A summons has been issued for leader of the Jamaat al Muslimeen Yasin Abu Bakr to appear before the commission of enquiry into the attempted coup, at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Henry Street, Port-of-Spain, on Monday.Lead attorney to the commission, Avory Sinanan, SC, yesterday told the commission the summons was issued to Bakr on September 9."We hope he (Bakr) would attend to give his evidence as he was one of the key players on what transpired on July 1990," Sinanan said.But issuing a summons cannot force Bakr to attend the enquiry nor could he be jailed for failure to do so, Sinanan added.
He said what the commission could do was under the commission of enquiry's act direct that Bakr be prosecuted for not attending.In June, Bakr said he would appear at the enquiry only if he was paid as much as commission's chairman, Sir David Simmons.In September last year, Bakr did not appear at the enquiry and was admonished by the commissioners for failing to obey the summons issued for his attendance.He had asked to defer his testimony after his sedition trial in the High Court, as he did not want adverse publicity to affect the case by his testifying at the enquiry.
On September 3, last year, Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC, suggested to the commission that Bakr's testimony be given in camera and also assured Bakr's testimony would not be used to mount a case of bad character in his sedition trial.Gaspard added that he would not charge Bakr for failing to answer the summons of the commission.