Newsday TT

Four members of the Waajihatul Islamiyyah charged with the false imprisonment of Mirror journalists, complained yesterday of police brutality when they appeared before Port-of-Spain Magistrate Ejenny Espinet.

Leader of the group, Umar Abdullah, of Montrose, Chaguanas; Reiard Elahie, of Montrose, Chaguanas; and Darren Marcelle, of Broomage Road, Princes Town, were each granted $90,000. bail with a surety while Mukhtar Abdul Ali, of Bocage, Castries, St. Lucia, was denied bail and remanded in custody.

The men who appeared in court sporting bandages, were jointly charged with falsely imprisoning and detaining Mirror employees, Samuel Mc Knight, Larry Lumsden, Nicole Drayton, and Shamela Matabar against their will at their office at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Ninth Street, Barataria, last Thursday. The charges were laid by Sgt. Mongal Hazarie of the Barataria Police Station.

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nizam Mohammed, told the magistrate he was holding for attorney Feraz Mohammed who represented Abdullah and Ali. He said Abdullah claimed to have been beaten by the police and wanted the magistrate to take note of what he claimed were bloodstains on his T-shirt.

Mohammed said Ali was a 20-year-old student who arrived in Trinidad in January and was currently awaiting the status of his student visa. He said Ali studies at an Islamic school at a mosque in Cunupia.

Attorney Farid Scoon, who appeared for Elahie, said his client was a self-employed barber, and requested medical attention on Saturday as he believed his jaw was fractured. He said Elahie was allowed to go to the hospital yesterday morning.

Wayne Sturge who represented Marcelle, said his client was a 25-year-old taxi-driver who lived with his mother. He said they were not in a position to take bail as they did not own any property. He asked the magistrate to grant Marcelle his own bail. Sturge told the magistrate he went to the Barataria Police Station on Friday but was denied access to Marcelle. He said a police inspector refused to allow him to confer with his client claiming that a statement was being taken at the time.

Police prosecutor Sgt George told the magistrate he objected to bail for Ali because he might be a flight risk. He also asked that Ali’s passport be surrendered to the police. He had no objections to bail being granted to the other accused.

Magistrate Espinet said she had concerns about stability with regards to Ali. She added she needed instructions concerning Ali’s student visa from his school. She remanded him in custody to reappear on Thursday.

Abdullah, Elahie, and Marcelle are also to reappear in court on Thursday.