Hearing of the President Nasheed’s surprise trial for alleged ‘terrorism’ has been postponed for tomorrow night.
The hearing scheduled for last night was cancelled when the lawyers of Nasheed did not appear at the court.
The lawyers expressed concerns that have been given insufficient time to prepare their case.
Hisan Hussein from the legal team of Nasheed informed the media that they informed the court that they will not be able to attend the court hearing scheduled for last night. She said that this was informed to the court at about 8:00 last night.
Judges presiding over the case stated that the lawyers have been given enough time to prepare for the case. They stated that documents have been released regarding the case previously too. Therefore there is no acceptable excuse for not attending last night’s hearing.
The former President’s legal team have frequently asked the bench for more time to mount a credible defence. But the three presiding judges – two of whom are doubling as prosecution witnesses – have repeatedly denied the lawyers adequate preparation time.
President Nasheed was arrested on 22 February; his trial under new charges of ‘terrorism’ began the very next day.
During his first hearing, his legal team were barred from court and President Nasheed was forced to represent himself.
In the second and third hearings, held on 26 February and 2 March respectively, President Nasheed’s legal team appealed for adequate time to prepare their case. But the judges have so far refused.
In the 2 March hearing, the legal team requested that they be given 30 days to mount a credible defence. The presiding judges gave them one day, scheduling the next hearing for 4 March.
President Nasheed’s trial has been plagued by irregularities since it began.