The State has requested the Supreme Court to uphold the death sentence on a minor who was found guilty in the murder of Abdul Muheeth (Bobby).

Bobby died in a brutal assault in an alley in front the finance ministry in 2012.

Six suspects were charged, out of which three were minors. While two of the minors were found guilty, one was exonerated. The other suspects are still being tried at the Criminal Court.

The Supreme Court on Monday began appeal hearings on the death penalty imposed on one of the convicts, who was a minor at the time of committing the crime but is now above 18 years of age.

The verdict was appealed due to reasonable doubt in his guilt, but the State requested that the Supreme Court uphold the death penalty imposed by the lower court and upheld by the High Court. The State also requested that if the court finds him not guilty of murder, to find him guilty of being an accomplice and sentence him to 25 years in prison.

At Monday’s appeal hearing, the defense said that an unreliable witness who was convicted over a drug-related crime, was one of the three witnesses who testified in the trial. The defense said that drug users are Fasiqs (people who violate Islamic law) and so their testimonies cannot be legitimate in court.

The trial documents also show that after the witness give his secret testimony at the Civil Court, he later retracted it in a letter. In response, the state prosecutor said that the police confirmed at the High Court appeal hearings that he was threatened into sending the letter and so his testimony still stands.

Testimonies of the other two witnesses and the other evidences show that the two minors were involved in the assault. The State had provided CCTV footage and phone call recordings of the suspects at the initial trial, as well as evidence showing that some of the accused injured in the assault sought treatment at ADK Hospital.

The minor, who is under the custody of the correctional service, was questioned after being summoned to Monday’s hearing. After the judge asked him if he has a criminal record, he said that he has been found guilty of assault but that he has never met the victim, Bobby.

10 assailants were allegedly involved in Bobby’s assault on 18 February 2012. He was stabbed 20 times and the brutality of the attack had also split the victim’s skull.