Ziyath detention appeal hearings concluded

High Court has completed the hearings for the appeal case filed by Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) Abdulla Ziyath regarding the extension of his detention period.

The hearings began via video conference at1:00 p.m. today. Ziyath is held in Dhoonidhoo.

Concluding today’s sessions, judges announced that the verdict would be delivered at the next hearing.

Police say Ziyath was arrested in relation to an ongoing investigation on 23 October.

President Abdulla Yameen said in his address to the nation following the 28 September explosion on the presidential speedboat that police, during their search of Ziyath’s private residence, had found official letters sent by the police.

President Yameen also said that Ziyath exercised his right to silence when questioned by investigators who found this discovery inappropriate.

Ziyath’s lawyer Hussain Shameem said later that President Yameen had said that Ziyath was arrested because he exercised his right to silence, which makes his arrest unlawful.