May 6 attack: Thahmeen allowed to resubmit dismissed evidence
The prosecution sought three days' time to decide on any particular piece of evidence submitted by Thahmeen.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
Criminal Court on Wednesday granted another opportunity to Thahmeen Ahmed, an accused in the bomb attack on Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, to present evidence. With this, proceedings to hear testimony evidence have been postponed to May 23.
Thahmeen, Folhey-maa/GA. Kondey, faces three charges:
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Involvement in a terrorist act
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Aaiding and abetting the transportation of explosives to other places
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Supporting a terrorist organisation
The bench, which was hearing the case at the time, did not accept the evidence submitted by Thahmeen after the expiry of the deadline given for submission of evidence as he had denied the charges. Since then, the bench has changed from time to time and now only Justice Sofwath Habeeb is hearing the case.
Sofwath said on the same day that he was planning to conclude the trial by August 19, when the preliminary statements of all those involved in the case were filed.
A deposition hearing was scheduled on Wednesday. However, at the outset of the Wednesday hearing, Sofwath said the court had received a letter from Thahmeen's former lawyer Ismail Mohamed. In the letter, Ismail requested that the judge grant Thahmeen another opportunity to defend himself as it was due to negligence on the part of the lawyer that the evidence was not submitted on time.
The judge, however, initially said that since the evidence was submitted after the deadline had expired, he did not believe that evidence should be allowed to be produced and that the decision of the previous bench was his view as well.
Sofwath said:
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Cannot be allowed to present evidence
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There is no legal justification to do this
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Allowing ex-lawyers to rectify mistakes made every time they change is not the solution
However, Hamza Latheef, who has now been appointed as his lawyer, said it was not the fairest way for Thahmeen to lose his right to defend himself due to negligence on the part of a former lawyer.
Due to the concerns and objections expressed by Hamza, Sofwath decided to give it a chance if there was no objection to it by the State. He gave the State 10 minutes to mke a stand on the former lawyer's letter.
Subsequently, the State said it did not object to allowing the old evidence to be presented back to the court if the evidence presented was not new.
Therefore, the trial court on Wednesday decided to give the opportunity to Thahmeen.
Giving this opportunity, the trial court noted:
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Submission of defence evidence is the only opportunity to defend from prosecution
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Evidence was not produced due to negligence on the part of the prosecutrix; it has been confirmed that it was negligence on the part of the counsel
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Earlier, at the preliminary stage, it was decided to accept the submissions made by Thahmeen
The prosecution sought three days' time to reject any particular piece of evidence submitted by Thahmeen.
The judge ruled:
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To allow the state to file its pre-trial submissions by 2 pm on Monday
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Thahmeen was given three days to respond to the submissions
The judge decided to hold a separate hearing on Thursday next week in which only Thahmeen’s part will be conducted to discuss and decide on the submissions. Therefore, the judge announced that the hearing scheduled to be held Wednesday for recording of evidence has been postponed to May 23.
Case Summary
Adhuham Ahmed Rasheed, who was arrested and charged in the may 6, 2021 attack to assassinate Nasheed, pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 23 years in prison after entering into an agreement with the state.
The cases of the other accused in the case are pending in the court. Thus, the trial in the court is underway for:
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Thahmeen Ahmed - Charged with involvement in a terrorist act, aiding and abetting the transportation of explosives and supporting a terrorist organisation
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Mujaz Ahmed, M.a. Feyruge/K. Male - Charges of conspiring to commit a terrorist act and helping a criminal escape
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Ali Haisham, Nooreege/N. Manadhoo - Charged with planning to commit a terrorist act, aiding and abetting the transportation of explosives and involvement in a terrorist act
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Ishaq, M.a. Kudhehige/Male - Charged with transporting explosives, conspiring to commit a terrorist act, and involvement in a terrorist act
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Fahmy Ali, Hudhuruwaage/G.A. Villingili - Charged with involvement in a terrorist act
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Mohamed Nazim, Asareege/A.A. Maalhos - Charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act
