Muslim scholar denied bail while awaiting appeal of child rape conviction
Muslim scholar Nezaam Ali, who has been sentenced to 45 years behind bars for raping a nine-yearold boy, has been denied a bid for his release on bail pending an appeal of his conviction.
His application was presented yesterday by attorney Glenn Hanoman before acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire.
The attorney sought to advance that his client suffers from certain medical ailments, which the prison service is unable to adequately address.
Counsel also advanced that his client had not been given a fair trial.
Counsel for the state, however, explained to the court that Ali had been given the opportunity by the prison to seek the medical attention he required.
After hearing submissions on both sides, the Chief Justice informed that Ali’s application for bail would be denied.
On March 14th of this year, Ali was sentenced to 45 years in jail after being found guilty of the 2011 rape of a boy.
He has since appealed his conviction and sentence, citing, among other things, bias by a member of the jury and his attorney’s failure to take direction.
At trial he was represented by attorney Stanley Moore.
Representing him at yesterday’s bail hearing, however, was Hanoman along with attorneys Latchmie Rahamat and Maxwell McKay.
Ali was charged since 2012 with raping a total of nine boys.
At the conclusion of his first trial before Justice Navindra Singh, a 12member jury found Ali guilty of engaging in sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16 by abusing his position of trust between December 5th, 2011, and December 31st, 2011.
In his notice of appeal, Ali has argued that the verdict of the jury should be set aside since Justice Singh failed to adequately put his case to the jury and further misdirected the jury with regards to the medical evidence presented in his case. It was Ali’s defence during the trial that he could not have committed the crime because he has erectile dysfunction.