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Caribbean-Latin America
Trinidad Police Release Bomb Suspects
2005-10-17
An Islamic leader and five other people detained for questioning in a bombing outside a nightclub in the Caribbean island of Trinidad were released on Sunday, police said. Friday's explosion was the fourth bombing in the capital Port-of-Spain in as many months. Ten people were injured in the latest explosion. Jamaat al-Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr, 63, and four teenagers spent 36 hours in police custody for questioning, Trinidad Police Commissioner Trevor Paul said. Another man detained near the scene of the blast was also released. "We have released them, but our investigations are ongoing," Paul said, declining to give further details.

Abu Bakr, who led a failed 1990 coup, was detained along with the four teens late Friday. Phone calls to Abu Bakr's office seeking comment went unanswered Sunday. Kala Akii Bua, a senior Jamaat member, accused police of detaining Abu Bakr without reason. "Every time a bomb goes off, the Jamaat is blamed for it. We will not be used as a scapegoat," Akii Bua told reporters Saturday. In 1990, Abu Bakr's group bombed police headquarters, stormed Parliament and took the prime minister and his Cabinet hostage in a rebellion that left 24 people dead in Trinidad. The rebels eventually surrendered and were later pardoned.
Posted by:Fred

#4  Not fair, john -- you're making the Law sound fascinating, and I just don't have the energy to study something new!
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-10-17 20:33  

#3  The Trinidad newspaper carried verbatim reports of the arguments to the court.

The Trinidad government claimed the pardon was invalid since it was granted under duress.
Robertson then quoted Alexander Hamilton. The 200 year old argument was simply awesome.

One Judge of Trinidad's appeal court exclaimed that he did not want to hear of Hamiliton for the rest of his life. He gave up. He could not rule against the argument, it was so compelling. He hated releasing the terrorists but could see no other way.

The Privy council in London was far more astute. They were unwilling to validate a pardon and so give a precedent througout the commonwealth and were not willing to send men granted a pardon to the gallows so they came up with a political judgement- they invalidated the pardon on the grounds that conditions were not met (release of hostages by a certain time) but upheld the habeas corpus thus preventing rearrest or retrial.

The QC Robertson is now a UN appeal judge for the war crimes tribunals. He has trained the judges for Saddam's trial.



Posted by: john   2005-10-17 17:45  

#2  Robertson quoted Alexander Hamilton's writings

:> One of Trinidad's forefathers, as it were.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-10-17 16:57  

#1  Actually they released the hostages in exchange for an amnesty signed by Trinidad's acting president.

They were promptly arrested but were freed several months later on a habeas corpus motion accepted by a judge. Their lawyer, the aussie QC Geofrey Robertson quoted Alexander Hamilton's writings to show that a pardon to quell insurrection was valid.

Trinidad's highest court, the Privy Council in London ruled the pardon invalid since the muslims had not followed the stipulated conditions. The habeas corpus stood however and they remained free men.

The jamaat has since eveolved into a narco trafficking - kidnap - murder for higher outfit. The ruling party sought its help in slum areas during the last election.

Posted by: john   2005-10-17 14:02  

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