Court delays hearing of jailed ex-president Yameen

The Criminal Court has delayed the hearing of former President Abdulla Yameen scheduled for today. 

Yameen, already convicted of money laundering in a trial last year, is facing new bribery and money laundering charges. Hearings of the case were scheduled for today. Judge Ahmed Shakeel, presiding over the case, stated that the former President was not permitted to meet with his attorneys for the case, and an order to arrange the meetings would be issued today. 

A hearing of the case will be scheduled within 10-15 days after Yameen is permitted to meet with his attorneys. 

Opposition coalition members and Yameen’s attorneys had expressed concern over the hearing scheduled. They had said that Yameen was not allowed to meet with his attorneys since March. However, the claim was rejected by authorities including Home Minister Imran Abdulla. 

Minister Imran said that the arrangements from the authorities had been made, only to be met with failure from the attorneys who had not made arrangements to meet with their clients. 

Yameen is already serving a five-year sentence for money laundering regarding the acquisition costs of G. A. Vodamullah. The case is part of the massive MMPRC scandal, where Yameen is the only figure to be convicted of. The new charges are regarding the transactions involving the lease of another island named R. Fuhgiri.