Court rejects plea to suspend MP Faris’s identity fraud trial

At a preliminary hearing Sunday morning, Judge Ibrahim Ali announced that the trial will commence on October 8 after a mandatory 30-day period required by the new criminal procedures law. But further preliminary hearings may be scheduled before the trial begins, he added.

The judge also rejected six pre-trial motions filed by the defence lawyers, including an objection to the lack of a regulation governing the conduct of trials as mandated by the new criminal procedures law.

“The absence of this regulation affects the right to a fair trial. The criminal court does not have the authority to frame this regulation because the criminal procedures law clearly states it is the responsibility of the Supreme Court,” defence lawyer Maumoon Hameed told the press Sunday evening.