The family of murdered Corentyne carpenter Faiyaz Narinedatt has voiced its full support for the office of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and State Prosecutor Stacy Goodings in the handling of the proceedings against Marcus Bisram, who is accused of masterminding the crime.
In a statement released to the media today, the family said that in light of the recent media coverage regarding the PI, it wanted it to be known that Prosecutor Goodings has been working “diligently” and has demonstrated professionalism in the courtroom, “conducting herself with dignity, civility, courtesy and a sense of fair play to bring justice for Faiyaz and our family.”
The family’s statement has come in wake of suggestions in the media that the prosecution has been delaying and Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan on Wednesday said it would be an “embarrassing” situation if the state was not prepared to prosecute Bisram, who was extradited from the United States.
“…It will be entirely embarrassing for the state to have demanded his coming over and now that he is extradited these officers are not up to the task of ensuring that they get the documents in time,” Ramjattan said.
However, the family’s statement noted that it is important for members of the Ministry of Public Security to be knowledgeable about these types of court matters and to work closely with DPP before releasing “embarrassing statements” to the press. “This sends the wrong messages to families like ours and to the public implying that the Prosecutor Ms. Goodings and DPP are not doing their job. It is this type of distrustful behaviour that instills corruption in the judicial system that disallows families to receive justice when sitting in a courtroom knowing we cannot bring our Faiyaz back. We are confident that the office of DPP will show that justice can prevail in this matter and our Faiyaz’s case will not become another statistic of a judicial failure,” the family said, while also expressing its gratitude for those who have continuously supported and fought alongside it.
The start of the preliminary inquiry was deferred on Monday after Magistrate Alex Moore reported sick.
After the magistrate reported sick, the matter was called later at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court, where Magistrate Peter Hugh adjourned the proceedings until next Monday. At the time, the state’s prosecutor, Goodings, was not present in court.
Bisram’s attorney, Sanjeev Datadin, who was present in court, then claimed that there seemed to be delaying tactics by the state as he questioned why the state prosecutor did not show up. However, a police prosecutor was there in her stead.
At Bisram’s first court appearance at the Whim Magistrate’s Court, Datadin had argued that the constitution stipulates a fair hearing within a reasonable time, while pointing out that Bisram is a guest of the state while incarcerated.
Bisram is now expected to return to the Springlands Magistrate’s Court on December 16th.
Bisram was extradited to Guyana late last month and was remanded to prison after he was charged with procuring and commanding the murder of Faiyaz Narinedatt in 2016. The charge states that between October 31st, 2016 and November 1st, 2016, at Number 70 Village, Corentyne, he counselled, procured and commanded Harri Paul Parsram, Radesh Motie, Niran Yacoob, Diodath Datt and Orlando Dickie to murder Narinedatt.
At Bisram’s second court appearance last week, Magistrate Moore, who was holding for presiding magistrate Renita Singh at the Whim Magistrate’s Court, since she is on leave, had insisted that the matter could be completed before the end of the year.
Magistrate Moore last week announced that the PI into charge would be conducted by way of paper committal proceedings, which he said could be completed before the end of the year.
The magistrate made the pronouncement after listening to representations from both the state prosecutor and Bisram’s attorney.
Magistrate Moore had also noted that since bail was out of his hands, he would ensure that the matter is dealt with expeditiously, as he pointed out that it seems to have become a norm for proceedings to be prolonged. During those proceedings Magistrate Moore, who insisted that the matter can be completed before the end of the year, also explained that he was not a “holding magistrate” who grants adjournments until the magistrate on leave returns. He said he actually attempts to get cases going so that the assigned magistrate can return to some progress.
After an exchange with Goodings, the magistrate alluded to the possibility that he would “happily discharge” the matter if it is being delayed.
