Prosecution: Nazim will still be guilty, even if pistol came from MNDF armory

State prosecutor said at Supreme Court on Tuesday that former Defense Minister Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim would be still guilty of the weapons possession charge against him, even if the pistol found in his apartment came from MNDF armory.

Nazim was sentenced to 11-years in prison for import and possession of a military weapon. A sentence which is currently being pushed for last stage of appeal after the original sentence was upheld by High Court.

A preliminary hearing was held at Supreme Court on Tuesday before it decides whether the suit for appeal by Nazim will be accepted.

In response to points made by Nazim’s attorney, the state prosecutor said that Captain Ali Ihusan had only testified at High Court that the pistol found from Nazim’s apartment bore similarities to weapons found in MNDF armory, but had not stated it as a fact.

The prosecutor said that Nazim had been unable to prove how he came in possession of the pistol, and that he could have asked someone to take the pistol from MNDF armory for his as he had been Minister of Defense before being terminated from his post over the issue.

The prosecutor said that the pistol may have come from MNDF armory, but Nazim would still be guilty of the weapons possession charge. Adding that no one else had come forward to claim ownership of the pistol found in Nazim’s apartment.

He also denied claim made by Nazim’s attorney that the pistol was smuggled into the apartment by a police officer called Asif, saying that it had not been mentioned in previous trials at Criminal Court or High Court.

He said that the state prosecution therefore did not believe it necessary for defense to be allowed to summon witnesses to testify at Supreme Court.

The prosecutor said that the defense had not asked to summon former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor or former Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed during earlier trials on the case and did not find it necessary that they should be summoned to testify now.

The defense said that Adeeb, Hussein Waheed and former Prosecutor General Muhthaz Muhsin had been inside the car on the street where Nazim’s house is located when the raid was being carried out, and that they felt it questionable why anyone with no connection to the case should have been waiting outside.

Supreme Court’s decision will be announced during the next hearing. A date for the hearing has not been announced yet.

The case is being presided over by Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed, who is joined by Judge Ali Hameed Mohamed, Judge Abdulla Areef, Judge Adam Mohamed Abdulla, and Judge Ahmed Abdulla Didi.