High Court has yesterday ruled against holding in custody the persons accused of the murder of Mohamed Anas.
High Court has yesterday ruled against holding in custody the persons accused of the murder of Mohamed Anas.
In July 2017, Anas was murdered in Litus Service Centre, where he had fled to escape from a group of assailants that were following him.
Seven people were charged in the case. Charges of intentional murder were pressed against Ahmed Zayan, Asurumaage, Lh. Kurendhoo, Afrah Abdul Razzaq, M. Lonumidhilige, and Usman Shareed, M.Dhimishk.
Accomplice to murder charges were pressed against Junaih Abdulla, Nannarige, L. Gan, Thun'di, Simah Moosa, Male' registry no. 1746, Hassan Mahfooz, Western Villa, S. Feydhoo, and Mohamed Shaz, Gulfaamuge, Th. Kimbidhoo.
Seven years after Anas' death, the Criminal Court acquitted all seven, citing insufficient evidence.
The State then appealed the case at the High Court, asking for the seven to be held in remand in custody until the end of trial. However, High Court ruled yesterday against holding them in custody.
The High Court ruling said that the State has failed to provide any reason for holding the seven in custody until end of trial. It said that three conditions need to be fulfilled before a person can be placed in custody during the appeal process.
These are, risk of flight, threat to society, and confidence that the case can be won. However, in this case, there is no confidence that the case can be won, nor is there sufficient evidence to support the accusations, the ruling reads.
The Criminal Court acquitted all seven, ruling that it could not be determined beyond a reasonable doubt that any of the seven individuals were involved in the crime.
The ruling stated that the CCTV footage and the police intelligence report in the case did not provide sufficient evidence to prove the guilt of the accused. The chain of custody of the footage was also deemed incomplete.
The photos and videos submitted showed no additional evidence to support the case against the seven accused, the ruling read. Adding that the testimony of witnesses, secret witnesses and expert testimonies failed to establish that the seven men committed the crime.
The judgment highlighted that the call record, investigation report, and intelligence report submitted as evidence could not be given weight. It then said that the call records could not be considered as evidence since they were prepared by the police.
In addition to these seven individuals, a minor was also charged in connection with Anas' murder. The minor was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the High Court for the murder of Anas, which has since been commuted during the administration of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
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