Court hears of transcript of radio programme

AFTER much contention with Deputy DPP Carla Brown-Antoine over the provision of a complete transcript of a controversial radio programme, defence attorney Pamela Elder SC was yesterday finally able to refer to her copy of the document during her cross-examination of a State witness. The programme, which was recorded on May 27, 2003 at the Power 102 FM radio station, and contained on two CDs, had been heard as evidence when the station’s production manager, Steve Anthony Khan had been called as a witness on January 14.  Elder had then made a request for a complete transcript because it would have been difficult to cross-examine the witness without it. Brown-Antoine had agreed but had not delivered on her promise to provide the defence attorney with the document at the two successive hearings on January 28 and February 5.  Elder, however, showed up with the document at yesterday’s hearing.

Two State witnesses, Salim “Small Salim” Rasheed and Zaki Aubaidah, had been guests on the radio programme at the Abercromby Street studio. The Jamaat Al Muslimeen leader Imam Yasin Abu Bakr had joined them via the telephone. The programme was hosted by Ricardo “Gladiator” Welch. Elder was cross-examining Salim “Small Salim” Rasheed at the inquiry into the conspiracy to murder charge laid against Bakr.  Bakr, 62, was charged on August 21, 2003, with conspiring, with others, to murder the two expelled members of the Jamaat at Citrine Drive, Diego Martin. The men, Rasheed and Adil Ghani, were shot and wounded at the MovieTowne cineplex on June 4, 2003. Ghani’s common-law wife, Jillia Bowen, was shot dead. The inquiry is being heard by Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls at the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrates’ Court. Rasheed, who had given his evidence-in-chief against his former leader on February 5, yesterday limped to the witness stand, with the aid of a cane. On his last appearance in the court he had indicated that the injury he had sustained at the cineplex had left him without feelings in his right leg and had forced him to become dependent on the cane.  

Before she got into the meat of her cross-examination, Elder questioned the witness about his presence at the Port-of-Spain CID office on Tuesday.  According to the witness, he had gone to the office to collect a vehicle that had been seized by the police in March last year.  He had stayed no longer than one hour, he said. From the start of the interrogation, Rasheed smiled, causing Elder to say, “You seem amused.”  “I’m smiling because you smiled at me,” the witness responded. The proceeding continued in that jovial vein for close to two hours, except for one time when Rasheed became agitated by one of Elder’s questions. “Mr Rasheed don’t get angry.  You’ll be there for a while so stay calm,” the defence attorney said.
Rasheed will return to the witness stand on Tuesday to be further cross-examined.