The High Court registrar has rejected an appeal filed by former President Abdulla Yameen challenging a Criminal Court decision regarding the admission of certain evidence in an ongoing corruption trial. The decision effectively dismisses the former leader's attempt to contest the lower court's procedural ruling at this stage of proceedings.
The legal challenge stems from charges brought against Yameen over alleged bribery and money laundering linked to the lease of R. Fuggiri and V. Aarah. After the Criminal Court decided to accept specific evidence submitted in the Aarah trial, the former president's legal defense team appealed the ruling to the High Court last week seeking to overturn the admission.
However, the registrar of the High Court concluded yesterday that the appeal cannot be accepted by the court. With the registrar's formal decision, the lower court's determination on the disputed evidence stands without interim appellate intervention, allowing trial proceedings to move ahead unhindered.
The dismissal comes as the Criminal Court approaches the verdict stage in the parallel Fuggiri lease trial. A judgment hearing in the Fuggiri case had been scheduled for last week but was subsequently postponed to a later date by the court.
Yameen had previously been convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison by the Criminal Court in connection with the Aarah transaction. That conviction was subsequently overturned by the High Court, which ordered a retrial that is currently being conducted before the lower court.