Terror trial: Court to hear secret testimonies against justices on Saturday

Criminal Court has scheduled a closed-door hearing on Saturday at 10am to hear secret testimonies against jailed Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed.

The testimonies are regarding the charges of influencing official duties. Court hearings on these trials have so far been behind closed doors.

The justices' legal team has released a press statement, which said that the secret testimonies will possibly be taken from Judge Adam Areef, the acting chief of Criminal Court, and Judge Mohamed Hailam from Civil Court.

Police have confirmed that the recently leaked secret testimonies are from actual court documents. The leaked testimonies show that the only two judges testifying against the jailed justices are judges Adam Areef and Mohamed Hailam.

In the statement, the legal team said that the justices’ trials are being rushed and in a way that undermines their basic legal rights by not giving them enough time to defend themselves.

The legal team noted that the court had also scheduled two different court hearings that the justices’ lawyers are involved in at the same time and forced them to attend only one, and that they have not been given the opportunity to present testimonies in defense.

The legal team also said that there was reason to believe that the trials are being rushed due to the influence of some powerful people.