A High Court judge will decide tomorrow whether the State could seize the assets of a man convicted of terrorism in the United States (US).
Justice Nadia Kangaloo gave the deadline after a brief hearing in the Port-of-Spain High Court in which attorneys for the Office of the Attorney General presented final submissions on why 70-year-old Kareem Ibrahim, formerly of Tacarigua, should be deemed a terrorist and have his local assets seized.
The T&T Guardian understands that while the AG’s office is yet to identify any assets attributed to Ibrahim, a positive ruling from Kangaloo will allow for immediate seizure in the event real estate and business interests are discovered.
The application filed last week is the first since the Anti-Terrorism Act was passed by Parliament.
The legislation empowers the AG’s office to apply for the power to seize the assets of a person, once there is evidence of that person committing a terrorist act both locally and internationally.
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.