Court hears defence witness in Arham murder case

A witness presented by the defence in Mohamed Arham’s murder hearing today has testified that all of the accused were inside Petral Park, a local park in a different ward from the murder site, at the time of the murder.

Mohamed Arham, a 16-year-old student from Dharumavantha School was found murdered in Lorenzo Park in Male’ on the early morning of 30 May 2012. Police submitted a case in relation to the murder against six suspects to the Prosecutor General's Office in August 2012.

The witness, who testified on behlaf of accused Mansoor Yousuf today, told the court that he was in the company the four people accused of murdering; Mansoor Yousuf, Mohamed Wisam, Athif Rasheed, Mohamed Sufyan, until 6:00 a.m. on the night of the murder.

However, upon cross-examination, the witness also told the court that he accompanied one of the accused, Mansoor Yousuf, to Lorenzo Part on the night of the murder. The State Prosecutor duely highlighted the inconsistency to the court.

The court has received evidence and witnesses from the prosecution and will continue to hear witnesses from the defence in the next hearing.