Trinidad judge orders probe into premier’s alleged campaign promises to radical Islamic group

Trinidad to probe premier’s ties to radical group

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad — A judge has ordered Trinidadian authorities to investigate allegations that the island’s prime minister promised state resources to a radical Islamic group in exchange for supporting his 2002 campaign.

The order came after Yasin Abu Bakr, the charismatic leader of the militant group Jamaat al Muslimeen, alleged in an affidavit that Prime Minister Patrick Manning offered him state lands, educational facilities and the promise to drop charges of damaging government property during a deadly coup attempt in 1990.

Bakr’s group bombed police quarters and stormed Parliament during the failed coup, which resulted in the deaths of 24 people.

High Court Judge Rajendra Narine ordered the investigation Friday, citing “the extremely serious nature of the allegations.”

Manning did not return calls for comment and has not responded publicly to the judge’s order. He was appointed prime minister in 2001 and led his party to an election victory the following year. He was re-elected in 2007 to another five-year term.

The judge dismissed Bakr’s claims to state property that he alleged was promised to him, and instead ordered him to sell several properties to pay the government $6 million in outstanding damages incurred during the coup.

Jamaat al Muslimeen has faded as a political force, but its members have been accused of participating in shootings, kidnappings and bank robberies. Its followers are largely black converts to Sunni Islam.

The group denied involvement two years ago in a plot by four men, including two Trinidadians, to ignite a fuel pipeline feeding New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.