Inaccuracies in forensic report, defence to ask PG to retract charges

Legal team of MP for Kinbidhoo constituency Abdulla Riyaz’s legal team has noted inaccuracies in the police forensic report, submitted to court as evidence against him.

While obstruction charges have been levied against the former police commissioner, for allegedly refusing to give officers access to his mobile phone, a hearing was held on Thursday, where discussions were held on the evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defence.

The forensic report submitted by the police, said that they had confiscated an iPhone 6S from Riyaz. However, it actually was an iPhone 6 plus.

Noting that they had raised the point in court, lawyer Hisaan Hussain said that the forensic report submitted cannot be accepted by court, as it had inaccuracies.

At today’s hearing, the prosecution noted that the court order says to check all the interactions on Riyaz’s phone and for him to provide all information that the police requires, highlighting that the “all information includes the lock code”. He further noted that officers cannot access the information on the phone without the lock code.

Riyaz’s team argued that “lock code does not come under all information” and that if the lock code is required, then the court order should clearly state so. They said that court orders in other similar cases have had the point written separately, adding that a person has personal information on their mobile phone, and that their personal life is protected under the Constitution.

Noting that they intend to ask the prosecutor general to retract the charges as soon as possible, lawyer Noosul Salam Aboobakuru asked the judge to halt hearings until the PG makes a decision on the matter.

However, presiding judge Ahmed Shakeel denied the request, and scheduled a hearing for May 16, where the court will listen to the closing statements from both sides.