The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a man sentenced to death could not be handed the death penalty after the victim's family decided to forgive the convict.
Abdulla Nazeef was among two suspects charged over the murder of Ahmed Miruza Ibrahim, who died of injuries sustained in an assault at a Vilimale' park.
The criminal court sentenced Nazeef to death after Miruza's family opted for retaliation in kind under Islamic Shariah. The verdict was later upheld by the high court.
But when Nazeef appealed to the Supreme Court, Miruza's family forgave him and told the court that they did not wish to seek the death penalty.
It was the first time that a convict sentenced to death for murder was forgiven at the Supreme Court, the highest court of appeal.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Aisha Shujoon - who presided in the five-judge bench ruled that the lower court and high court judgments should be overturned due to discrepancies in the testimony of prosecution witnesses.
But the other four justices decided to uphold the guilty verdict.
Despite the guilty verdict by the majority of the bench, the Supreme Court decided that Nazeef could not be handed the death penalty after Miruza's family forgave him.
The court decided to transfer the case to the criminal court to issue a discretionary punishment.
A 25-year jail sentence could be delivered in the murder case. But Nazeef would be sentenced after the criminal court hears arguments from the defence and prosecution.
The sentence could therefore be different and the period Nazeef has already served in prison would be deducted.
Aside from Justice Shujoon, the Supreme Court bench comprised of justices Husnu Suood, Dr. Azmiralda Zahir, Ali Rasheed and Mahaz Ali Zahir.
Miruza's heirs were summoned to the Supreme Court in relation to a letter from Miruza's father Ibrahim Hassan informing the court of the decision to forgive Nazeef. Ibrahim said he made the decision after a request for forgiveness was made on behalf of Nazeef.
As Nazeef's family said that his behaviour has improved and because so much time has passed, Ibrahim told the Supreme Court that he felt it would be best to forgive him.
After Miruza's father forgave him, the other heirs also followed suit and told the Supreme Court that they did not wish to seek qisas [retaliation in kind].
All of the victim's heirs must seek qisas for the death penalty to be handed down under Islamic Shariah.
The other suspect charged over Miruza's murder, Mohamed Shifau, had also been sentenced to death.
But after Miruza's family forgave him, the High Court in July 2022 reduced the sentence to 17 years and six months in jail. He was also ordered to fast for two months as atonement.
