Syed case remains stalled on legal aid

Hassan Syed

(CNS): Hassan Syed has still not made any formal admissions or denied the allegations against him that he stole more than $250,000 from government when he was the president of the local university. With his assets frozen as a result of the accusations and having been refused legal aid, the case has stalled. Speaking on his behalf Friday, James Stenning told the court that Syed’s case is not a simple one as there are 70 crown witnesses, including members of the judiciary.

Acting as an amicus curiae, or a friend of the court, Stenning Associates are not yet formally representing Syed. For the last few weeks, however, Stenning has acted pro bono in his efforts to assist the former head of the University College of the Cayman Islands. Stenning told the court that although Syed has been pressed by the crown to enter a response to the 15 counts against him, he has not done so because he needs the benefit of legal advice before he can make any formal denials or admissions.

But with his assets frozen and a legal aid application denied, the situation over who will act for Syed without being paid is stalling any progression in the case, which is due to be tried in Grand Court in March.

Stenning said his firm’s limited involvement has shown that this is a complex case and if it goes to trial Syed will not only need local counsel but probably an experienced QC as well. Stenning said that with 70 witnesses, some of whom are members of the judiciary, including a judge, Syed will need to have an experienced attorney. He told the court that there were a number of issues that he could not raise in the public courtroom but the case was simply not a straight forward one.

Syed is accused of using his government credit card to buy lavish gifts from Tiffany’s jewellers and to fund luxury weekends away when he was UCCI president. He faces charges of theft, obtaining a pecuniary advantage and money laundering that were alleged to have taken place between September 2006 and June 2008.

He resigned from the UCCI in 2008 while on sick leave, soon after the discrepancies on his government card were exposed during a government audit. By that time he had already submitted his resignation from overseas and was believed to be in Canada but he then disappeared and was on the run for five years before he was finally arrested in Switzerland last year.

The crown began extradition proceedings but Syed, who is suffering from a number of serious health problems, agreed not to contest the extradition in return for being able to access the medical treatment he needs.

Unable to access his own money as the crown have frozen all of his assets in relation to the case, Syed has also been turned down for legal aid. The court heard Friday, however, that he is now attempting to have the refusal re-evaluated and there is a “ray of hope” that the decision could be overturned.

Stenning explained that he had been granted legal aid to assist Syed in an application to allow him to access his own assets to fund a layer but legal research had shown that such an application would be futile as there is no provision under the statute to vary the freeze order. The lawyer said there was no point in him wasting public funds to try. He added that Syed’s last hope for a fair trial was if the legal aid application for his full representation could be re-examined and granted.

The attorney told the court that the local law relating to seizing assets needed to be reviewed as there were numerous problems with the legislation. He said he had made representations to the previous UDP administration about the need to address the proceeds of crime law, as it was preventing people from getting a fair trial.

Given the circumstances, Syed is in the difficult position of facing very serious charges and going to trial two months from now with no legal representation.

Despite previous entreaties from crown counsel in the case, Toyin Salako, to the court that Syed must answer the charges against him, either admitting or denying them, as it is now more than seven months since he was charged, Justice Charles Quin allowed one more adjournment.

Justice Quin said he was sympathetic to the situation regarding the proceeds of crime legislation because defendants were entitled to legal representation and reasonable living expenses. However, the judge expressed his concerns about the length of time it has taken for Syed to enter his pleas.

“He is an educated man and must be able to read the papers and form a view of whether he did it or not,” Justice Quin observed, as he bailed him to return to court on 23 January.