The Criminal Court denied to grant a remand for former Police Commissioner and deputy leader of Jumhoory Party, Abdulla Riyaz, till the end of his trial over obstructing a state official from his legal duty.
The decision was made by the Criminal Court early Thursday on the first hearing of Riyaz’s case.
The lawmaker of Kinbidhoo constituency is charged under Subject 532 of the Penal Code for purposefully obstructing an officer of law enforcement.
The prosecutors requested a remand claiming that Riyaz might influence the evidence if not held in custody. Admitting that Riyaz has so far not influenced any evidence, the prosecutors nonetheless stressed that Riyaz has not yet been fully cooperative during the investigation.
His lawyer Ali Zahir highlighted that prosecutors may only demand a remand for proven offences and questioned whether Riyaz has ever been convicted of any such offence.
After listening to both sides of the case, Judge Ahmed Shakeel concluded that a remand cannot be given as prosecutors agree that Riyaz has not committed such offences in the past.
While prosecutors reminded Riyaz that his sentence might be minimized if he admits to the crime, Riyaz continued to deny the charge.
According to the Penal Code, the sentence for Riyaz would be four months and 24 days. However, prosecutors claimed that should he willfully confess, the sentence could be minimized to three months and 18 days.
Riyaz was granted a week to prepare his defence for the trial as requested by his lawyers. The next hearing is scheduled for April 23.
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