Nazim appeal case hearing to be held in secret

High Court has announced that former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim’s appeal case hearing, scheduled for today, would be held behind closed doors.

This has been confirmed to Sun Media by Information Officer of High Court, Ameen Faisal.

Nazim has been sentenced by the lower court, the Criminal Court, to 11 years in prison for possession of weapons.

Police raided Nazim’s apartment on 17 January 2015 and discovered a pistol.

State prosecutors said in court that Nazim’s fingerprints were not found on the weapon.

Also, Nazim’s lawyer Maumoon Hameed noted that while fingerprints were found on the weapon, police had not checked who they belonged to.

Nazim was convicted on 26 March 2015, based on testimonies provided by police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers.

In an earlier appeal case hearing, the State presented a secret document to High Court.

Two hearings were held yesterday, one behind closed doors regarding this document and another which was open to media.

At the second hearing, judges announced their decision to summon some witnesses proposed by the State, and witnesses who had not presented testimonies at the trial in Criminal Court.

The judges said that a hearing would be held on Monday for this purpose.

It is not clear if this is on the agenda at the hearing being held in secret today. High Court has also not given any reason for closing doors for the media and the public.