Criminal Court to resume online hearings

Criminal Court, on Sunday, has decided to resume online hearings with respect to trials and remand proceedings at the court.

The court, in a statement on Sunday, said its judges have decided to resume online hearings via video conferencing starting tomorrow in light of the fact that its server has been moved to a safe location.

The announcement read arrangements will also be made for journalists who wish to observe the hearings to participate online.

Criminal Court halted online hearings on January 11^th following heavy rain which Maldives experienced early this year. The heavy rain caused water leaks which damaged the court’s electricity view and servers – resulting in network interruptions.

In light of this, the court said it was unable to hold online hearings as it undertakes efforts to switch its servers to a different building.

The Criminal Court is based in an extremely old building. Prior to this, a pillar of the building had collapsed. Moreover, the court, on various occasions, has had to temporarily cease its operations due to water leaks.