Appeal hearings for Sheikh Imran scheduled for Tuesday

High Court has scheduled the appeal hearings for Sheikh Imran Abdullah for Tuesday.

The appeal was filed on the 12-year jail term issued on Sheikh Imran on terror charges.

The 12-year jail term was issued on Imran, Adhaalath Party chief, having being proven of inciting public violence on the protests of May 1, 2015. The guilty verdict was announced on February 16, 2016 and the appeal was filed in High Court within a week. The appeal hearings were first held on March 24.

The appeal hearings were concluded in April. No verdict had been announced in the time since, over 10 months have elapsed since the hearings.

A hearing was scheduled for February 8, but they were cancelled.

Since the hearings, major changes have occurred to the bench, with presiding Judge, Shujau Usman transferred to the South branch of High Court. It is believed that Tuesday’s hearing is a procedural one.

The case has been filed in UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, alleging that judicial procedures had not been adhere to in the hearings and that the verdict was in violation of the Constitution and International agreements and conventions.

UN Working Group is yet to arrive at a decision regarding Imran’s case. The Group had ruled against the verdicts issued by the state on both former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Defense Minister Colonel (Rtd) Mohamed Nazim. The Group said that the two must be released immediately and damages must be paid for the time that they had spent serving the sentences.

However, the Government had rejected the UN Group’s verdict, stating that it was not a must that it should be followed.