Choate:”He preaches that even the life on an ant is important and should not be destroyed.”

The Trinidad Express is reporting that those who know Ashmead Choate are defending him and vouching for his character.  Choate the man accused of masterminding an alleged plot to kill Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other government ministers, was described yesterday as a meek and devout Muslim preaching tolerance and beloved by all. They are bewildered that Ashmead can be placed in these circumstances.

Those who know Choate, who has been served with a detention order, are calling on the State to free him. In his hometown of Craignish Village, east of Princes Town, residents said yesterday they were shocked that Choate could be implicated in such an affair. They described him as a quiet and respectful man who operated a variety shop and lived out of a old wooden house that was once famous for being the birthplace of “doubles” sold by his grandfather.

Choate, a former teacher at the Moruga Secondary School, would often give sermons at mosques in south and central Trinidad and while his views were described by some as “controversial”, none of it was considered threatening, the Express was told by several people who worshipped with him.

Choate, the father of three, has two wives, one in Princes Town and the other in San Juan.

He studied in Saudi Arabia and with others, opened the Darul Qur’an Wal Hadith Islamic School at Calcutta No 2, Freeport in 2003. Choate is the principal of the school which is funded by charity, with an enrolment of some 100 pupils.  The pupils are from pre-school to fifth standard and are schooled according to the Education Ministry curriculum.  At the gates to the school yesterday, four teachers, who declined to be named, spoke in defence of Choate, insisting that law enforcement had made a terrible mistake.  One female teacher, a Seventh Day Adventist follower, said: “I have been here for almost a year, and Sir (Choate) has never been anything but a role model. He has never said anything that would be considered threatening. It is difficult to believe he could be capable of anything like this.” Another teacher said, “The children of this school is his life. He preaches that even the life on an ant is important and should not be destroyed. He would never jeopardise what he cared so much about.” The teachers said Choate, who once had a programme on the Islamic Broadcasting Network (IBN) cable channel, would arrive at the school at 6.30 a.m. and taught Islamic studies to pupils.

“He is a very good person, and to his staff, he was like a father, and role model. He never spoke about politics, and never spoke bad of any politician. Even during last year’s general election, he never had anything bad to say. And he always taught us to treat non-Muslims with respect.”

One teacher, who has been at the school for several years, said: “I can’t even imagine Sir using the word bomb and assassination. This is not his character and personality. So we are just praying for them to let him go.” One male teacher asked: “If they are saying this man is involved in such a crime, how is it that you have never before heard about him?”  The teacher said the future of the school was now uncertain.