Criminal Court has acquitted Ibrahim Abdulla (Gabbarey) and two others accused of assault on former MP for Mathiveri constituency Hassan Zareer.
Criminal Court has acquitted Ibrahim Abdulla (Gabbarey) and two others accused of assault on former MP for Mathiveri constituency Hassan Zareer.
Zareer was attacked with a hammer while he was inside a cafe' called 'Habibi'. He received severe injuries to his head in the attack.
Prosecutor General's Office pressed charges against Abdulla, Ahmed Avsham, Dheeframge, Thaa atoll Kimbidhoo, and Mulaim Mohamed, M. Thaaj.
The State claimed that Abdulla had gone on a motorcycle to Habibi cafe', where he had beat Zareer with his hands and feets, and hit him on the head with a hammer.
Abdulla denied the charges.
Chief Judge of Criminal Court, Adam Mohamed, who presided over the case, in his verdict said that none of the submissions by the PG Office say that Abdulla had used a dangerous weapon in an assault. It further said that Zareer's statement had also indicated that Abdulla was not amongst the attackers, and witness statements from a secret witness and a person on the scene also did not mention Abdulla as being present there.
It further said that the person who had produced the Video and Image Analysis Report had also stated that it cannot be confirmed that it was Abdulla seen in the footage. Hence, the charges were not proven against him.
The court further ruled that Avsham and Mulaim were also found not guilty.
The verdict for both of them also stated that it cannot be verified that they are the individuals seen in the CCTV footage. A witness also has said that although Zareer initially named his attackers, he had later said that the attackers are unknown. It was also noted that statements from a secret witness contradict statements by other witnesses.
In his initial statement in the case, Zareer had claimed that he had been attacked by Abdulla. However, he later changed his statement and said he cannot confirm whether it had been Abdulla.
Police said in court that Zareer had said he changed his statement because he did not want to be further involved in the matter.