A decision on whether the trial against former prime minister Basdeo Panday will be stayed will be given in the absence of his lead attorney and the state prosecutor when the magistrate rules on the abuse of process application on June 26. Magistrate Marcia Murray, presiding in the Port-of-Spain First Magistrates Court, gave that date on Friday, after she indicated she would need a month to review the evidence.
Panday's attorney, David Aaronberg, QC, concluded the second application Friday, as he asked the court to stay the matter on the basis that Panday was "singled out" and used as a political football. Aaronberg argued that the investigator failed to complete pertinent checks, which further confirmed that Panday had been treated unfairly.
Revealing that Panday will turn 79 this week and the matter had been dragging on for the past 11 years, Aaronberg said arguments presented during the past week indicated there had been an abuse of process from the start to the end of the investigation.
Panday is before Murray on retrial for allegedly failing to declare a London bank account, contrary to the Integrity in Public Life Act. He is accused of failing to disclose the account at National Westminster Bank Plc, Wimbledon, London, to the Integrity Commission for the years 1997 to 1999.
In March 2006, Panday was initially found guilty and sentenced by Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls to two years in prison. Panday appealed the decision. The conviction was quashed and a retrial ordered, which was upheld on appeal to the Privy Council. Responding to Aaronberg's closing statements, state prosecutor Timothy Cassel, QC, said the suggestion that Panday "can't have a fair trial" never arose.
Cassel said Panday "had lied on three declarations, hiding substantial wealth accumulated during his time as prime minister." He said it was the court's duty to try him and that the court's sense of propriety and justice would be offended if the State had not done so.
