The Criminal Court today adjourned the hearings of the Vaavu Aarah island corruption case against former President Abdulla Yameen until the Supreme Court decides on the new evidence submitted by the state.
Yameen was convicted of accepting and laundering a USD 1.1 million bribe to lease Vaavu Aarah island as part of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison on December 25, 2022.
The Criminal Court found him guilty after accepting new evidence submitted by the state to counter the evidence presented by the defence. However, the High Court later ruled that the admission of new evidence was wrong and ordered the lower court to hear the case again.
Following that, the Prosecutor General's Office (PG) filed a case in the Supreme Court seeking to quash the High Court's decision and declare the new evidence submitted by the state is admissible.
At the hearing in the Criminal Court today, Yameen's lawyers and the state prosecutors also requested to adjourn the trial until the case is resolved by the Supreme Court.
Judge Ali Nadheem decided not to hold any further hearings till the Supreme Court comes to a decision.
Meanwhile, Yameen told reporters after the hearing that the Criminal Court would not have scheduled today's hearing if the state had provided proper information about the case.
"The prosecutors were saying that they have no objection to what we [defence attorneys] stated. That [they believe] there is weight in our argument," Yameen said.
