The High Court has rejected former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s appeal challenging the Criminal Court’s decision to admit audio recordings as evidence in the Aarah corruption case.

The High Court Registrar decided yesterday not to accept the appeal, which was filed by Yameen’s legal team on 28 October.

The recordings, alleged to be call recordings involving Yameen, were submitted by the State as evidence in the case. Yameen’s defence had repeatedly challenged their admissibility. However, the Criminal Court ruled that the recordings could be admitted as evidence.

Yameen faces two charges in connection with the alleged corrupt leasing of Aarah: bribery and money laundering.

In earlier submissions, the State prosecutor, Ahmed Shafiu, sought to exclude some of the defence’s proposed oral witnesses. The defence witnesses were presented to support its claim that Yameen had been involved in a dollar exchange transaction.

The court accepted the request to exclude Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim as a witness for the defence.