High Court rejects appeal challenging admissibility of audio recordings allegedly featuring ex-President Yameen in Aarah case
2 ނޮވެމްބަރު 2026 | ހޯމަ 11:31The High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by former President Abdulla Yameen challenging the Criminal Court's decision to admit audio recordings submitted by the state as evidence in the V. Aarah case. Additionally, the lower court had previously ruled to reject several defense witnesses presented by Yameen's legal team in the same proceedings.
Appeal proceedings begin in V. Aarah corruption case. | RaajjeMV
The High Court Registrar has decided to reject an appeal filed by former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom regarding the Vaavu Atoll Aarah case. The appeal sought to overturn a lower court's decision to admit audio recordings, allegedly of the former president, as evidence in the trial.
This matter pertains to a motion filed concerning evidence submitted by the State within the ongoing Aarah case.
In the Aarah case, the prosecution submitted audio recordings, alleged to be phone call records of President Yameen, as evidence against him. However, President Yameen’s legal team requested the lower court to dismiss these recordings and not accept them as admissible evidence.
In its ruling on the matter, the presiding judge of the lower court determined that the audio recordings submitted by the prosecution are admissible as evidence. Dissatisfied with this decision, President Yameen’s legal team filed an appeal with the High Court on October 28.
The High Court Registrar reached a decision on the appeal filed by President Yameen on November 1, ultimately ruling that the case was inadmissible.
Former President Yameen is facing charges of bribery and money laundering in connection with the Vaavu Atarashu case. The most recent hearing in the case was held to deliver a ruling on the preliminary motions submitted before the trial.
During the presentation of pre-trial motions, State Prosecutor Ahmed Shafeeu requested the court to reject several oral witnesses produced by the defense. These witnesses were proposed by former President Yameen’s legal team to testify that the transaction in question was a legitimate currency exchange involving US dollars.
The court has accepted the proposal.
Among the motions submitted by President Yameen was a request to exclude several state witnesses. From these submissions, the court accepted only the motion seeking to disqualify Ahmed Nazim, the Member of Parliament for the Dhiggaru constituency, as a witness in the Aarah case.
Judge Ali Nadeem is presiding over this case at the Criminal Court.
