Former Legal Affairs Minister at the President’s Office, Azima Shakoor has claimed that the charges in her trial is unclear, at a time the preliminary hearings have been held in which the state presented evidence against her.

During Sunday’s hearing at the Criminal Court, Azima claimed that the charges raised against her for allegedly assisting former President Abdulla Yameen in the money-laundering case, as well as providing false information to the state, needs to be detailed more.

The state prosecutor revealed that the defendant was given the chance to speak out after all the documents were handed during the preliminary hearings.

Further, the state prosecutor asserted that is unacceptable that the defendant is making claims that were not made before, despite being given the chance. As such, she stressed that the state does not believe the preliminary trial must begin anew, as Azima was given plenty of opportunities to object to the charges.

Testimonies from the former Vice President of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Muavviz Rasheed and its former President Hassan Luthufee have proven that Azima had provided false information to the state.

The presiding judges over the case had given Azima until 26 March to appoint a legal representative, as she currently does not have any. A hearing has also been scheduled for the date.

Although former Chief Judge at the Criminal Court, Ahmed Hailam presided over the case, it was moved under Judge Hassan Saeed after the Judicial Service Commission stripped Hailam of his judicial responsibilities.