Supreme Court to rule on death sentence against Hana

Supreme Court will tomorrow make the final ruling on the death sentence passed on Fathimath Hana for the murder of lawyer Ahmed Najeeb.

Supreme Court concluded hearings in the case in April, 2021. Three years later, the verdict is scheduled to be announced tomorrow at 10:00 hrs.

Hana, along with her then partner Ahmed Murrath of M. Masroora, were charged with murder for holding Najeeb hostage in Murrath's residence, extorting money from him, and murdering him with a sharp object.

Criminal Court sentenced both Hana and Murrath to death, and the High Court later upheld the ruling.

As Hana did not appeal the verdict at the High Court, the State submitted a case to the apex court to reaffirm the sentence.

The case is being heard by Chief Justice Muhthasim Adnan, judge Aisha Shujune Mohamed, Judge Mahaz Ali Zahir, Judge HusnuSuood and Judge Mohamed Ibrahim, with the Chief Justice presiding.

In the Supreme Court hearings, Hana has said that Najeeb had been brought to Murrath's house to seek legal advice regarding Murrath's mother's house. She said that Najeeb had arrived at the house after sunset. She claims that they had been discussing the case when Murrath had stepped outside, at which point some actions from Najeeb had made her feel uncomfortable. She said she had left the room and shared this concern with Murrath.

She claimed that upon hearing this, Murrath had gone into the room and held a knife to Najeeb's throat. He had then taped Najeeb's mouth and face and tied him to a chair.

She said that they had then taken cash from Najeeb's cash card and bought alcohol and snacks, and had slept after consuming them. She said she had woken up the next day when Murrath called her worriedly, at which time Najeeb had already been murdered.

The State maintains that as per Islamic Shariah, there is no reason why the death sentence cannot be passed on Hana. This is based on the fact that Hana is of sound mind, Najeeb's heirs ask for the death penalty, and as Hana has not proved there is any reason why the death penalty cannot be passed on her.

In 2016, Supreme Court upheld the death sentence against Murrath. The sentence has not been implemented as of yet.