Humam’s attorney challenges state, says murder confession invalid

Defense Attorney for Hussein Humam (H. Lobby) said that the confession Humam made of murdering famous Islamic scholar and politician Dr. Afrasheem Ali during Criminal Court trial was invalid, during Supreme Court hearing on the case held on Monday.

Criminal Court gave Humam the death penalty for the murder, which was then upheld by High Court upon appeal.

Prosecutor General’s Office sent the case to Supreme Court to ensure the rightfulness of the death sentence before it is carried out.

Humam’s attorney challenged the points made by state prosecutor, saying that the murder confession was invalid as Humam had been coerced into making it.

The attorney said that Correctional Service had rejected the prison doctor’s recommendation for Humam to see a psychiatrist on two occasions.

The attorney said that no mental evaluation had been done on Humam since his arrest, and that such an evaluation would have proved that Humam had been coerced into making the murder confession.

The attorney also noted that Humam had been allowed by Criminal Court to present evidence to prove his innocence the day he made the confession, but had not been allowed to present evidence when he retracted the confession the next day.

He noted that witness testimony had been allowed by Supreme Court in some special cases in the past, and asked that court provide opportunity to summon witnesses in Humam’s case as well.

Challenging the point made by the prosecutor that DNA evidence had been found from the clothes Humam was wearing, linking him to the murder, the attorney said that there was no guarantee police had not rubbed Dr. Afrasheem’s blood and saliva on the clothes Humam was wearing after confiscating it.

He said that police had been involved in every process of the investigation, and there were therefore doubts regarding the credibility of the DNA report.

The hearing ended with state being provided more time to answer to the points made by the defense.

Dr. Afrasheem Ali was stabbed to death on October 1, 2012 just as he entered the ground floor of H. Funviluge where he lived.

Investigators put the time of death between 11:30 pm and 1 am, after he participated in a religious advice program telecasted by TVM.