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Defense lawyer and former Justice Husnu Al Suood has argued in High Court that the record 109-year prison sentence handed to Hussain Shifau is practical nonsense that requires immediate judicial review.
News Desk
Former Supreme Court Justice Suood in court hearing as a lawyer --
MALE : Former Supreme Court Justice Husnu Al Suood has argued before the High Court that the 109-year prison sentence handed to Hussain Shifau is practically unviable and requires urgent judicial review.
Representing Shifau as lead defense counsel, Suood emphasized that imposing a term that cannot practically be served contradicts the core intent and structure of the Maldivian Penal Code.
“There is no point in setting a sentence that cannot practically be served. That is not how the Penal Code was designed,” defense lawyer Husnu Al Suood stated in court.
Suood contended that the trial court misapplied statutory sentencing rules when compounding penalties across 23 charges, noting that even maximum penalties for the most severe crimes like murder do not exceed 25 years.
Shifau was originally convicted over fraudulent telegraphic transfer (TT) transactions totaling MVR 1.9 million, resulting in a combined sentence of 109 years imprisonment and an MVR 7 million fine.
While the prosecution argued that the sentence strictly followed legal guidelines across separate criminal counts, Suood requested the High Court to quash the penalties and send the case back to the lower court for resentencing.
