Maldives High Court has decided that its initial decision denying ex-President Abdulla Yameen release on bail, cannot be reviewed.

During Monday’s hearing, the presiding judges in the case had stated that they will not grant the ex-president bail arrangements, neither will they issue an order delaying his five-year prison sentence, following the two requests the former had made at court during the appeal process. Initially, the High Court had decided the same, after which the former president made a request to review the decision.

The presiding judge over Yameen’s money-laundering trial is Judge Hussain Mazeed. The other two judges presiding over the case are Judge Hussain Shaheed and Judge Mohamed Niyaz.

Speaking at the hearing, the judge leading the bench revealed that the former president made an appeal to review the court’s initial decision on his bail arrangements, however, the court does not find any reason why the decision should be reviewed again.

Also during Monday’s hearing, 74 appeal points were noted from the defendant, out of which 10 were detailed to the judges.

Some of the points include;

1. Having been found guilty of the charge raised out of discrimination,

2. Having been found guilty of a crime investigated illegally,

3. The preliminary hearings were not carried out in line with the trial,

4. Yameen was ordered to pay in U.S dollars, despite the country’s legal tender being in Maldivian Rufiyaa,

5. Yameen was found guilty of the crime, without being given the adequate time to prove his case as stated under law,

6. The court did not consider the false testimonies given by state witnesses,

7. The court did not consider written evidence provided by the defendant,

8. Using witnesses to prove points not noted by state witnesses,

9. While Abdulla Ziyath and Ahmed Adeeb were implicated in the crime, their testimonies in the case should be barred under law, and

10. None of the state witnesses prove that the money deposited to Yameen’s accounts were acquired through leasing Vodamulaa island in Gaaf Alif atoll.

As the time for the hearing ran out, ten points were detailed to the judges, with the defendant’s legal team having asserted that the investigations into the case are “void” as this was a case that was supposed to be investigated jointly by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Maldives Police Service (MPS), however, it was only based on police investigations.

Further, while Yameen was summoned and questioned over accusations of having provided false information to the state, he was charged with money-laundering.

The former president’s legal representative asserted that the former must be granted bail under rights guaranteed to him under the constitution, highlighting that these rights are ensured for convicts in other countries as well, during previous hearings, to which state attorneys responded that he was found guilty of money-laundering and as such, the state does not believe he should be released under bail under any circumstances.

The remaining points will be detailed during the next hearing, scheduled for 3 March, another hearing is set for 5 March, where state responses are to be presented.

The former president was convicted on money-laundering charges on 28 November for misappropriating US dollars through the state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) via a private company Scores of Flair, during his presidency.

He was slapped with a five-year prison sentence and fined USD five million to be paid within six months.