Bakr in court five times in 22 days [Trinidad]

Friday, December 2nd 2005:

HEARING into five criminal charges against Jamaat-al-Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr got underway yesterday after he appeared for the fifth time on the charges in a space of three weeks and a day.

Bakr was before Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls and the preliminary enquiry into the five charges which stemmed from Bakr's Eid speech started in a similar way to when Bakr was initially before McNicolls in 2003 charged with conspiracy to murder.

The speech took place at the Mucurapo Road mosque in St James.

McNicolls, presiding out of his Port of Spain Eighth Magistrates' Court ruled in favour of State prosecutor attorney Dana Seetahal.

She has been allowed to continue prosecuting in the case along with lead prosecutor attorney Douglas Mendes SC.

The defence is lead by attorney Pamela Elder SC and her junior attorneys Richard Mason and Owen Hinds Jr and yesterday another senior counsel, Theodore Guerra was added.

Elder had called from the onset for Seetahal to voluntarily remove herself from the prosecution or be forcibly removed by McNicolls because of statements she made in the media which Elder argued showed a bias against Bakr on her part.

But yesterday McNicolls agreed with Mendes that he (McNicolls) did not have the jurisdiction to ask for Seetahal to be removed or remove her.

He went further to explain "there are adequate safeguards" under the Legal Profession Act to raise allegations of bias against a prosecutor.

McNicolls also dismissed an application by Elder to have one of the incitement charges against Bakr thrown out because it was not law.

And he acceded to Douglas' request to have the charge amended and he said: "I am satisfied the amendment should be granted because the effects contained in the information does not endeavour the offence a nullity."

The new charge now alleges that Bakr unlawfully "endeavoured to provoke" persons present to commit a breach of the peace by enforcing the collection of zakaat against members of the Muslim community who are not members of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen.

The charge was also amended to be laid under Section 5 of the Criminal Offences Act.

Two other charges of incitement to demand by menaces, another sedition charge and the recently laid terrorism charge, are now being heard by McNicolls.

After a delayed arrival by Bakr from the Remand yard and a bomb scare around 10:20 a.m. which caused the matter to be stood down to 1 p.m. yesterday, the State led evidence from three witnesses.

ASP Narcis Cadett of the West End Division and PCs Curtis Frith and Niak Adams of the St James Police Station testified.

The matter continues on Monday.

Posted on 03 December 2005 @ 19:04