Sheikh Imran’s appeal case hearing has been postponed. It was scheduled to be held this morning after 10 months since the last hearing.
It is not clear why it was cancelled or when the hearing would be held.
Sheikh Imran was convicted of terrorism charges and was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Criminal Court. The court found that while delivering a speech during the May Day Protests in 2015, Imran encouraged acts of terrorism.
Even though all hearings related to the case has ended, the hearing scheduled for today was an additional one because the bench presiding over the course has changed. Because as per the judicial procedures, additional hearing should be held if there is a change in the judge’s bench.
The chief judge who was presiding over Imran’s case, Shujaau Usman was transferred to southern branch of the high court. In addition to Shujaau, the other judges in the bench are Abdullah Didi and Abdullah Hameed. Shujaau was replaced by Judge Abdul Rauoof Ibrahim. Chief Judge of High Court, Abdullah Didi now heads the bench.
Even though Imran was sentenced to jail, Imran is on a house arrest since mid-2016, due to some ongoing renovation works in the jail.