The judge presiding over the resentencing of 13 participants in Grenada's 1983 coup on Thursday rejected a call by prosecutors that he step down because of his ties to the political movement of the ousted prime minister. Supreme Court Judge Francis Bell said he was only "associated" with the New Jewel Movement and quit the group before the coup by Marxist hardliners that killed its leader, Maurice Bishop. The Barbados-based judge said a letter submitted to the court by a former NJM member who claimed he was "actively involved" in the organization was full of "blatant lies." Prosecutors accepted Bell's explanation and withdrew their call for him to step down. Hearings began Monday for the prisoners whose death sentences were overturned in February by the London-based Privy Council, the highest court of appeal for the former British territory. Defense attorneys are requesting sentences of no more than 35 years. The proceedings are set to resume today after a break Thursday afternoon to accommodate a graduation ceremony in the trade center where they are taking place.