Baltimore prosecutors on Tuesday dropped charges against Adnan Syed, who spent 23 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend.
Mr Syed was released from prison last month and his murder conviction overturned after a year-long investigation uncovered problems in the 1999 case. He was serving a life sentence.
On Tuesday, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City said in an email that it had dropped the case against Mr Syed.
A lawyer for Mr Syed was not immediately available for comment, Reuters reported.
Mr Syed has maintained his innocence and has said that he did not kill ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, who was 18 years old when she was strangled and buried in a park.
State prosecutors last month said they were no longer confident of “the integrity of the conviction” after the investigation found several problems with witnesses and evidence from the trial.
Prosecutors said new evidence had been discovered about two alternative men who may have been involved. Their identities have not been disclosed.
The two men were investigated during the original trial but were not disclosed to the defence. The lawyer who represented Mr Syed in 1999 was disbarred in 2001.
At the time of his release, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn put Mr Syed on a 30-day home detention while prosecutors were left to decide whether or not to retry the case.
Lee's family had asked a Maryland appellate court to halt the case. A lawyer for the family said they are not challenging Mr Syed's release, but instead wanted Ms Phinn to hold another hearing so the family can address the court in person.
Agencies contributed to this report
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
More on animal trafficking
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
