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Journalist Sarah Koenig in Baltimore: Spectacular turning point in the murder case known from the podcast »Serial«
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JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS
For a good two decades, Adnan Syed fought against his murder conviction - and received support from the globally popular podcast »Serial«.
Now, in a spectacular turn of events, a US court has overturned the verdict.
The decision was "in the interest of justice and fairness," said Judge Melissa Phinn in the east coast state of Baltimore.
She followed a request from Baltimore's chief prosecutor.
Syed was sentenced to life in prison in 2020 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend.
He has always maintained his innocence.
The now 41-year-old was released from custody on Monday.
His handcuffs were removed in the courtroom to applause from onlookers.
The "Serial" producers announced shortly thereafter that they wanted to release a new episode on the case on Tuesday.
Baltimore's chief prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, surprisingly announced last week that she had requested that Syed's conviction be overturned.
The reason she gave was “new information” about two other possible suspects.
In addition, there are doubts about the accuracy of cell phone queries, which were intended to prove Syed's whereabouts on the day of the murder.
The journalist Sarah Koenig researched for the "Serial" podcast and acted as a speaker.
"I didn't see that coming at all," she told the New York Times about the prosecutor's decision.
She was surprised.
"But the worst thing is that several people told the prosecutor's office at the time that one of the suspects had a motive to kill the victim and even threatened to do so," Koenig said.
This information was never passed on to the defense.
"That alone - failure to produce important evidence - could be grounds for overturning a murder conviction."
»Lost confidence in the correctness of the verdict«
The state has "lost confidence in the accuracy of the verdict," investigator Becky Feldman said in court on Monday.
It must be ensured "that we have held the right person accountable".
The Baltimore Attorney's Office now has 30 days to either introduce new allegations against Syed or to dismiss the charge against him.
"We're not yet declaring Adnan Syed's innocence," Mosby said.
Your authority is waiting for the results of new DNA tests.
Syed has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet for the time being.
He had doggedly fought his conviction for the past more than two decades.
However, numerous requests for revision were rejected.
His case went all the way to the US Supreme Court, which declined to deal with it.
Syed, who has Pakistani roots, described himself as a victim of anti-Muslim prejudice.
In the original murder trial, the prosecution portrayed Syed as a "spurned lover" who killed his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee after she broke up with him.
Lee's body was found in a forest in February 1999.
The 18-year-old had been strangled.
Journalist Koenig later worked on the case with colleagues.
The research was published in the first season of the 2014 podcast »Serial«.
The mixture of investigative journalism, first-person narration and dramatic presentation made "Serial" immensely popular - far beyond the United States.
The season devoted to the Syed case has been downloaded more than 300 million times, making it the most listened-to podcast ever.
With its success, »Serial« made a significant contribution to the worldwide popularity of the podcast media genre.
Investigators found that Syed's attorney had missed important material that could potentially exonerate his client.
The case was also dealt with in a documentary by the US pay channel HBO from 2019.
wit/AFP