Jagdeo says not informed of Melly Mel’s arrest in US

Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said Thursday afternoon that he was not informed of the arrest of social media activist, Melissa ‘Melly Mel’ Atwell.

“I don’t know if any government agency has been informed. It won’t come to me, if that has happened it would come to the law enforcement agencies,” Jagdeo said at this weekly press conference.

However, he added, “We don’t everyday obsess over Ms. Atwell…. There are many others far more extreme than her like a Rickford Burke and we don’t obsess about them. They’ve not made an iota of difference and the fact is people are moving away from this form of extremism.”

The Guyana government has accused Atwell of several cyber crimes due to her Facebook posts about alleged acts of corruption by government officials. In at least one instance, she is being sought for a defamation lawsuit.

It was reported earlier Thursday that the social media activist was detained for questioning by US authorities; she is reportedly cooperating.