Benschop treason case adjourned until Monday
Defence witnesses absent
Stabroek News
December 7, 2002
The Preliminary Inquiry into the charges of treason against Mark Benschop and Phillip Bynoe was yesterday adjourned until Monday as no witnesses for the defence turned up.
The hearing resumed following a deferral on Wednesday, owing to the absence of the presiding Magistrate, Chandra Sohan.
Benschop's lawyers had been scheduled to begin their defence on Wednesday after the magistrate had overruled their no-case submissions, finding that a prima facie case had been made out against the former television talk-show host.
The magistrate however failed to arrive on Wednesday and attorneys for both the defence and prosecution were informed-after having waited for nearly two and a half hours-that Chief Justice Carl Singh had asked that the hearing be adjourned to yesterday. This is after he had been apprised of the situation and made attempts to contact the magistrate.
The magistrate yesterday told the lawyers that he had spoken to the clerk-of-court sometime around 9 am or shortly thereafter, relaying that he would be absent for the day's proceedings and that the attorneys should be informed of this development.
Meanwhile, none of the witnesses for the defence were present at yesterday's hearing where Benschop's lawyers protested what they described as the oppressive atmosphere caused by the substantial police presence.
Lead-counsel for the defence Basil Williams told the magistrate that although the hearing was a public trial, members of the public were being deliberately excluded as were relatives of the accused and witnesses for the defence.
He noted that the policemen had filled the courtroom, the corridors of the courthouse, and were present at the gates and at the barricades, which, he said, engendered an oppressive atmosphere. This, he added, would intimidate witnesses and was in contravention of the constitutional right to a fair hearing, since members of the public were being excluded. He requested of the magistrate that the situation be corrected immediately.
The magistrate, however, noted that on many occasions the court had been disrupted by disobedience and people could not be controlled, forcing many lengthy adjournments.
He said the police have their reasons for implementing such measures and he would not interfere. He added that he was not concerned with occurrences outside of the courtroom.
And while the magistrate insisted that he had come prepared to deal with the matter - he called for the first witness - Williams said he was of the impression that yesterday's date had been fixed for report rather than continuance. And further, he stated that his witnesses were travelling a long distance to come to the proceedings.
Asked how many witnesses would be presented for the defence, Williams did not divulge a figure but maintained that the defence would complete its case in a far shorter period than the prosecution. Meanwhile, Williams also inquired whether the depositions of the witnesses were being typed daily as per instructions by the Chancellor. The magistrate said the depositions had not been typed although he had made arrangements for a person to be assigned to whom he would tender the depositions in order for them to be photocopied and typed. He said no one had since spoken to him about it.
Benschop is indicted for the capital offence along with former chief executive officer of the Linden Power Company, Bynoe, for whom arrest warrants have been issued. (Andre Haynes)
