Riyaz's hearing to be held in secret

The hearing in the trial of the Deputy Leader of Jumhooree Party and MP for Kimbidhoo constituency, Abdulla Riyaz tonight has been decided to hold in a closed courtroom.

It is unclear the the hearing set for 8:30 p.m. tonight was changed to be a closed hearing.

MP Riyaz is charged with obstructing the duty of a law enforcement employee. He is being accused of the of obstruction for refusing to input the unlock code of his phone under a court order after it was confiscated in relation to a criminal case on 27 March 2017.

Tonight’s hearing is set to have the response from the accused for the charge against.

The first hearing in the case was held in open court on 13 April where the state requested that Riyaz be detained for the duration of the trial. But the court said that such a motion cannot be granted.

If convicted of the crime, MP Riyaz will be facing a maximum sentence of 144 days in prison.