Former National Security Minister Gary Griffith has called on his successor Minister Edmund Dillon to protect T&T and veto moves to allow the return of nationals, now with fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). 

Griffith wants Dillon to pass any lists of such people Dillon may receive to T&T’s international allies.

He made the call yesterday after Islamic Front founder Umar Abdullah said he would be lobbying Dillon at a meeting next Tuesday to allow the return of T&T-born foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and assist their reintegration.

He said following recent international developments, including the Paris attacks and other crises involving terrorist attacks, he received a call from Dillon’s secretary early last week seeking a meeting this week. Abdullah said she called back to postpone the meeting to next week Tuesday.

Dillon in the Senate last week said a discussion was taking place within Government on revisiting or changing the current situation of free, unrestricted/unhindered entry of T&T nationals (FTFs) who have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

Yesterday, Abdullah said that in hinting at that position, Government may have been throwing the issue out to the public to get feedback. 

He said he intended to bring to the table with Dillon, an alternative solution as opposed to blocking FTFs. He said he would insist that Government must “understand the position of the united position of the Muslim people of T&T.”

Abdullah added: “We do have concerns that they (FTFs) may return with issues and we may have negative fall-out as a result but we are prepared to work, to change, educate them and put them through a reintegration programme.

“There’s no guarantee they are going to return with that (ISIS) ideology, or intention to change their old outlook on fighting jihad but these people are citizens of T&T and Government has a responsibility for its citizens, irregardless (sic), to get ideas and innovative strategies on how to deal with these situations.”

He called on Government not to “take on the western press and western nations.”

Abdullah said he intended to take his position on the issue to Saturday’s upcoming meeting of Muslim leaders being worked out by the Enterprise masjid on the ISIS issue and its impact on T&T. 

Last weekend, the Muslim community was addressed on the Muslim IBN channel on this following a call (via IBN) for all Muslim leaders to hold an emergency meeting on the issue.  

Taulib Seales of the Enterprise masjid, who confirmed the move, said it was planned that a press conference would be held after that meeting on a joint position. Seales said Muslim leaders were being asked to meet and open a dialogue.

Abdullah said at his upcoming meeting with Dillon he also planned to call for action on the five T&T nationals currently detained in Venezuela on alleged terrorist charges for the past 17 months.

 Abdullah said he would also seek action on the situation involving Tariq Shamoon Mohammed, detained in Saudi Arabia since August.

 However, the Abdullah/Dillon meeting came in for criticism from Griffith, who queried the view the FTFs should be given a second chance.  

He said: “A second chance at what, trying to cause a plague by attempting to lure more naïve young men to become FTFs, or actually commit some terrorist act in our country based on training they received in Syria?

“Hopefully that list of 75-odd persons Mr Abdullah has submitted to Minister Dillon, should immediately be handed over to our international intelligence allies and if intelligence has confirmed these persons were FTFs, then they would and should be red-flagged, upon which being blacklisted to board any flight and hence never see T&T.

“Thankfully, both Minister Dillon and Mr Abdullah are totally incorrect if they perceive because someone is a T&T citizen, they can automatically be authorised to re-enter, regardless if they are linked to terrorist activity.”

Griffith said there was a window which could prevent them from returning. He noted T&T’s signing of the United Nations Resolution on the ISIS issue last year has mandated fulfillment of various obligations, including denying terrorists the ability to put down roots, build a base and establish safe havens, prevent easy access of travel for FTFs and prevent radicalisation for the recruiting of FTFs.

 “Based on recent horrific acts of terrorism globally and revelations of dozens of T&T FTFs it’s evident certain measures must be taken to prevent such acts locally. 

“Everyone deserves a second chance, however, not terrorists. The rights of those few who became terrorists and want to return could never supersede the rights of the many T&T citizens.” (See Page 6)

A police inspector and constable held for allegedly accepting a $15,000 bribe from a Central drug dealer spent another night in custody last night as investigators reportedly could not find eight other men fitting the description of the senior officer in order to conduct an identification parade.

Officers investigating the case said another attempt would be made today to convene an identification parade before seeking instructions from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The inspector, who has over 20 years’ service, the constable and the drug dealer remained in custody at separate police stations in Port-of-Spain last night.

The officers along with the drug dealer were arrested by members of the Professional Standards Bureau on Saturday during a sting operation at the Chase Village, Chaguanas, flyover. The police inspector, who was assigned to the Central Division to take charge of anti-crime operations a month ago, was seen driving a Mercedes Benz reportedly owned by the drug dealer on Saturday. He reportedly requested $25,000 to forego prosecution in a drug-related matter.

The inspector and the constable had been under surveillance since last Thursday. 

Former National Security Minister Gary Griffith has called on his successor Minister Edmund Dillon to protect T&T and veto moves to allow the return of nationals, now with fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). 

Griffith wants Dillon to pass any lists of such people Dillon may receive to T&T’s international allies.

He made the call yesterday after Islamic Front founder Umar Abdullah said he would be lobbying Dillon at a meeting next Tuesday to allow the return of T&T-born foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and assist their reintegration.

He said following recent international developments, including the Paris attacks and other crises involving terrorist attacks, he received a call from Dillon’s secretary early last week seeking a meeting this week. Abdullah said she called back to postpone the meeting to next week Tuesday.

Dillon in the Senate last week said a discussion was taking place within Government on revisiting or changing the current situation of free, unrestricted/unhindered entry of T&T nationals (FTFs) who have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

Yesterday, Abdullah said that in hinting at that position, Government may have been throwing the issue out to the public to get feedback. 

He said he intended to bring to the table with Dillon, an alternative solution as opposed to blocking FTFs. He said he would insist that Government must “understand the position of the united position of the Muslim people of T&T.”

Abdullah added: “We do have concerns that they (FTFs) may return with issues and we may have negative fall-out as a result but we are prepared to work, to change, educate them and put them through a reintegration programme.

“There’s no guarantee they are going to return with that (ISIS) ideology, or intention to change their old outlook on fighting jihad but these people are citizens of T&T and Government has a responsibility for its citizens, irregardless (sic), to get ideas and innovative strategies on how to deal with these situations.”

He called on Government not to “take on the western press and western nations.”

Abdullah said he intended to take his position on the issue to Saturday’s upcoming meeting of Muslim leaders being worked out by the Enterprise masjid on the ISIS issue and its impact on T&T. 

Last weekend, the Muslim community was addressed on the Muslim IBN channel on this following a call (via IBN) for all Muslim leaders to hold an emergency meeting on the issue. 

Taulib Seales of the Enterprise masjid, who confirmed the move, said it was planned that a press conference would be held after that meeting on a joint position. Seales said Muslim leaders were being asked to meet and open a dialogue.

Abdullah said at his upcoming meeting with Dillon he also planned to call for action on the five T&T nationals currently detained in Venezuela on alleged terrorist charges for the past 17 months.

Abdullah said he would also seek action on the situation involving Tariq Shamoon Mohammed, detained in Saudi Arabia since August.

However, the Abdullah/Dillon meeting came in for criticism from Griffith, who queried the view the FTFs should be given a second chance. 

He said: “A second chance at what, trying to cause a plague by attempting to lure more naïve young men to become FTFs, or actually commit some terrorist act in our country based on training they received in Syria?

“Hopefully that list of 75-odd persons Mr Abdullah has submitted to Minister Dillon, should immediately be handed over to our international intelligence allies and if intelligence has confirmed these persons were FTFs, then they would and should be red-flagged, upon which being blacklisted to board any flight and hence never see T&T.

“Thankfully, both Minister Dillon and Mr Abdullah are totally incorrect if they perceive because someone is a T&T citizen, they can automatically be authorised to re-enter, regardless if they are linked to terrorist activity.”

Griffith said there was a window which could prevent them from returning. He noted T&T’s signing of the United Nations Resolution on the ISIS issue last year has mandated fulfillment of various obligations, including denying terrorists the ability to put down roots, build a base and establish safe havens, prevent easy access of travel for FTFs and prevent radicalisation for the recruiting of FTFs.

“Based on recent horrific acts of terrorism globally and revelations of dozens of T&T FTFs it’s evident certain measures must be taken to prevent such acts locally. 

“Everyone deserves a second chance, however, not terrorists. The rights of those few who became terrorists and want to return could never supersede the rights of the many T&T citizens.” (See Page 6)

A 37-year-old man accused of operating a fraudulent document factory, specialising in producing foreign and local driver’s permits and credit cards, has been released on $150,000 bail. 

Larry Howell, of Raghuraj Street, Tacarigua, was granted the bail after appearing before Senior Magistrate Gillian David-Scotland in the Chaguanas First Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

He faces almost a dozen charges arising out of a raid on his home last week. 

Howell was slapped with nine charges for fraud, one for possessing card-making equipment, and for cocaine and marijuana trafficking, among others. 

During yesterday’s hearing, detectives of the North Eastern Division Task Force (NEDTF), who led last Wednesday’s raid, brought the illegal items allegedly seized in the raid to be tendered into evidence. 

The items included credit card reader/writers, card embossment machines, card printers, photo printers and several laptops as well a multiple fraudulent cards and documents which were varying stages of production. 

A large quanity of illegal drugs and counterfeit money was also reportedly seized during the raid which was led by Sgt Cornelius Samuel and Cpls Jacey Small and Hector Quashie. 

Howell was ordered to report to police three times weekly for the duration of his case and will reappear in court on December 16. 

Jamaat-al-Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr has lost his appeal over two failed lawsuits against the State relating to a murder charge in 2010 for which he was eventually freed.

In an oral judgment delivered at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain, yesterday, appellate judges Rajendra Narine, Prakash Moosai and Judith Jones dismissed Bakr’s appeal and ordered him to pay the State’s legal cost for defending it. 

Bakr filed the appeal in July after High Court Judge Frank Seepersad threw out his constitutional motion and malicious prosecution claims which he described as an “abuse of process.” 

Seepersad ruled that Bakr had failed to adduce evidence to show that his constitutional rights were infringed by coroner Nalini Singh when she ordered that he and Brent “Big Brent” Miller be charged with murder at the conclusion of a coroner’s inquest into the death of 22-year-old mechanic Israel Sammy in September 2010. 

Sammy, a former member of Bakr’s organisation, was shot dead behind his home at Valot Street, Boissiere Village, Maraval, on May 20, 1998.

Seepersad also said Bakr provided no evidence to support his claim that Singh used a flawed process in coming to her decision, which was eventually overturned one month later when Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard said that there was insufficient evidence to sustain the charge. 

In their judgment the three-member appeal panel ruled that they could find no fault with Seepersad’s reasoning. 

Last year, Seepersad awarded Bakr a meagre $5,000 in compensation in another malicious prosecution case against the State. In that case, Bakr was suing in relation to arms and ammunition charges which were brought against him and two of his followers after a rifle, a hand grenade and a large cache of ammunition was alleged found in the Jamaat’s Mucurapo Road headquarters. 

While he ruled in favour of Bakr in that case, Seepersad only awarded the meagre compensation as he said that Bakr did not suffer more damage to his reputation than he had already from his involvement in the infamous 1990 attempted coup. 

Bakr was represented by Joseph Sookoo and Delicia Helwig, while Jagdeo Singh represented the State.

After almost two years of intermittent hearings, interrupted by court vacations, public holidays and juror absences, prosecutors in the Vindra Naipaul-Coolman murder trial have closed their case against the 11 men accused of the crime.

Lead prosecutor Israel Khan, SC, made the announcement in the Port-of-Spain High Court yesterday after presiding judge Malcom Holdip gave his ruling on a legal submission which was raised by defence attorneys after the State’s last witness — a forensic laboratory technician — completed her evidence almost two weeks ago. 

Holdip told jurors to return to court on December 8 after setting a time-table for defence attorneys to file legal submissions in writing. The High Court proceeds on vacation on December 16.

Defence lawyers successfully petitioned the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority to receive higher fees for the duration of the trial, the lead attorney receiving $30,000 a month and their instructing attorney $15,000. 

The normal fee is a maximum of $10,000 and $5,000, respectively for a murder trial.

Since the high-profile trial began in March last year, prosecutors have called almost 75 witnesses who included the former Xtra Foods chief executive’s relatives and co-workers and dozens of police officers who investigated her kidnapping and eventual murder. 

Naipaul-Coolman was abducted from her home at Radix Road, Lange Park, Chaguanas, on December 19, 2006. A $122,000 ransom was paid by her family but she was not released and her body has never been found. 

Prosecutors have contended that she was held captive at a house at Upper La Puerta, Diego Martin, for several days before she was shot dead, dismembered and her body disposed of. 

They have presented circumstantial evidence found at the accused men’s homes and at the alleged murder scene in addition to an illegal firearm which ballistic experts linked to a spent shell found at the scene of Naipaul-Coolman’s kidnapping. 

The State’s case is also centered around the testimony of its main witness, Keon Gloster, who initially claimed he was present when Naipaul-Coolman was killed but said he did not participate. 

However, testifying earlier this year, Gloster repeatedly claimed he was coerced by police into implicating the accused men, most of whom are his relatives. His sworn statements which were certified by a justice of the peace have been tendered into evidence. 

Who’s in court

The dozen men before the jury and Justice Malcolm Holdip are: Twin brothers Shervon and Devon Peters and their older brother Anthony Dwayne Gloster, siblings Keida and Jamille Garcia, brothers Marlon and Earl Trimmingham, Ronald Armstrong, Antonio Charles, Joel Fraser and Lyndon James. 

A 13th man, Raphael Williams, was charged with the crime but died in prison in 2011 of complications from sickle-cell anaemia. Allan “Scanny” Martin was also on trial before he was shot dead by police after escaping from the Port-of-Spain State Prison in July. 

As the sense of urgency continues to grow regarding the Caribbean region’s response to the appearance of the sargassum seaweed which litters the nation’s beaches, the Government is very concerned that it is still negatively impacting this country’s economic, social and environmental development.

This, even after the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) spent $5 million to clean up the beaches in the sister isle since the problem first began in August.

Joining hands with the rest of the region to tackle what she described as a “grave problem,” the acting permanent secretary in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Frances Seignoret, said yesterday it had “deep, far-reaching implications for all citizens.”

She made the statement as she responded to questions by reporters after the official opening of a two-day symposium, titled Challenges, Dialogue and Cooperation towards the Sustainability of the Caribbean Sea, at the Radisson Hotel, Port-of-Spain.

Hosted by the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), the Caribbean Sea Commission (CSC) highlighted three critical areas they believe needs to be addressed immediately if the region was to move forward, including the appearance of the sargassum seaweed; the overpopulation of the lion-fish which is threatening coral reefs and other sea-going species; and coastal erosion.

Delivering opening remarks on behalf of Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses, who is currently in Malta with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Seignoret said while it was imperative for both man and nature to co-exist, there had to be a balanced and harmonious relationship.

Acknowledging the negative impact these problems were having on the tourism industry, as well as the fishing industry and the health risks posed to humans, Seignoret cited rising ocean temperatures and changing current patterns as the reason behind the proliferation of the seaweed.

ACS secretary general Alfonso Munera Cavadia hopes the symposium will be able to aid in the development of specific strategies that can be accomplished during 2015 to 2018, and which will have a tangible impact on the problems listed.

Members of staff under the Help Our People Elevate (HOPE) programme under the Ministry of Tobago have sought legal redress to have salaries owed to them paid.

The group, which has not been paid since last August, retained attorney Martin George to represent them.

Speaking at a press conference at his office at Bacolet, Tobago, yesterday George said the HOPE programme had been beneficial to Tobago and Tobagonians and it was something that should continue on the island. 

He said all of the employees have valid contracts and the matter should be dealt with urgently.

“We are calling on the board of directors, which is headed by Dr Allison Williams, and we are saying you need to deal with this as a matter of urgency. 

“There is no debate or discussion here. You have persons who are on contract. They have specific amounts they are supposed to be paid. They are doing their work, they must be paid and we need to have this resolved expeditiously. This is not a question for debate or negotiation,” he said.

George said the excuse given that the programme was awaiting monies from the Central Government was invalid since the individuals attended work religiously. He said the employees should be paid on time without any issues. He also called on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to look into the matter.

“The months of September and October went by. They have not received payments, yet we are now into November and they have no word yet, so we are calling upon the Board, we are calling upon the authorities.

“We are calling upon the Central Government and the reason why the Central Government is important in this, in that regard we are making the call directly to our Prime Minister who is from Tobago, who I am sure would be interested to know that programmes for the benefit and the development of the people of Tobago are not stopped and are not cut short due to non-payment of the staff members. 

“We are calling on the Prime Minister to ensure that the Attorney General does what is necessary to ensure this programme continues and that these people are paid their just due.” 

George plans to issue a pre-action protocol letter on behalf of the employees.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the T&T Guardian, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Tobago Affairs Ayanna Webster-Roy said non-payment of salaries and stipends to employees and trainees under the HOPE programme was a problem she inherited as a new minister. She said her portfolio was to assist the public and not to spite or victimise anyone despite popular beliefs.

“What I want to reassure is that once I got the approval that funds were released, I would have given the directive for the money to be made available to the company to pay the employees and the trainees. 

“I want Tobagonians to understand what we are doing is not a matter of trying to spite people or victimise anyone. I have family who were on short-term and who are no longer working and they are my blood relatives but you have to do things according to the law, according to regulations and policies, that’s important,” she said. 

Minister Webster–Roy said she was advised that funding was made available and she issued a directive to pay those affected. 

She said people should be paid within two week. Questioned on the future of the HOPE programme, the minister said a concerted effort was being made to streamline what existed.

“We need to ensure what we do does not encroach on the rights and responsibilities of the Tobago House of Assembly. 

“I have a portfolio that guides my operations and I have to work according to that, so in going forward in the future there may be some more changes to come but I want Tobago to rest assured that we are working in the best interest of all,” she said.

The HOPE Programme was established in the Ministry for Tobago Development under the former People’s Partnership Government. The programme was geared at training individuals in various skills, which would afford them CVQ certification.

Ten households will be assisted by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) in repairing their roofs which were damaged by heavy winds last month.

However, Chief Secretary Orville London is warning that the THA should not be expected to take financial responsibility for the damaged caused to homes in such circumstances.

The assembly said it would provide $219,830 worth of materials to assist with repairs to the homes, adding that some of the other cases are still under review.

“We have to make a judgment call as to how we intervene because we cannot function as an insurance company,” London said at a media briefing, yesterday at the Administrative Complex, Calder Hall.

He said some people had voiced concerns about the THA’s response to the damage caused by last month’s inclement weather.

“Disaster relief is how we respond to bring immediate relief to people suffering from disaster. Restoration takes time and it cannot be complete restoration (done exclusively by the THA),” he added.

London said the needs of affected families and the resources available determined the level of relief the assembly can provide. According to the Chief Secretary, many of the houses that were damaged were in a poor state of repair or poorly constructed and were uninsurable.

London said the Tobago Emergency Management Authority (TEMA) dealt with immediate relief when homes suffered damage while the Division of Health and Social Services (DHSS) ensured affected residents received food where necessary.

“TEMA, along with the Division of Infrastructure and Public Utilities (DIPU), and the Division of Health, then begins the lengthy process of evaluating the damage and the resulting situations of affected residents. 

“This is done under the supervision of the Office of the Chief Administrator, which is responsible for disaster management. The THA will now look at a policy on disaster relief, outlining how the assembly responds to disaster relief and possibly to limit the amount of assistance “regardless of the circumstances,” he noted.

The State is moving to deem a Trinidadian convicted in the United States a terrorist and obtain a freezing order of his assets and any transaction done on his behalf.

The unprecedented action against convicted JFK bomb plotter Kareem Ibrahim, which is being pursued under the Anti-Terrorism Act, follows the collaborative efforts of local and foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

The exparte application was filed yesterday by the Office of the Attorney General and listed attorneys Pamela Elder, SC, and Michael Rooplal as the advocates.

No date has been set for the hearing.

The application comes on the heels of numerous reports of Trinidadians’ involvement with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and a fresh wave of calls for action to be taken against the foreign terrorist fighters in the wake of the recent ISIS attack in Paris.

News of the move had been announced hours earlier by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi during a media conference following the opening session of the Caribbean Action Financial Task Force (CFATF) plenary meeting at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, where a prayer was said in French and a minute’s silence was observed for the victims of the Paris attacks.

Al-Rawi declined then to name the person or entity but cited Sec 22 (B), 1 (B) of the Anti Terrorism Act as the piece of legislation which enabled him to act on the application.

Confirming that the application related specifically to terrorism, Al-Rawi said: “As incoming AG I met an application which was languishing and in respect of which there had been a conviction.

“I saw it as an important deliverable to proceed with that application to court and so I took the exercise of gelling the application into its proper form, ensured the evidence was behind the application and in very short measure made the approach to court today.”

A tough-talking Al-Rawi added: “Matters cannot afford to be in the system for long. You must deal with them conclusively and if you can’t deal with them, you have to say why.”

Warning that there would be international and local repercussions, Al-Rawi also declined to comment on the value of the assets involved, saying it would be premature to do so “until we have dealt with the position.”

Referring to pre-trial publicity and due process, the AG said every aspect of the law had to be carefully factored in for that instance.

He said his ministry, along with the Ministry of National Security, was urgently addressing issues, such as terrorist financing and foreign terrorist fighters, and they would soon make a public statement on the legislative changes that were being considered.

On the issue of the designation of foreign terrorist fighters and how the authorities can treat with it nationally, the AG said it was an international law issue and that talks were being held on whether one was allowed to bar the entry of alleged foreign terrorist fighters.

Claiming such a move would lead to the creation of statelessness, Al-Rawi said it was important to have the proper evidence of foreign travel, such as dates of entry, participation and departure from the host country. 

He said if it was not specific, there may be circumstantial evidence one could use to one’s advantage.

“If you bar people from entering your country, as is being proposed by some jurisdictions, you have to make sure those entities that have been bounced from your borders go somewhere and are treated somewhere. Who treats with statelessness?” he asked.

Al-Rawi acknowledged that the rights enshrined in the T&T Constitution, as well as the Treaty of Caricom and the International Court of Human Rights, provided an avenue for those people to seek redress both locally and internationally.

“Our jails are made to be used after due process has been carried out, so we don’t necessarily share the view that one ought to bounce somebody at the airport. What you really want to do is treat with the criminality in your due process and in your jail system,” he said.

On moves by Government to shore up T&T’s borders, Al-Rawi said they had already met with several intelligence agencies, including the Defence Force, T&T Police Service, Strategic Security Agency and the Caricom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security, and that they had accepted several naval vessels procured under questionable circumstances by the former People's Partnership government.

“As a country, we cannot afford to turn our backs upon the immediacy of accepting things to shore up the holes in our borders. That’s why we have expressed that we will not be throwing away the benefits of a lot of the institutions that we inherited. 

“We may clean them up, we may put them into better operations but we certainly intend to carry forward the business of T&T using what the people had purchased beforehand,” he added.

MORE INFO

Section 22 (B) of the Anti Terrorism Act states: “The Attorney General shall apply to a judge for an order under sub-section (3) (a) in respect of an entity, where the entity is a designated entity; or (b) in respect of an entity or individual where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the entity or individual (i) has knowingly committed or participated in the commission of a terrorist act; or (ii) is knowingly acting on behalf of, at the direction of, or in association with an entity referred to in paragraph (a).”

Nicholas: Act was in works

Former attorney general Garvin Nicholas yesterday denied Al-Rawi's claims that Anti Terrorist Act applications were languishing at the Ministry of the Attorney General.

During a brief interview, Nicholas said he could not recall any individual or entity being convicted of being a terrorist before the local courts.

However, he added: “The reality is that there were people convicted of being a terrorist in courts external to Trinidad and Tobago.”

Informed of Al-Rawi’s action on an application, Nicholas said: “I had instructed the Central Authority to pursue these matters and they were in the process of sourcing the necessary evidence from international agencies. 

“There was nothing languishing, that process was initiated by me and we were awaiting the required documentation to proceed.”

Found guilty in US

Ibrahim was convicted on May 26, 2011 of conspiracy to launch a terrorist attack at the John F Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York, in 2007.

He and Guyanese nationals — Russell Defreitas and Abdul Kadir — were accused of plotting to explode fuel tanks and the fuel pipeline under the airport.

The evidence at trial established that Ibrahim, an imam and leader of the Shiite Muslim community in T&T, provided religious instruction and operational support to a group plotting to commit a terrorist attack at JFK Airport. 

Ibrahim and his co-conspirators believed their attack would cause extensive damage to the airport and to the New York economy as well as the loss of numerous lives.

According to the trial evidence, the conspirators also attempted to enlist support for the plot from prominent international terrorist groups and leaders, including Adnan El Shukrijumah, an al Qaeda leader and explosives expert, and Yasin Abu Bakr, leader of the Trinidadian militant group Jamaat al Muslimeen.

Ibrahim was found guilty after a four-week trial. The specific charges Ibrahim was convicted of are: Conspiracy to attack a public transportation system; conspiracy to destroy a building by fire or explosive; conspiracy to attack aircraft and aircraft materials; conspiracy to destroy international airport facilities; and conspiracy to attack a mass transportation facility.

The National Gas Company (NGC) has fired Super Industrial Services Ltd (SIS) from the multi-million dollar Beetham Water Recycling Plant. 

In a statement from the State company yesterday, acting NGC president Maria Thorne said the contract was expected to be completed by October 21, 2015, but “to date SIS, the contractor, has failed to complete the project.

“NGC and its team have continuously exerted best efforts to ensure the stipulated contractual terms are satisfied.

“After careful deliberation, NGC has exercised its right to terminate the contract with SIS. This decision was prompted by our fiduciary responsibility to safeguard the interests and assets of the company,” the NGC release said.

One week ago, the T&T Guardian reported that the contentious multi-billion dollar contract was under review by the newly-appointed board of directors, headed by Gerry Brooks.

According to yesterday’s release, SIS, the preferred contractor under the former administration, indicated to NGC it was “unable to continue the works” in accordance with the contract.

Last September, the T&T Guardian had reported that SIS had outsourced portions of the project to a South-based company. In those bid documents, SIS detailed a ten-point plan to outsource work for the horizontal drilling aspect of the project. SIS had then defended its ability to complete the project.

This latest development comes just weeks after the new board stepped in after the September 7 general election. It was under the tenure of the former president, Indar Maharaj, that the billion-dollar project was approved. Maharaj, in a brief telephone interview yesterday, refused to comment on the quashed contract.

“I have been out of the country for the last six weeks. It would be improper to comment on it,” Maharaj said.

In media reports over the past year, it was revealed that NGC had made several monthly multi-million dollar payments to SIS despite the contractor’s slow pace of delivery.

In July, the T&T Guardian reported that SIS had been paid as much as $887 million of the contract, which was only 66.1 per cent completed. It was also reported then that a further US$32.4 million was paid to SIS in the form of a mobilisation fee which was not a part of the contract with NGC.

The NGC had then defended the payment schedule, saying that the mobilisation fee was supposed to be repaid in tranches, the first of which was due in August. The State company had confirmed then that despite the millions paid to SIS, the Beetham Waste Water project was only 42 per cent completed at that time.

According to yesterday’s media release, NGC and SIS entered into a contract on March 10, 2014 for the design and build of the Beetham Water Recycling Plant for the value of US$162,055,318.77. 

Last week, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley all but called for the suspension of the project, saying he had written to President Anthony Carmona to get involved and use the Constitution to force then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to answer questions on the hush-hush project.

“I presented the evidence and I identified a clear conflict of decision-making involving the people at WASA (Water and Sewage Authority) and the same people at NGC,” Rowley said in a text exchange then.

He was referring to reports that the then chairman of WASA was the chief executive officer at NGC at the time that the contract was awarded.

Former energy minister Kevin Ramnarine, who was a vocal supporter of the contract, could not be reached for comment yesterday as calls to his cellphone went unanswered and he did not return calls.

More info

Last year, when questions were raised about the award of the multi-billion dollar contract to Super Industrial Services Ltd (SIS), then energy minister Kevin Ramnarine had defended the company and the award.

In 2014, Ramnarine had ordered a report into the award of the contract and then explained his findings in Parliament.

He said then that it was the National Gas Company board of directors who were responsible for the final decision and that SIS was chosen because it topped the international players vying for the project.

He also said SIS had “scored 77.93 per cent in the technical evaluation” and that it had “proposed a superior pipeline methodology.”

He said too that SIS had submitted a “superior construction programme” and that its information submitted on “reverse osmosis was of superior quality.”

Ramnarine said SIS was also given the nod because its proposal had “greater local content” and its design team had “extensive membrane plant experience.”

Seven-year-old Karishma Harriram is unaware that the accident which caused her to suffer a broken arm and leg also claimed the life of her father and brother, Namdeo and Lalchan Harriram.

However, her aunt Radica Rampersad, who has been at her bedside at the San Fernando Teaching Hospital, said the child, sensing that something is wrong, has been constantly asking for her daddy and her brother who would have been at her side under normal circumstances.

“We have not told her that they have passed on but she has a feeling that something is wrong. 

“She is crying constantly and is asking for her father and her brother. 

“She saw her mother who was with her in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department after the accident but she has not seen her dad and brother.”

Hawantee, 45, was discharged from the hospital at 3 am on Tuesday after being treated for minor cuts and bruises.

Rampersad said Karishma, also known as Tricia, had no memory of the accident as she was taken to the district hospital at Princes Town by passers-by who witnessed the accident, before paramedics, police and fire officers arrived on the scene and used the hydraulic cutting tools, commonly referred to as the jaws of life, to remove the bodies of the two men from the wreckage.

Lalchan and Karishma were in the back seat of the vehicle, driven by Namdeo. Hawantee was in the front passenger seat. 

The brother and sister were on their way to visit a doctor in San Fernando, when tragedy struck.

“Tricia is in a lot of pain and has been asking the nurses not to give her any injections because they hurt,” her aunt said.

Member of Parliament for Princes Town Barry Padarath visited Hawantee at hospital and has offered to assist with the joint funeral arrangements which are scheduled for Friday at the family’s home in New Grant.

“I know the family well. In fact, Mrs Harriram worked closely with me during the 2015 general election as one of my polling agents. 

“This is a very humble family and I have pledged to offer them whatever support we can from the office of the MP and at the level of the Princes Town Regional Corporation.”

Padarath said Hawantee appeared to be strong emotionally but very fragile when it came to recalling the incident.

“You have to understand that in addition to being the backbone of the family, the breadwinners, Lalchan was also her first-born with whom she shared a very close relationship,” Padarath said.

Rampersad said the two would be cremated at the Shore of Peace, Mosquito Creek, La Romaine, following a funeral service at the family’s home at Daly Road. It is not certain whether Tricia will be able to attend the funeral.

An autopsy at the mortuary at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) showed that the two men died from multiple injuries consistent with a motor vehicle accident.

ASP Rohan Pardasie confirmed the driver of the truck, Dave Ramkissoon, who is traumatised by the tragedy, is yet to be interviewed by the police. 

He said he would speak with the police Victim and Witness Support Unit to establish whether they could offer counselling to Ramkissoon and his brother, Nizam Mohammed, who was a passenger in the truck.

Shortly after 10 am on Monday, the black Toyota Corolla Altis which Namdeo, 48, was driving, skidded off the wet M1 Ring Road, Princes Town, and crashed into the loaded ten-tonne truck, going under it. 

The impact damaged the front tyre of the truck causing it to run off the opposite side of the road and land in a ditch.

Carenage police have begun a criminal investigation into allegations that soliders beat a resident and dumped his body into the sea last Friday.

On Monday night relatives of Brian Smith burnt tyres and threw debris along the Western Main Road, Carenage, near the Carenage Heath Centre, to protest the inaction of the police. 

The soldiers being accused are members of the Engineer Battalion who were assigned to repair houses damaged by a low-flying Air Guard helicopter, near St Peter's Bay.

The protest by the residents began shortly after family members viewed a segment of CNC3’s Crime Watch, where host Ian Alleyne highlighted their claims relating to the death of Smith and promised “to get to the bottom of the death.” 

The T&T Guardian was informed that Insp Hospedales of the Carenage Police Station would be conducting the investigations and only began his probe after the family protested Monday night. 

Police said they were treating the death of Smith, 30, whose body was found floating near Alice Point, Chaguaramas, by prison officers on their way to Carrera Island prison around 7 am Sunday, as a drowning prior to the protest.

Family members told the T&T Guardian they would be authorising a second autopsy on the body of their relative after the first done at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Monday showed that Smith had drowned. 

According to relatives, Smith was drinking alcohol with soldiers last Friday when they got into an argument over an illegal electrical connection. 

Relatives accused the soldiers of beating Smith with a shovel and after he complained to neighbours about the beating, he was hit in the head and thrown into the sea.

Two witnesses told the T&T Guardian on Monday that the soldiers never touched Smith, other than to remove him from the compound as he was being verbally abusive. 

Police have called on anyone with information into the death to come forward.

Civil affairs officer of the Defence Force, Major Al Alexander, said yesterday the Regiment intended to co-operate with the police during their investigations.

Alexander defended the soldiers during CNC3 Morning Brew programme, saying they were not involved in the man’s death. He advised the family to allow the police to do their work. He said witnesses saw when Smith went for a swim in rough waters.

Three weeks ago the downdraft of the helicopter caused an unfinished structure to collapse and uprooted galvanised sheeting from other homes. The Defence Force accepted liability for the damage and agreed to repair the houses. The job is expected to be completed by the end of the week.

An Air Guard helicopter remained guarded at an abandoned quarry in Valencia last night after the pilot was forced to land the multi-million dollar aircraft last Friday after it experienced mechanical problems.

The AgustaWestland 139 was on a routine flight when a crew alert system warning light came on and the pilot was forced to land. Since then Air Guard officers have been on 24-hour security detail at the site. 

Yesterday, members of the media accompanied engineers to the site where they conducted diagnostic tests on the helicopter.

The T&T Guardian was informed by Civil affairs officer of the Defence Force, Major Al Alexander, that a previous test was done and the report sent abroad to the aircraft manufacturers. 

He said the aircraft was given clearance to fly again but Civil Aviation Division had to give the final approval and that should be done by this weekend. 

The helicopter will then be flown back to Air Guard base in Piarco where a full and thorough check will be made to ensure that the mechanical problem, believed to be caused by a fuel cable malfunction, will not re-occur.

There were no reported injuries in the operation.

Last year, two of the four AW 139 helicopters bought under the Patrick Manning administration in 2009 were grounded because of structural cracks on their tailbooms. 

Each helicopter cost US$13.7 million, Alexander said. The helicopters were purchased to work in tandem with the three offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), which was cancelled by the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led People’s Partnership government.

The aircraft has been used in search and rescue operations since then and were earlier this year dispatched to assist Dominicans affected by tropical storm Erika. (JL)

The State will have to synchronise the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) programme and tertiary facilities to produce graduates the economy can absorb — and find alternative ways to educate people — since the absorptive capacity of the economy is a challenge, says Government Senator Franklin Khan.

“We’re seeing growing levels of under-employment and under-employment is worse than unemployment,” Khan said in the Senate yesterday.

Khan, the Leader of the Government bench, was speaking in the debate on an Opposition motion filed by United National Congress (UNC) senator Wade Mark calling for Government to report on the implementation of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which the United Nations (UN) mandated government to implement towards 2030. 

T&T signed on to the plan during the September United Nations meeting. Goals range from eradicating poverty and hunger to eliminating inequality and empowering women.

Khan who complimented Mark for the motion said the Parliament would have a role to play in going forward on the goals. He said obviously not all goals could be achieved but Khan said the plan could not sustain six billion people at the level of lifestyle of the developed states. 

Khan said the absorptive capacity of the economy was a challenge for the past government and also for the current government to absorb graduates for the system. In trying to retool programmes to produce graduates which could be more easily absorbed into the economy, he said it would be a challenge for the educational system.

Khan also said girls continued to out perform boys in education and at one point recently girls outnumbered boys at the University of the West Indies’ Faculty of Engineering. He said there was a gender issue with males and Government was putting together a plan to deal with that.

On the UN’s advice that the lifeblood of the SDGs had to be data-driven, Khan said the People’s Partnership had to take some blame on that point considering issues with the Central Statistical Office (CSO) in its term.

On Mark’s call for a national plan on the matter, Khan said the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) manifesto was a plan and some of the UN’s goals synchronised with its plans. 

He said most of the issues of the SDGs were in PNM’s manifesto. “We have a 15-year plan and we hope to stay in government for 15 years,” he added.

Mark, piloting the motion, said Government had attended the recent UN conference where T&T signed on to the SDGs.

He said there was a need to reform the way things were done and ensure it was for the common good and not geared for particular interests. He called for the Parliament to be part of any T&T delegation on the issue of the SDGs.

Citing world issues, he also said the middle class was being eroded and cited in T&T Government’s recent housing policy change as contributing to the erosion.

Also in Senate, Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus said Government would be reviewing the Industrial Relations Act regarding the aspect regarding domestic workers which had lapsed in June and would hold consultations with tripartite parties on that and other aspects.

Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan’s professional reputation was called into question as he took the witness stand to defend himself in his defamation lawsuit against current Works and Infrastructure Minister Fitzgerald Hinds yesterday. 

Hinds’ lawyer, Gregory Delzin, spent several hours criticising Ramlogan over his claims that his reputation was severely damaged by statements made by his client during a political meeting in Sangre Grande in May last year. 

“I am suggesting to you that you come here and put yourself in high repute, when in truth and in fact this reputation was created by public relations,” Delzin said, as he accused Ramlogan of “inflating” in the lawsuit the impact of Hinds’ speech on his reputation. 

In response, Ramlogan cited a series of high-profile cases he did during his career as a private attorney and claimed his track record as a lawyer had made him a household name. 

“Not because you are a household name means that you are held in high esteem,” Delzin said. 

Ramlogan’s lawsuit centres around claims made by Hinds that he (Ramlogan) was involved in corruption in relation of lawsuits brought by prisoners claiming to have been abused by prison officers which were settled by the Office of the Attorney General before the case went on trial. 

Hinds also alleged on the platform that Ramlogan attempted to influence improperly former Solicitor General Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell, who raised the issue of the improper prison litigation in a letter to former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar months before Hinds’ speech. 

Donaldson-Honeywell’s allegations, refered to as Prisongate, resulted in a police probe, which is still on going. Donaldson-Honeywell subsequently resigned and is now a judge of the High Court.

In addition to seeking compensation for the damage to his reputation, Ramlogan is also seeking an injunction against Hinds preventing him from making further statements of a similar nature. 

As he testified before Justice Vasheist Kokaram in the Port-of-Spain High Court, Ramlogan denied the allegations as he claimed the decision to settle lawsuits against the State was not part of his purview when he held office as attorney general. 

“This does not come to the attention of the Attorney General. Even with the (Jamal) Sambury case, I learned about it from the newspapers,” Ramlogan said.

He was refering to a case of prisoner Jamal Sambury, who claimed he was beaten by police officers, which raised a hornet’s nest as High Court Master Patricia Sobion-Awai found that statements detailing his claims in the lawsuit had been “copied and pasted” from other successful claims from other prisoners. 

Ramlogan also denied allegations that he had taken issue with Donald-Honeywell’s direct communication with the then prime minister as he said she was allowed to address Persad-Bissessar directly as an independent Government officer. 

He was then the line minister for the Solicitor General and Persad-Bissessar referred the complaints back to him to resolve.

Ramlogan was also forced to defend increases in the Office of the AG’s annual budget during his tenure. 

“We had an avalanche of unpaid bills we inherited when we entered office. There were forensic probes into the activities of some State companies and agencies as well as the Clico commission of enquiry,” Ramlogan said. 

He is being represented by Senior Counsel Avory Sinanan and Kelvin Ramkissoon. 

Hinds is scheduled to testify in his defence when the trial resumes this morning.

After spending over five years on the run, a 29-year-old man from Barataria was deported from Grenada last week to face charges in relation to an armed robbery in 2003 which resulted in the death of a store clerk. 

Obika Jabari Roberts, of Fifth Avenue, faced 11 charges, including manslaughter, when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court on Monday. 

He was remanded into custody and ordered to reappear in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court next Monday. 

According to a release from the T&T Police Service’s (TTPS) Public Affairs Unit yesterday, Roberts was arrested in Grenada last month, based on intelligence exchanges between local and Grenadian police and was deported after appearing before a magistrate court in Grenada for being an illegal immigrant in that country. 

His charges include five charges of possession of a gun without a licence, four charges of possession of ammunition without a licence and one charge of discharging a firearm. 

The charges stem from a robbery at a business place in Gasparillo on November 29, 2003 in which employee Arvin Bissoondial was shot dead. 

In 2007, while on bail for the charges, Roberts was arrested and charged with arms and ammunition possession in connection to an unrelated incident in Malick, Barataria. 

Roberts is alleged to have fled to Grenada two years later while on bail. 

In the last ten years alone the Caribbean achieved a 61 per cent reduction in Aids-related deaths, according to a report, titled Focus on location and population: Fast track to end Aids by 2030, which was released from UNAids World yesterday.

December 1 marks World Aids Day.

The report said since 2000, new infections in the region had declined by 50 per cent and additionally, following the success of Cuba, several Caribbean countries have also been on track to be validated as having eliminated HIV transmission from mothers to children by next year.

“All these gains are linked to improvements in HIV testing and treatment. 

“Based on the new World Health Organisation guidelines for initiating patients on anti-retroviral medicines immediately after diagnosis, treatment coverage for the region is 44 per cent for adults living with HIV and 36 per cent for children.

“By scaling up efforts to test and treat, the 90-90-90 targets are achievable,” the report added.

It also said in order to reduce dramatically new HIV infections and deaths due to Aids renewed efforts must be put in place to eliminate stigma and discrimination. 

“Dozens of countries have produced investment cases and HIV response–effectiveness analyses that calculate an optimal mix of services and make specific recommendations that call for tough choices; reallocation of resources away from areas and services where there is little to be achieved and front-loading investment in high-priority areas to achieve long-term gains,” the report added.

It also urged that strategic efforts were also required to reach those most vulnerable.

The report also identified five groups relevant to the Caribbean that required intense investments and efforts which included adolescent girls and young women, gay men and other men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers and prisoners. 

The report also highlighted how high-impact HIV prevention and treatment programmes, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis, voluntary medical male circumcision and sexual and reproductive health services, are being successfully implemented in various locations and for different populations, including adolescent girls and young women and their partners, pregnant women living with HIV, sex workers, transgender people, gay men and other men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs.

MORE INFO

• In 2014, there were 280,000 people living with HIV in the Caribbean.

• In 2014, there were an estimated 13,000 new HIV infections in the

region.

• New HIV infections declined by 50 per cent between 2000 and 2014.

• New HIV infections among children have declined by 58 per cent since 2000.

• Worldwide, 220,000 children became newly infected with HIV in 2014, down from 520,000 in 2000.

Aids-related deaths

• Aids-related deaths have fallen by 42 per cent since the peak in 2004.

• In 2014, 1.2 million people died from Aids-related causes worldwide compared to two million in 2005.

Managing director of Republic Bank Ltd David Dulal-Whiteway has been honoured by the Past Students Association of Presentation College San Fernando and the Brother Jerome Foundation for life and career excellence.

Dulal-Whiteway, who has been in banking for 25 years, was entered onto an honour roll that includes President Anthony Carmona, former prime ministers Basdeo Panday and Patrick Manning, former Central Bank Governor Euric Bobb and his late brother Bernard Dulal-Whiteway.

In his acceptance speech he said one of the first lessons he learned at the school was that “consistency of effort is the key to success.”

Dulal-Whiteway praised his parents George and Myra for having the foresight to relocate the family from Cedros to San Fernando, a sacrifice they deemed necessary to ensure their eight children got a proper education. All six boys attended Presentation College. 

“Because of them, I attended the best schools, including Presentation College, the University of the West Indies and the University of Ontario. All my siblings played critical roles in my development and have been supportive all through my life and of course, who could have asked for a better big brother than Bernard. He set standards for all of us to follow. He was my mentor and guide throughout my career. 

“As I look back at my life, many persons played critical roles in fashioning me into the person I am today. My wife Natalie was my best friend in UWI and without her knowing provided me with the passion for success,” Dulal-Whiteway said.

He added: “It is impossible for me to speak of my life without talking about Republic Bank. I joined the bank a few years after completing my MBA and have had the time of my life. At Republic Bank I found a value system consistent with mine. I had the opportunity to work with professionals who are among the best in the field, persons who dream big and believe that we can from T&T develop a world class organisation that can compete with the best in the World. 

“What a journey! A journey I credit to one of my early bosses there and who is still my boss and mentor today. I am speaking of Ronald Harford, our current chairman and former managing director.”

A High Court judge will hear an application from the State today seeking to deem a US convicted national a terrorist and pave the way to freeze his assets.

The lawsuit, the first of its kind, is set for hearing before Justice Nadia Kangaloo in the Port-of-Spain High Court at 9.30 am.

The Office of the Attorney General is yet to identify any local assets, including bank accounts, attributed to Kareem Ibrahim, 70, formerly of Cane Farm Road, Tacarigua, which could be seized through its application under the Anti-Terrorism Act. 

According to court documents filed on Tuesday, checks by the T&T Police Service’s Financial Investigation Branch revealed that Ibrahim was not an account holder or signatory with any local financial institution.

Checks in relation to any potential real estate and business interests are still ongoing, the results of which are expected to be presented to the court while the AG’s application is being heard by Kangaloo. 

Section 22(b) of Anti-Terrorism Act provides that the AG’s office apply to have the terrorist’s assets frozen, provided that there is sufficient evidence proving that he/she was involved in terrorism either locally or internationally. 

The application is to be heard ex parte. Ibrahim may apply for a review of Kangaloo’s eventual decision, 60 days after she delivers it. 

Central to the application is evidence used to secure the conviction of Ibrahim and his two Guyanese co-conspirators, which was provided to the AG’s office by the United States Department of Justice. 

In a press conference following the closing ceremony of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) plenary meeting at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, yesterday, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi noted Ibrahim’s application was the first of several being considered by his office and the National Security Council. 

“There are several we are looking at right now. Once the evidence has been nailed down and when everything is gelled together the applications will be made. Due process must be observed, hence avoiding pre-trial publicity by revealing names and addresses,” Al-Rawi said. 

Questioned on whether the Government intended to introduce legislation preventing locals suspected of involvement with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from re-entering T&T, Al-Rawi said the move was being considered. 

“If T&T were to do a knee-jerk reaction without thinking it through by amending the Immigration Act with regards to the power to bounce a T&T national at the airport, this will create an immediate issue of statelessness.

“Who takes the people you bounce? Which airline takes them back and to where?” Al-Rawi said, as he claimed  local terrorism laws which criminalised terrorist activity in foreign territories could be used to prosecute nationals suspected of returning from fighting in the Middle East. 

Background 

​Ibrahim was convicted on May 26, 2011 of conspiracy to launch a terrorist attack at the John F Kennedy Airport in Queens, New York, in 2007.

He and Guyanese nationals—Russell Defreitas and Abdul Kadir—were accused of plotting to explode fuel tanks and the fuel pipeline under the airport.

The evidence at the trial established that Ibrahim, an imam and leader of the Shiite Muslim community in T&T, provided religious instructions and operational support to a group plotting to commit a terrorist attack at JFK Airport. 

Ibrahim and his co-conspirators believed their attack would cause extensive damage to the airport and to the New York economy, as well as the loss of numerous lives. The trio was arrested in Trinidad in June 2007 and were eventually extradited to the US to face trial. 

He was found guilty after a four-week trial and was sentenced to life in prison. He is currently serving time at a prison in Missouri in the US.

 The specific charges Ibrahim was convicted of are: Conspiracy to attack a public transportation system; conspiracy to destroy a building by fire or explosive; conspiracy to attack aircraft and aircraft materials; conspiracy to destroy international airport facilities and conspiracy to attack a mass transportation facility.