Representative of Louis Farrakhan of Nation of Islam, Akbar Muhammad, who was arrested in July 2011 on suspicion of involvement in drugs and terrorism, is once again calling on the government and the Guyana Police Force to publicly issue an apology to him and clear his name.
Philip Simon, a Canada-based Guyanese, and Tyrone Seymour, a local barber, were arrested along with Muhammad. They were released without charge after spending a night in the lock-ups.
Muhammad, at a press conference at the Guyana Marriott yesterday, said, “We are here before you as a reminder that justice should and must be done in our case.”
He emphasised that it has been five years since they were arrested “and locked up overnight, on a bogus accusation of us being drug traffickers and terrorist” and nothing has been done to clear their names.
According to Muhammad, his reputation and Simon’s have been tarnished and they can no longer move freely across North America and other parts of the world.
Simon told the press conference that the arrest had not only affected him, as his former wife was also prevented from entering the United States owing to her affiliation with him in the past.
Muhammad and Simon said that since the incident they have been prevented from earning an income. When employers conduct background searches, he said, the 2011 news story would appear and prevent them from being hired.
The men said they have spent thousands of dollars trying to correct “this injustice.” They are calling on the government of the day to apologise and “work out a compensation for the three of us.” They are asking that the apology be given in writing.
Muhammad said he had met Attorney General Basil Williams and had discussions about the requested apology but no concrete decision was made.
He said he had been in the process of suing the government for US$16 million, but withdrew since his lawyer Nigel Hughes was affiliated with the Alliance for Change which was campaigning for office at the time and it would have been a conflict of interest.
After being released from the lock-ups in 2011, the trio had demanded a public apology but the then president Bharat Jagdeo refused saying, “If I had to request [an apology] from the US government for the number of people who were held wrongfully, it would never end.”
Muhammad was arrested around 1.30 am on May 19, 2011 at the Princess Hotel, where he was staying. Simon, called Philip Muhammad, of Ontario, Canada was detained just after lunch, when he turned up at CID Headquarters to check on Muhammad.
Later that same day, investigators detained Simon’s barber, Seymour of Cove and John, East Coast Demerara, when he turned up at the station with water and a book for the two men. Muhammad had visited Guyana on several occasions before his trip.
