Ex-vice president’s lawyers withdraw from weapons trial in protest

In a joint statement on Sunday, the three accused the criminal court of depriving their clients of the constitutional right to have adequate time and facilities to prepare and mount a defence.

“As it is among the rights for a fair trial, we will not be able to perform the role of an attorney if the trial is conducted without affording that opportunity,” reads the statement signed by lawyers Moosa Siraj, Mahfooz Saeed and Hassan Sofwan.

Adeeb and Fayaz are accused of smuggling weapons out of the state armoury to Hibalhidhoo, an uninhabited island in Baa Atoll. A weapons cache, including hand grenades, firearms, bullets and semi-automatic rifles, was discovered submerged in the island’s reef in November last year.