US extradites Marcus Bisram to face murder charge
More than two months after US-based Guyana-born businessman, Marcus Bisram, lost his extradition appeal, he is on his way home.
Bisram was expected to land in Guyana last evening.
Killed: Faiyaz Narinedatt
Yesterday, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, said that two police officials were sent to the US to collect the businessman.
The request for an escort was made last week by the US.
Bisram was released by prison authorities on Monday, according to official records.
He was immediately handed over to federal authorities and was expected to be escorted yesterday to the JFK airport on a flight to Guyana. It has been a long haul for Bisram.
He has been in custody since July 2017.
Since then, he has asked the New York courts to set him free on grounds that there is no extradition treaty between the US and Guyana.
Extradited: Marcus Bisram
However, lawyers for the US government successfully argued that a longstanding agreement between the US and Britain which had ruled Guyana up to the 60s, still holds.
Since then, Bisram has been attempting a number of legal maneuvers to escape extradition to Guyana.
In September, according to the summary order of the US Court of Appeals, it had considered all of Bisram’s remaining arguments and found them to be without merit.
“Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.”
In January, in an ongoing saga, a New York court allowed an extradition appeal by Bisram.
According to court documents of January 24, the US Court of Appeals ordered that the extradition be stayed during the appeal.
The Clerk of Court was directed to place the appeal on the expedited calendar.
Bisram was in the custody of US authorities, after being arrested on July 2017 based on a request of the Guyana government.
He is being accused of ordering a hit on a Berbice carpenter, Faiyaz Narinedatt, a guest at a party he hosted back in late 2016.
Narinedatt was alleged to have been beaten by several men, at the behest of Bisram.
He was pushed into the trunk of a car, taken to the Berbice public road, dumped and run over to make it appear as if it was a hit-and-run.
Bisram was a close friend to Berbice police, contributing significantly to community policing.
After the incident, police had said, Bisram flew to New York and was not arrested until months later, in July 2017 at a New York beach front property.
The Guyana government had asked the US authorities for his extradition.
He was ordered to be sent back last year but he immediately appealed.
Bisram migrated to the US years ago, and struck it rich there, travelling back and forth and becoming involved in charity.
His case is being closely watched as it may be the first time in years that someone with US citizenship would be extradited back to Guyana to face charges…in this case, it is murder.
Five other persons were charged for the murder of Narinedatt and have been sent to the High Court for trial before a jury.
