Registry's tardiness further delays Yasseen, Thomas appeal
The hearing of the appeal by Noel Thomas and Abdool Saleem Yasseen against the ruling of Justice Winston Moore, in which he declined to extend the stay of their execution has once again been bedevilled by the failure of the Supreme Court registry to provide the necessary records. Justice Moore had granted them a stay on an ex parte application which prevented them from being executed on September 13 for the 1987 murder of Yasseen's brother Abdool Kaleem Yasseen. However, on October 18, he refused to extend the stay after he had heard arguments on the writ of summons brought by them. When the hearing of the three-judge court headed by Chief Justice Desiree Bernard resumed yesterday, the proceedings were stalled due to the failure of the registry to complete the record of the proceedings. Justice Bernard said that she had been assured by the Registrar of the Supreme Court that the records would be completed by next weekend. However, because Attorney General, Charles Ramson, SC, suggested that there should be some specificity about the completion date, counsel for Thomas and Yasseen, Stephen Fraser, suggested and this was accepted by the court that the matter should come up for report on the state of the preparations of the records on November 12. He said at that hearing a determination could be made as to whether the November 22, date suggested by the Chief Justice for the commencement of the hearing would be feasible. The Chief Justice suggested that when started on November 22, the hearing would be reconvened on November 24-25, and from November 29 -30. However, Ramson indicated that he would have some problems with the dates from November 29 because of official commitments which take him out of the country around that time. Thomas and Yasseen are contesting Justice Moore's ruling on 32 grounds. Fraser leads a team of lawyers for the two convicted murderers which includes Nigel Hughes, Teni Housty, Mohabir Nandlall, Nichola Pierre and Roysdale Forde. The Attorney General appears on his own behalf and in association with Sanjeev Datadin and Desiree Downes who joined the team yesterday for Director of Prisons, Dale Erskine.
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