Six police officers accused of killing three people 12 years ago in Moruga are threatening to boycott their trial if the Judiciary insists of a hybrid hearing at the O'Meara Judicial Centre, in Arima.
The defence attorneys representing the accused have told the presiding judge, Justice Carla Brown-Antoine, that the O'Meara Court is "totally unfit" to conduct the trial.
The accused are Cpl Khemraj Sahadeo and PCs Renaldo Reviero, Roger Nicholas, Glenn Singh, Safraz Juman, and Antonio Ramadin, all of the Southern Division and have been incarcerated since they were arrested in 2011.
They were charged with the shooting deaths of Abigail Johnson, Alana Duncan and Kerron "Fingers" Eccles in Mourga in July 2011.
At the latest hearing on Wednesday, the judge set June 1 as the trial date.
At that virtual hearing, attorneys Israel Khan SC and Ulric Skerritt raised concerns about the proposed trial's location. Arissa Maharaj is also part of the defence team.
The judge informed the defence team that the San Fernando High Court is under renovation and would take about six – nine months to be completed.
In a statement from the defence team, they believe the trial will "most unlikely" not be heard on June 1 at the complex.
The attorneys suggest the trial could be only heard either at the Princes Town Magistrates' Court, or at the Hall of Justice, in Port of Spain if the Director of Public Prosecutions transfers the matter to Port of Spain.
The defence team promised to participate in the trial only if it is fixed for hearing at the Hall of Justice emphasising the Arima centre is "highly unsuitable."
The team charged that the centre's courtroom does not have seating for the public, there are holding cells with iron bars for the accused, the jury is placed about 40 feet away from the bar table and the witness box is about two feet from the judge and about 20 feet from the bar table.
Additionally, they believe that the lawyers’ view of the judge is obscured.
The defence team believes the trial would not start because jurors are expected to be selected at the Princes Town Court and taken by bus to the Arima court.
In the statement, the defence team said it is a travesty of justice to put the accused into the "iron cells," deny the public access to the court and select the jury from the San Fernando jurisdiction and transport them to O'Meara to decide this matter.
"We will not condone this travesty of justice, and if we cannot get a trial at the San Fernando Court or Port of Spain, then the accused should be placed on bail, and when the San Fernando Court comes into operation in the six to nine months' time, the trial could then proceed," the statement said.
"We refuse to assist the court in this travesty of justice and be part of this charade if the matter is going to be tried at the factory room in the O'Meara complex."
The statement added it was premature to publish that this matter would proceed on June 1 "because the docketed judge has to give a very important ruling whether the matter would be pr
