Court rejects defence witnesses from Gayoom and judges

The Criminal Court decided Sunday not to hear defence witnesses in the trial of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and two Supreme Court justices.

After five prosecution witnesses concluded their testimony, Judge Hassan Najeeb declared that he saw no reason to call witnesses for the defence, local media reported.

There would be closing arguments at the final hearing on Tuesday, he announced.

Gayoom, along with Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed, were charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly refusing to hand over their mobile phones for a police investigation. All three have dismissed the charges as “politically motivated.”