Jamaat Al Muslimeen leader, Yasin Abu Bakr, will face trial on charges of terrorism, incitement, and sedition. Yesterday, Justice Mark Mohammed, refused to grant a stay of the indictment, saying Bakr had not proven that he could not get a fair trial in this country. Mohammed, presiding in the Port-of-Spain Third Criminal Court, summoned attorneys for Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Attorney General, John Jeremie, to give the court assistance on whether statements made by them in recent times, could be considered prejudicial. Mohammed fixed the matter for October 14, hoping to get further submissions in the matter. Last week, Wayne Sturge, attorney for Bakr, complained about adverse pre-trial publicity against his client. He also submitted that Manning and Jeremie had made statements, which he considered prejudicial to Bakr getting a fair trial.
In his oral decision, Mohammed said the application for a permanent stay was based on four issues. He said there was a complaint that Manning made certain comments at a public meeting in Diego Martin in July, on the eve of the 19th anniversary of the 1990 attempted coup. The judge also referred to the complaint made about Jeremie's statement in Parliament on September 14, in dealing with the controversial affidavit of Bakr in the summons for sale case. Mohammed said a complaint was also made about an article in the Express newspaper, and the Jamaat's role in assisting the People's National Movement (PNM) in the 2002 general elections. Mohammed pointed out that he had to rule on a similar application on June 25, 2007. He said two things which cannot be changed, were that the Jamaat staged an attempted coup in 1990 and that Bakr can be described as an insurrectionist. "The description that the accused is an insurrectionist, is not inaccurate," the judge added.
On the application for a permanent stay, Mohammed said none of the issues complained of, rose to the extreme level that it was impossible for Bakr to get a fair trial. He said Bakr had not demonstrated that the mechanisms in place, were not operable. Mohammed said there was the need for the PM and the AG to have legal representation to assist the court on the issue of adverse pre-trial publicity. Acknowledging that both the PM and AG were not parties to the criminal trial, Mohammed said because of the statements made by them in recent times, it was necessary to have them represented in court. Dana Seetahal SC, is the special prosecutor for the trial. Bakr, 67, of La Puerta Road, Diego Martin, is facing charges of sedition, terrorism, incitement, and breaching the peace arising out of his sermon to commemorate Eid-ul-Fitr on November 4, 2005, at his Mucurapo Road mosque.