High Court upholds Mirufath Haneef’s life sentence

High Court has upheld Criminal Court’s decision to sentence Mirufath Haneef to life in prison and fine him MVR 100,000 for drug trafficking.

Haneef lost the appeal this Thursday after all High Court judges presiding over the case supported to uphold the life sentence issued by Criminal Court.

Haneef was sentenced by Criminal Court on July 9, 2014.

Judge Adbul Rauf Ibrahim said that though Haneef claimed police raided his apartment using a search warrant which had expired, police testimony provided proved that the officers had served up the warrant and raided the house within the allowed time.

He said that Haneef was found guilty of drug trafficking based on evidence, and that he had failed prove the drugs found in the room he lived in, in G. Kamadhoo belonged to someone else.

The Criminal Court verdict in the case says that Haneef had closed the door of his room as soon as police entered the house. And that Haneef and former film star Dhaas had been in the room alone when the police opened the door.

It said that police had carried out an immediate search of the room in their presence, and found four bullet-size rubber packets in a tissue from the drawer of the wardrobe, and 15 packets and a rubber bag wrapped in tape.