Last Updated on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, 17:58 by Written By Denis Chabrol
Attorney-at-Law Selwyn Pieters, who represents President Irfaan Ali, on Tuesday admitted that he complained to Meta about a Facebook post by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed that mentioned his client’s name in connection with a Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) raid on a property rented by city businessman Ernesto Choo-a-Fat.
“Having first provided notice and an opportunity for the matter to be addressed without further action, I subsequently exercised the authority vested in me as counsel for His Excellency the President and submitted the matter to Meta for its consideration under its applicable processes and policies. Meta independently considered the submission and took whatever action it deemed appropriate based on its own assessment. I did not determine Meta’s decision, nor did I have the power to do so,” Mr Pieters said in a statement in response to claims made by Mr Mohamed earlier Tuesday.
Mr Pieters said that on Saturday October 3, 2026, I observed a social media post published by Mr. Mohamed concerning a Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) operation and referring to Dr Ali. He said he also read a press release sent out that afternoon by CANU.
The lawyer said in his professional judgement, the contents of that post were defamatory and went beyond the bounds of legitimate political criticism or public commentary. “I acted on that assessment independently and in the exercise of my professional judgement as the attorney authorized to represent His Excellency the President in relation to social media matters,” he said.
The Canada-based Guyanese lawyer said at about 6:45 PM, he spoke with Mr Siand Mr Dhurjon, the lawyer for Mr Mohamed, and formally communicated his position that the publication was defamatory and should be removed, failing which “I would pursue the appropriate remedies available to my client.”
Mr Pieters said Mr. Dhurjon indicated that he would raise the matter with Mr. Mohamed but could not guarantee that the request would be honoured. Mr Pieters said the the publication was not removed. The longer the defamatory material remains online the greater the harm to my client. “At the point in time I last reviewed the page the offending post had 1.8K likes, 218 comments and 618 shares.,” he said, further stating that he subsequently contacted Meta at that point.
The Opposition Leader, who is also leader of the main opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) earlier Tuesday said Mr was behind Facebook’s suspension of his official page due to an alleged defamatory post about Mr Choo-a-Fat.
Mr Mohamed recounted that on October 3, 2026, Mr Pieters contacted his lawyer Siand Dhurjon, concerning a post on his social media platform, “Azruddin Mohamed, Leader of the Opposition,” referring to the raid of a property of Ernesto Choo-a-Fat. Mr Mohamed said Mr. Dhurjon asked Mr. Pieters directly who he was acting on behalf of. Mr Mohamed said Mr Pieters’ response was unequivocal: “His Excellency the President.”
The Opposition Leader alleged that Mr. Pieters stated, “Let me be very clear. If those defamatory comments are not removed, particularly the reference to His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, I will have to deal with this in the context of defamation. Mr. Mohamed cannot cry victimization if I am forced to have Meta suspend his page again.”
The Opposition Leader said by Mr Pieters’ admission, it was clear who was involved in the disappearance of Team Mohamed’s page after the arrest of three persons at Leonora, West Coast Demerara and the detention of phones and vehicles belonging to him, parliamentarians and staff. “When those in power seek to silence the Opposition Leader because they object to what is being said, democracy itself is under threat. Stifling the freedom of speech of anyone is authoritarianism; using power to silence political opposition is the conduct of a dictatorship,” Mr Mohamed said.
However, Mr Pieters unequivocally denied playing any role in the suspension of the Team Mohamed’s Facebook page. “Any assertion by Mr. Mohamed that I caused, requested or was otherwise responsible for the deactivation of that page is false. No evidence has been produced to support such a claim, and I challenge Mr. Mohamed to make public any evidence upon which he relies,” the lawyer said.
He noted that Mr Mohamed gave several explanations concerning the temporary unavailability of his page. He said Mr. Mohamed has himself stated that his page was restored after his attorneys engaged Meta after addressing an allegation of trademark infringement. “His legal representatives should therefore be in a position to disclose any communication received from Meta concerning the reason for the page’s deactivation or suspension. I accordingly call on Mr. Mohamed to make that response public so that the facts can speak for themselves.”
Mr Mohamed’s phones were subsequently released, and his videographer was charged with several alleged violations of the Civil Aviation Act connected to the alleged flying of a drone over the private residence of President Ali at Leonora.
The Facebook pages that, he said, that have been suspended by Meta includes Team Mohamed’s which has 540,000 followers; We Invest in Nationhood 40,000 followers and Azruddin Mohamed, Leader of the Opposition- 59,000 followers. He said until those platforms have been restored, he would be using the Facebook page Hon. Azruddin Mohamed, Leader of the Opposition which has 14,000 followers.
“We will not be intimidated, we will not be silenced or afraid, and we must continue to stand for what is true and just,” he said.
But Mr Pieters said: “My actions were not political, nor were they undertaken at the direction of a political party. They were taken in my professional capacity as an attorney, based on my assessment of the publication and the authority granted to me to protect my client’s legal interests. ”
The lawyer said freedom of expression and freedom of the press are fundamental rights that must be respected and protected. Those freedoms, however, he said do not place any individual beyond the ordinary application of the law, including the law relating to defamation. “Where I determine, in the proper exercise of my professional judgement, that my client’s legal rights have been infringed, I am entitled and professionally obligated to pursue the lawful remedies available to him,” said Mr Pieters.
