Suspension of criminal procedure means trials aren’t valid: Lawyer

No trial can be valid when it’s held while criminal procedure is suspended, says lawyer Mahfooz Saeed.

Criminal procedure has been suspended under the ongoing state of emergency.

While the trials of Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and other jailed politicians have begun during the state of emergency, the Criminal Court judge presiding over the Chief Justice’s trial has said that he will proceed with the hearings as he sees fit, and not according to any written procedure.

At a press conference held by the Joint Opposition, lawyer Mahfooz Saeed said neither the Constitution nor any law allow such conduct. He said the trials have to be stopped immediately and that the judge should acknowledge that hearings can’t be held without criminal procedure.

He also expressed concern that Jumhoree Party (JP)’s deputy leader Abdulla Riyaz has been jailed until the remainder of his trial.

He also said that Faris is being kept in jail arbitrarily and that the state has no evidence against him or his father and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.