04 December, 2006 - Published 21:52 GMT

Abu Bakr Freed

Trinidad and Tobago's Black muslim leader Yasin Abu Bakr was on Monday freed on a charge of consiparacy to murder two former members of his Jamaat al Muslimeen.

Back in 1990, Abu Bakr and just over 100 of his followers attempted a violent overthrow of the government.

He eventually surrendered to the army.

Over the years since then, he and his followers have had several cases in the criminal courts and once had a near confrontation with the army, the group backing down in the end.

Jury told to bring not guilty verdict

On Monday the judge in the conspiracy to murder charge directed the jury to bring in a not guilty verdict.

The judgment came after senior counsel for Abu Bakr, Pamela Elder, made a no-case submission against the case brought by the state's lawyers.

In upholding her argument, Justice Mustapha Ibrahim ruled that the evidence given by the state's main witness, Brent Miller, was weak, manifestly unreliable and disintegrated under cross-examination.

In the circumstances, Justice Ibrahim agreed with lawyer Elder that no jury could convict on such evidence and to put it to the jury could result in a miscarriage of justice.

He therefore directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict against Abu Bakr.

Witness proved unreliable

During the trial, which was a re-trial as a previous jury could not return a majority decision, state witness Miller on several occasions crossed himself up.

He said too that he had lied in his original statement to the police.

And he told the court that he did not feel safe.

Even one police officer, when he came before the judge said he could not remember vital evidence.

The doctor of the main police officer who brought the charge, came to court and said his patient had undergone surgery and could not come to court.

After the verdict, muslim leader Bakr said he forgives everyone and had no ill-feeling towards them and that Allah too would forgive them.

But it's not the end of his court matters.

He remains on bail facing a charge of seditious incitement when he threatened rich muslims to pay alms for the poor to him or face retribution.