The mother of several boys, who were allegedly sexually molested by Muslim scholar Neezam Ali , is seeking justice and is calling on the relevant authorities to hear her cries as she believes deliberate attempts are being made to throw the case under the carpet .
Ali, also known as ‘Mufti’, an Imam of Lot 268 Section ‘C 5’ South, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, was committed to stand trial in the High Court on nine counts of engaging in sexual intercourse with nine boys under the age of 12 back in 2012.
The charges alleged that between December 2011 and January 2012, Ali, being a teacher attached to the Turkeyen Masjid, engaged in sexual activity with the children. He was placed on a total of $1.3M bail at the time.
The acts were allegedly committed while Ali was in a position of trust, being a religious teacher and knew or could be reasonably expected to have known of the trust in relation to the boys. The boys had been attending Arabic and Koran classes at the time.
Following a preliminary hearing at the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Court, before Alex Moore, Ali was committed to stand trial at the High Court. But, his attorney, Nigel Hughes had challenged the paper committal on several grounds.
The matter was sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice and was later reopened before Magistrate Moore.
On Friday morning, when the matter was scheduled to be called at the Sparendaam Court, Magistrate Moore failed to make an appearance, causing another adjournment, further frustrating the families of the victims.
The prosecutor, Hattie Alexander explained that the file in the matter is complete and was ready to be heard.
The mother of four of the teens told the Guyana Chronicle that while she is tired of the back and forth regarding the matter, she will not give up.
According to the woman, she was offered an $8M “bribe” by the members of the Muslim community to “hush-up” on the matter but she noted that she will not accept anything but justice for her children.
She said too that she will continue to seek an audience with the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, Minister of Legal Affairs, Attorney General, Basil Williams and the higher authorities on the matter.
She noted too that she visited the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) but was chased out of the building by an official.
Additionally, the single mother explained that the defendant, who is on bail, would pass her home in Sophia twice daily and would slow down and smile at her in torment.
The woman said on one occasion, Ali along with another man stood in front of her home and take pictures of the house and children. The matters were all reported to the Turkeyen Police Station.
