Gerry Gouveia, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry,  it was unacceptable for President Jagdeo to pick and choose, which citizens it represents.

Protest against Roger Khan's ‘rendition'

…want CARICOM's intervention

As Guyanese businessman Roger Khan lies in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial for drug charges, his relatives are protesting the role of fellow CARICOM countries in his handing over to the United States of America .

Yesterday, a group of relatives and associates carried placards at Square of the Revolution lambasting the regional body for its apparent non-intervention in the matter.

The protest is organised by one of Khan's brothers, Eccie Khan, who recently arrived in Guyana from the United States .

Eccie Khan said that the protest is aimed at getting CARICOM involved in protecting the legal rights of its citizens.

“This is just the beginning,” he stated.

One of the placards read, Carrying Away Roger Khan and Interrogating Citizens of Member Countries - with special emphasis on the abbreviation of the regional body.

Khan arrived in the United States of America under controversial circumstances after he was expelled from Suriname where he was being held along with three other Guyanese.

Eon 'Gangsta' Smith , among the picketers - Stabroek News

Earlier this year a New York Grand Jury indicted Khan for conspiring to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States .

A warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest.

Khan's attorneys are seeking his return to Suriname where they claim due process was not followed.

The attorneys are moving to court to challenge the actions of the attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago in US operatives to take possession of Khan without an extradition hearing while he was in the twin-island republic.

In addition, the attorneys have also prepared petitions to the international human rights bodies, including the UN Human Rights Council as well as CARICOM.

Following his arrest in Suriname , the United States had written to the authorities in the former Dutch colony expressing an interest in having Khan extradited to the US to face drug trafficking charges.

No formal request was made for the extradition and the Guyanese businessman's lawyers commenced proceedings to block any such request.

But in a sudden move, the Surinamese authorities expelled Khan without the knowledge of his attorneys and escorted him to Trinidad .

There agents from the United States Drug Enforcement Agency grabbed him in what Khan's lawyers said was a pre-arranged plan with the Trinidadian authorities.

Yesterday's protestors are hoping that their actions will attract the attention of CARICOM, whose leaders are beginning their annual summit today in St. Kitts

Monday 07-03-2006