Adhaalath Party Leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla has said that it was deeply saddening that his trial was conducted based on inferred statements, that were untrue.
His statement came in the hearing of the terror charges against him in Criminal Court, Sunday.
Sheikh Imran, in his statement given to Court, repeatedly stated that he had never condoned violence or terror, adding that the events that had occurred later in the May Day rally were not part of the peaceful rally. He stressed that the State had not been able to show, conclusively, which action he had committed constituted as terrorism.
The presiding Judge had questioned Sheikh Imran over the videos and other evidence the state lawyers had submitted. In response, Sheikh Imran said that he had urged protesters to keep protesting until the President agreed to negotiate and that the plan had always been to conclude the protest by sunset. Sheikh Imran swore that he had never intended or goaded anyone to cause harm to the public or any police officers.
When the Judge questioned regarding the Sheikh’s statements on slain Parliamentarian Dr. Afrasheem Ali and missing Journalist Ahmed Rilwan, Sheikh Imran said that the Government and the President had failed to fully address the two issues.
The Judge on many occasions had interrupted the Sheikh’s statements, saying that Sheikh Imran was attempting to lead the case elsewhere, by delivering political statements. He added that the trial was not a political trial.
“Imran’s statements called for peace. His speeches were no different to that of other individuals. It is questionable, therefore, when only such a case has been filed against Imran,” Imran’s lawyer and Deputy Leader of Adhaalath Party Ali Zahir remarked in the trial.
The Judge had ordered not to give religious sermons in the Court, urging not to collude the truth. He had also ordered Sheikh Imran’s lawyer Husnu Suood to apologize, after he had questioned the Judge’s statements, calling them sarcastic.
Imran is being tried under clause 2, subsection (g) of the law number 90/10. If proven guilty, then Sheikh Imran will face a jail sentence of 10 to 15 years.
Trials based on derived illogical statements are saddening: Sheikh Imran
