The witness was brought to the Fuvahmulah court where he was asked to testify over the phone to a courtroom in Male’ city. The witness had claimed that he heard the victim – a man named Shareef - make sounds as if he was being strangled but had denied having witnessed the murder itself. All three defendants had denied the charges, claiming that the victim was a friend of theirs. Given that all three defendants are also Bangladeshi, the hearing was conducted with the presence of a translator. The State had produced multiple witnesses, including one of their roommates, who placed the defendants – M.D Salaam, Shareef and Alaal – at the crime scene. The three also claimed that they were coerced and strong armed into signing the investigation reports.