Freed Trini Muslim to appeal case

“It will take me some time and get back into the groove. Things I used to do, somebody else is doing.

I feel my space was taken away.

That leadership role was taken away. My family had to adjust without me. They held the fort, but I am enjoying being the father again.” Petilal - the father of three sons - and three of his colleagues met on Saturday at a thanksgiving dinner with their families, close friends and associates including Head of the Islamic Front Umar Abdullah who took the lead to secure their release, at the El Socorro home of their local attorney Nafeesa Mohammed.

The immediate priority, Abdullah told Newsday yesterday, is to get the men reorganised with documentations and jobs.

“We also have to look at counseling for the families,” he said, noting that “One disturbing thing was that none of the state agencies gave any assistance to the affected families.” Meanwhile, Petilal told Newsday yesterday that while he was willing to share his experience with the public, he could not do so in full at this time because he will appeal the charge for which he and the others were imprisoned March 19, 2014 until their recent return.

Collectively they were allegedly robbed by the Venezuelan military of US$45,000 most of which, he said, did not belong to the five or their spouses who had travelled with them, passports that they claimed that were in their possession were not found on them, and they did not undergo weapons training in Venezuela.

“Our lawyers are waiting for the verdict, then they would appeal.

Everyone knows that we are innocent. The whole of Venezuela knows it. The authorities there knows it,” he said.

As far as he was concerned, he said, “We were kidnapped. It was political. They knew we did not go to assassinate anybody. The first thing they told us was that we went there as a group to assassinate President (Nicolas) Maduro. When they realised it was a big joke, they said, we were into money laundering, then human trafficking, and then terrorism.” When they realised they could not implicate them on terrorist charges, he said, they were asked to plead to charges of espionage.

None of the five, he said, pleaded to the charges as has been reported.

Nevertheless, he said, they were sentenced to the time they served in the prison, on the charges. It is this charge, he said, they intend to appeal once the judge who sentenced them writes up the verdict and makes it public.

He said it was only unfortunate that they were in Venezuela during a period of uprising and protesting.

“Senior officials made it clear to us that we were just caught up in the instability of the country at the time,” he said.

At the SE BIN jail (for political prisoners) where they were, Petilal said, “They called us ‘coins’ the equivalent of ‘pawns’.

Asked how he survived the imprisonment, he said, “Inshallah.

Prayers. It was the only hope we had. There were no promises.” On reflection, the imprisonment, he said, “was one of spiritual cleansing. The experience has made me a stronger person. I came closest to Allah.”