State closes case against Bakr

THE State closed its case yesterday against Jamaat Al Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr on a conspiracy to murder charge. When the case resumes on March 26, defence attorney Pamela Elder SC will make a no-case submission to Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls in the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrates’ Court. Bakr, 63, is charged with conspiring with others to murder expelled Jamaat members Salim Rasheed and Zaki Aubiah on June 4, 2003 at Citrine Drive, Diamond Vale, Diego Martin. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Carla Brown-Antoine, the prosecutor, called her final witness yesterday. Virginia Bowen, a housewife, of Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain, spent a brief period in the witness stand. She was not cross-examined.

Virginia Bowen’s daughter Jilla Bowen was shot dead outside the MovieTowne Cineplex on the night of June 4, 2003. In that shooting, her common-law husband Adil Ghani was shot and wounded. Salim Rasheed escaped unhurt in that shooting incident. Arising out of that incident, Bakr was charged with conspiracy to murder. Virgnia Bowen also identified her daughter’s body to the pathologist prior to the post-mortem at the Forensic Science Centre, Federation Park. When Bowen had completed her testimony, Brown-Antoine told the court that she had two other witnesses she wanted to call. One was Prison Officer Rougier whom she said was out of the country and therefore was unable to be served with a summons. The other was Adil Ghani who was not served.

Although she wanted to call them as witnesses, Brown-Antoine said she was closing the case. Owen Hinds Jr, who appears for the defence, informed the court that Elder plans to make certain submissions. Because of the length of the preliminary inquiry and due to her other commitments, Elder asked for an adjournment to deal with her submissions. Brown-Antoine said she had no objections and the Chief Magistrate adjourned the case to March 26.