The Government of Guyana and the Immigration Department remain tight lipped on the reasons behind the detention of five British muslim men while they were preparing to depart Guyana earlier this week.
The men were reportedly in Guyana for a few days as part of a visit to the Caribbean. However, as they were preparing to depart Guyana on Monday, they were detained at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and kept there for more than 24 hours.
The men were identified as Syed Miah, Muhammad Khubaib, Naieem Mohammed, Mohammad Rehman, and Usman Farooq.
One of the men, documented their experience and said they were simply released after being held at the airport for more than 24 hours with no information provided to them.
“They are finally letting us leave Guyana, so that we have been released from our detention, and we still don’t know why we were kept behind. Nothing was explained to us, but you know Allah is the best of planners and we are now about to board the plane”, he said, as he offered thanks to persons who offered support and prayers on social media.
In an earlier post, the man had complained about the group behind held in improper conditions at the airport and having no one explain any reason for the detention.
The Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, is the Chief Immigration Officer. On Tuesday, News Source raised the issue with him at a press conference. He said he would offer information later, but three days later, Mr. Hicken remains silent on the issue.
However, other sources within the Government have indicated that at least one of the men in the group may have been on the travel radar of other security agencies in the region and the group may have been flagged by the Guyanese authorities for questioning after the information was relayed to Guyana. The reason for him being on the security radar in the region was not explained.
Contacted for a comment, the British High Commission would only say that it provided support to four British men in Guyana and its staff stands ready to support British nationals overseas, 24/7.