No bail for Bakr

Justice Prakash Moosai said that the State has satisfied him on a balance of probabilities that there are substantial grounds for believing that Bakr, if released on bail, would commit an offence.

However, the judge noted that the State did not convince him that Bakr would abscond should he be released.

In considering Bakr’s bail, Moosai noted that the charges against the Imam were serious offences which, because they target the Muslim community, can have a destabilising effect on the country.

He added, "Generally, and without undertaking an over-elaborated dissection of the evidence, the nature of the offences is that the appellant (Bakr) has called upon members of his group, the Jamaat al Muslimeen, to declare war on all other Muslims in TT who are not part of his group for the purpose of the collection of the zakaat, whether by lawful or unlawful means."

The judge emphasised the point that at the time of Bakr’s Eid sermon on November 4, 2005, in which he communicated a statement having a seditious intention, he was out on bail for the offence of conspiracy to murder. Bakr is alleged to have committed these offences while he was released on bail for another offence.

In his deliberation, Moosai took this into consideration as well as the seriousness of the offences and the character, antecedents, associations and social ties of Bakr, before coming to his conclusion. He noted that Bakr is the religious leader of the Jamaat — self-confessed leader of the coup d’etat of July 27, 1990, in which lives were lost; he is an associate of Enyahoma El, who is currently serving time in a Florida jail for possession of 60 Ak-47 rifles and ten Mac-10 sub-machine guns which he was attempting to import into TT. He also noted Bakr’s association with members of the Jamaat who are charged with possession of arms and ammunition. Bakr, 64, is a father of 15 and has four wives. Two of his children currently attend English universities. His youngest child is three years old.

Resisting the bail application on behalf of the State were special prosecutors Douglas Mendes SC and Dana Seetahal, while Bakr’s attorneys were Theodore Guerra SC, Pamela Elder SC, Owin Hinds Jr and Richard Mason.