Adnan Syed: Murder conviction of 'Serial' podcast subject reinstated by US court

Adnan Syed, the man who spent over two decades in jail for the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend but was later released, has had his conviction reinstated. Adnan Syed's case was made famous by the podcast Serial, which had poked holes in his conviction and essentially helped in his release. But on Tuesday (March 29), a Maryland appellate court passed the judgement, after a 2-1 decision, throwing open the case again, saying the lower court had violated the right of the victim's family to attend a critical hearing in the case.

Syed was convicted of the murder of Hae Min Lee but her brother Young Lee was not allowed to attend one of the key hearings, thereby violating his legal right.

"Because the circuit court violated Mr. Lee’s right to notice of, and his right to attend, the hearing on the State’s motion to vacate...this Court has the power and obligation to remedy those violations, as long we can do so without violating Mr. Syed’s right to be free from double jeopardy," the court observed.

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"Accordingly, we vacate the circuit court's order vacating Mr. Syed's convictions, which results in the reinstatement of the original convictions and sentence."

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Syed was released from prison last year after a circuit court vacated the murder conviction after an investigation identified problems with the case. The case drew national attention after a popular podcast Serial raised doubts about his guilt.

The court, while releasing him, had left it to the prosecutors to decide whether to retry him or not. After Tuesday's decision, Syed will not be sent back to prison immediately as the parties have been given a two-month delay to assess how to proceed.

ALSO READ |US judge overturns murder conviction of Adnan Syed featured in Serial podcast

Syed's counsel said the team will seek a review of the judgement by the Supreme Court of Maryland.

"The Appellate Court of Maryland has reinstated Adnan’s convictions, not because the Motion to Vacate was erroneous, but because Ms Lee’s brother did not appear in person at the vacatur hearing," Eric Suter, Syed's counsel was quoted as saying by Reuters.

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Despite being convicted, Syed has maintained that he is innocent. According to reports, Hae Min Lee who was aged 18 at the time, was strangled and buried in a Baltimore park.

(With inputs from agencies)

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