SC judgement better than desired, says Yameen's top attorney
Jameel said Yameen and his legal team were currently challenging a "heinous crime" led by a state.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
Yameen's pre-trial submissions in the Fuggiri case against him at the Criminal Court were to reject some of the state's evidence and to disclose confidential state evidence. After that:
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Not satisfied with the Criminal Court's decision on certain pieces of evidence, Yameen challenged the decision in the High Court
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The High Court upheld the trial court's decision
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Yameen challenged the high court's decision in the Supreme Court; the court upheld the high court's decision on the Monday night verdict as well
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The apex court said there was no place to modify the high court's decision
Yameen's legal team highlighted the fact that the press had reported that Yameen had failed at the Supreme Court. The lawyers said it was not a failure.
"Yameen failed at the Supreme Court, is what they’re saying, but the other meaning of it actually taken by us is that the original case of Fuggiri has not yet been decided," former vice president Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed said.
He said:
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The conclusion was better in principle than as was appealed
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The Supreme Court has addressed the possibility of reviewing the evidence at the trial court
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Supreme Court's judgment has provided new solutions
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The Supreme Court's judgment, with its outline of how to proceed with certain aspects, makes it easier for people to get justice in cases
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The dissatisfaction with the search for evidence has been addressed extensively; it is a major achievement
Jameel said they did not consider the Supreme Court judgement as a failure as it was not a verdict in the original case of Fuggiri and was a procedural issue.
Jameel said that among all the cases they had appealed at the courts, the most desirable victory was achieved in this case. He referred to the high court's decision to set aside the MVR 52 million fine order over a previous sentence.
"Actually, we got the most important thing for us. That's because the state wanted to take over President Yameen's property," he said.
Jameel said Yameen and his legal team were currently challenging a "heinous crime" led by a state. However, Jameel said he was confident that even if the cases against Yameen were being piled up now, the government in the end will have no more anti-Yameen cases on their hands.
Four persons have been charged in connection with the alleged irregularities in the lease deal of Fuggiri for development as a tourist resort.
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Yameen charged with accepting bribes and money laundering
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Ahmed Krik Riza, charged with being a middleman in bribery and money laundering
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Sun Construction - money laundering
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Sun Investment - money laundering
The trial of all the accused is underway. The case is now in the process of recording evidence.
