but were yesterday granted bail in the sum of $100,000 each when their attorney took the matter to the High Court.
Abdul Rohaman Panawala, 36, and Appaur Seddequi, 45, both of Gujarat, India, had pleaded not guilty to the charge of overstaying their permit in Guyana when Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson read the charge to them.
It is alleged that on November 26 last year Panawala entered Guyana and was granted a permit to stay until November 29 that year but he failed to comply with the said condition.
It is also alleged that on August 8, 2005, Seddequi entered Guyana and was granted a permit to stay until August 31 that year but he failed to comply with the said condition.
They were arrested on April 3 this year without any documents to facilitate an extended stay here.
However, the two men’s lawyer Nigel Hughes stated they were teachers at the Diamond Masjid, East Bank Demerara and the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana had always applied for an extension on their visas and they were always granted it.
He said that at present the documents for the extension of their stay are still pending but his clients have work permits from the Guyana Revenue Authority.
Hughes stated that Panawala even has a TIN number and he had always complied with the tax requirements in this country.
He further stated that Seddequi had applied at the Ministry of Home Affairs to become a naturalized Guyanese and the permanent secretary there had acknowledged the application since 2007.
He then attempted to show the court a document that he said would corroborate that. However, the prosecution stated that no such document was lodged at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The magistrate subsequently ordered that the two men be remanded to prison and that they appear back in court yesterday.
Meanwhile, Hughes took the matter to the High Court and his clients were subsequently granted bail yesterday in the sum of $100,000.
He presented to Magistrate Robertson yesterday the documents to show that his clients were indeed granted bail.
She then ordered that the two men appear back in court on April 21.
