Latest update January 10th, 2025 5:00 AM
Dec 15, 2019 News
– defense attorney Sanjeev Datadin
The petition to the Chancellor of the Judiciary Yonnette Cummings-Edwards by the family of Faiyaz Narinedatt to have Senior Magistrate Alex Moore removed from presiding over the preliminary inquiry (PI) into the charges of murder against Marcus Bisram has resulted in a media frenzy over the last two days.
Bisram is charged with counseling and procuring the murder of Narinedatt in November 2016. He is now scheduled to appear tomorrow at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court.
The family of the deceased Narinedatt have complained that Magistrate Moore is being unfair to State Prosecutor Stacy Goodings and they had additionally stated publicly in the media that they have full faith in the actions of the prosecutor.
Attorney-at-Law for Bisram, Sanjeev Datadin, has since said it was indeed an unusual situation.
He said he was unaware of any other instance where members of the public had been so bold as to seek to have a Magistrate removed.
He said much of what he saw in the media about the contents of the petition was simply false.
He said it was very sinister that the petition seems to be couched in terms very similar to the complaint made by the DPP.
He said members of the media had made him aware of a complaint to the Chancellor by the DPP to have Magistrate Moore removed.
He said that from what he learnt was stated by the DPP in the complaint was remarkably identical to the contents of the petition.
He said it was unfair that persons are allowed to use innuendos and false fact to insinuate that the Magistrate is som
ehow in his favour.
“I didn’t get that impression at all and in fact, the Magistrate had requested an apology from me for saying that Prosecutor Goodings’s submissions were trash”.
He said getting into that tit for tat in the media served no benefit to his client.
He said it was a matter which is now for the consideration for the Chancellor and he hoped she would investigate all sides before she made a conclusion.
He said he, however, wanted to make one thing clear: “I don’t care which Magistrate is hearing the matter. I just don’t want the hearing delayed.
“The CCJ ruled in an application I had filed on behalf of Bisram that due to the peculiar facts of the case proper measures be put in place to expedite the hearing of the PI to avoid undue delay. The DPP is in flagrant breach of this direction from the CCJ.”
Datadin said that the DPP was ordered since December 2, to provide the defence with witness statements.
“They have simply ignored the court’s order and they have failed to do so. On the last occasion the matter was heard before magistrate Peter Hugh the prosecutor failed to appear and failed to give any proper instructions to the police officer sent to hold for her in Court.
“The only instruction she sent was to adjourn the matter to January 7, 2020. She had previously asked for three weeks to photocopy the witness statements to serve on the defence. This is nothing but a blatant attempt to delay the PI,” Datadin said.
He said he made clear to the prosecutor and the Court he had no objection to any of the statements the prosecution would bring not to the statements, not to the video evidence not to any audio recordings not to any photographs.
He said he wanted to cross-examine one witness only and that would take less than an hour. That was the reason the Magistrate said he could be finished before the end of the year.
“It was not that the Magistrate wanted to rush things but the proceedings were likely to not take much court time if he consented to the evidence.”
Datadin said his client wants his PI to commence now.
“We don’t care who is the Magistrate.”
He said the continued actions of the state would have consequences. Datadin said he would be filing a petition for bail on Monday in the High Court because the DPP is simply not ready to proceed and is trying to blame and sully the name of everyone else to hide this fact.
Bisram was extradited from the US recently after allegedly fleeing there.
A Guyanese, he is accused of ordering the murder of Narinedatt, a carpenter almost three years ago.
Narinedatt reportedly rebuffed sexual attempts from Bisram and slapped him.
It was then that the order to have him beaten and ejected from a party place in Berbice was issued.
Narinedatt’s body was found on the public road in Berbice, initially suspected to be the victim of a hit-and-run.
The Government of Guyana had asked the US to extradite Bisram, a millionaire for trial.
The US arrested Bisram in New York and held him and after a court battle, the businessman was sent back here.
His lawyers want an early trial. Several other persons have been charged with murder too.
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