Defence claims jury must acquit Gabby Affif

Summations in the case against Jabor “Gabby” Affif continued today in the Belize City Supreme Court. Presenting the defence team’s review of the case was Senior Counsel Ellis Arnold. The defence attorney told the jury, “We are not saying that those forms are not forged. There is also no dispute of who forged them. The contention is whether those documents were ever in the possession of the defendant.” According to Arnold, of the twenty-seven witnesses called to the stand by the prosecution, none proved the guilt of his client beyond a reasonable doubt. Arnold went further to contend that four witnesses actually gave direct evidence to show that Affif is not guilty. The defence team concentrated their efforts on the testimonies of Affif’s former employee Ursula Hill and Justice of the Peace Max Santos who they assert implicated no one other than themselves in the forgery of passport and nationality applications. Arnold referred to Affif as a “scapegoat” for a people with political connections who frequented the passport offices. According to the Senior Counsel, in the testimony of Immigration Officer Dorita Pacheco, she admitted that because of the heavy traffic of minister’s drivers and area representatives, she had to designate two days, Thursdays and Fridays, to handle those applications. Arnold would go on to suggest that because Affif was not named in that list, he could not have been the person who submitted the forms to the department because the dates in question were in fact Thursdays and Fridays. Responding to the address of Director of Public Prosecutions Kirk Anderson on Wednesday, Arnold accused the D.P.P. of trying to hide evidence from the defence and jury, namely copies of permanent residence cards. Those cards, Arnold maintains show that the applicants named in the indictment did in fact qualify to fill out the relevant forms. In his parting words, Arnold told the jury, “You will not be able to find evidence to convict. You will not be able to find proof beyond a reasonable doubt … that is not there.” The case will resume at nine on Friday morning when Justice Adolf Lucas will present his summation of the case to the jurors.