Jumhooree Party Deputy Leader Abdullah Riyaz has denied the charges of obstruction raised against him by the state.
In the trial held on Thursday, the state raised charges of obstruction on Kimbidhoo Constituency MP. The charge read that Police officers had approached the Parliamentarian at around 2139hrs on March 27th and had requested him to unlock his phone as part of their investigation. The Parliamentarian had denied to comply with the request and therefore the prosecution claimed that MP Riyaz had obstructed the duties of the police officers, deliberately.
In the summary hearings of the trial, the prosecution had talked about the varying sentences the accused would receive in the instances he had confessed to the crime or if the accused was found guilty.
State prosecutor Ali Akbar said that the basic punishment for the crime was a jail term of four months and 24 days. If the accused confesses, then the punishment would be reduced to three months and 18 days behind bars.
Riyaz’s legal representation Ali Zahir said that his client will not confess to the crime.
The trial began afterwards, with Riyaz denying the charges against him.
The state prosecutors had requested the Court to detain Riyaz for the duration of the trial, citing that he can influence the ongoing investigation. After noting that Riyaz was a former Commissioner of Police and that he had not attempted to influence the investigation, the prosecutors said they had received a letter from Police stating that Riyaz had attempted to influence the investigation.
Responding to the state’s request to detain Riyaz for the duration of the trial, Lawyer Ali Zahir said the case was already investigated and sent for prosecution and has no connection to any other case. Therefore, he said there was no legal grounds or justification to hold the former Commissioner for the duration of the trial.
Riyaz’s lawyer, Masthoor Hussain added that the prosecution was reaching out for another means to legally arrest Riyaz, as there were strict rules under which a Parliamentarian can be placed under arrest. He said a person cannot be arrested on the basis of a view or a belief.
Masthoor added that detaining a person was an unjust act, and therefore, there were clear instructions on the matter in clause 16 of the Constitution.
After a 10-minute recess, Judge Ahmed Shakeel decreed that there was no correlation between the current trial and another case. And, as there was no action on part of Riyaz that suggested an attempt to influence the trials, the Judge decreed that Riyaz cannot be held for the duration of the trial.
Judge concluded today’s hearing by announcing that the next hearing will be held on the 23rd of this month and ordering Riyaz to respond to the allegations in the next hearings.
