Attorneys representing the defendants have requested the Criminal Court of the Maldives to reject a large amount of evidence submitted for the trial on the May 6th terrorist attack.
The trial is being held for the suspects charged in the case, which includes Thahumeen Ahmed, Mujaz Ahmed, Ali Haisham, Mohamed Nazim, Ishaq, and Fahumee Ali. However, Ahmed Adhuham Rasheed has already received a 23-year prison sentence after confessing to triggering the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near the residence of Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed in an assassination attempt on May 6, 2021.
At the pre-trial hearing, attorneys from both sides submitted evidence to the court, except for the representatives of Thahumeen. The prosecutors requested the court to keep the testimonies of secret witnesses hidden, as their lives would be in danger if their testimonies became public. They also requested that the court reject the evidence submitted by Mujaz to verify his whereabouts in 2020, stating that his whereabouts during that time are irrelevant to the case. In response, the attorney representing Mujaz said that investigators have claimed that he was planning the terrorist attack in 2020, but that the evidence will prove that he was not in Male’ City during that time.
Attorneys representing Ishaq, Fahumee, and Nazim requested the court to reject any statements given to investigators by individuals who have been convicted of a crime, as accepting their statements would undermine the principles of criminal justice. Responding to the statement, the prosecutors said that no such statement has been submitted by the state.
The attorney representing Fahumee requested the court to reject the CCTV footage that was obtained from private institutions, while the attorney representing Ishaq requested that the state show the court order which allowed them to obtain the footage. The prosecutors responded by saying that the Maldives Police Service obtained the CCTV footage by making requests to private institutions, and not through a court order. Ishaq’s attorney also requested that the state provide them with the raw footage to analyse it abroad.
The court bench of three judges concluded the hearing after stating that a decision will be made on the submitted evidence on June 9. Attorneys representing Speaker Nasheed were present during the hearing as observers.
