Aarah case: court gets heated over wrong date on evidence

The issue of a wrong date recorded on one of the evidences submitted by state prosecutors against Former President Abdulla Yameen regarding leasing Vaavu Aarah got heated in court on Monday.

One of the documents submitted as evidence had the wrong date in its chain of custody.

Yameen is being charged with accepting USD one million as bribes while leasing Aarah, and then further laundering the money. Testimonies are currently being collected for the case.

The policeman responsible for examining the document submitted by the state was summoned to the court today. They were the policeman responsible for analysing the handwritings in the cheques submitted as evidence as well.

In response to questions posed by the state, the policeman said that all procedures were followed to analyze the documents until they reached the laboratory. He said that the items would be accepted by the court only if the chain of custody is complete.

However, as there is a wrong date noted in the evidence submitted, they has agreed that there may be an issue in the chain of custody as well. The evidence stated that it was obtained on August 23, 2026.

According to the police officer, this was not clear during the investigation process though.

When asked if the report would be valid, the policeman said that even if there was a problem with the chain of command, it would haveno impact on the results of the investigation.

The policeman said as a reason that the evidence should be considered valid was because it was sealed evidence reached the laboratory and that their supervisor had further confirmed the analysis after it was completed.

When the case came to light, the state tried to question the chain of command further. However, Chief Judge Ahmed Shakeel did not give the opportunity to ask questions, stating the state cannot ask new questions at that stage of the trial.

The policeman said that the sample documents and the documents analysed match. They said that the signature in the document is not easy to forge.

The officer noted that they were not aware who's signature is on the document. Their responsibility is to ensure if they match.

In addition to Yameen, former Felidhoo MP Yoosuf Naeem is also being charged by the state regarding this case. Another hearing in the case will be held on Thursday.