Adnan Syed is a free man for the first time in the 21st century. Since his arrest in 1999 for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, Adnan has been a guest of the prison system. After Judge Melissa Phinn overturned his conviction, he said, “At this point, we will remove Mr. Syed’s shackles.”
Syed rubbed his ankles in apparent disbelief as officers removed his shackles. Surrounded by jubilant supporters, Adnan smiled as he walked to a waiting van outside the field.
Among those waiting outside for Adnan was his mother, Shamim Syed. Nothing could wipe the smile off his face: his family’s 23-year ordeal was finally over.
Adnan’s family collapsed in the aftermath of his conviction.
on the left, Yusuf Syed, brother of Adnan Syed, a friend of the Rabia Chaudry family, and on the right, Shamim Rahman, mother of Yusuf and Adnan, leaving the Palace of Justice | Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News
Adnan’s imprisonment tore his family apart. His father, Syed Rahman, became depressed and reclusive, preferring to read Islamic books in solitude rather than socialize with his mourning family.
shamim said The Guardian that Rahman did not believe in depression. “He doesn’t believe in antidepressants,” added Yusuf, Adnan’s younger brother. Yusuf and Shamim listened to the Serial podcast that brought global attention to Adnan’s case, but Rahman was too frail to listen.
“We can even discuss the issue,” Shamim said. “Sometimes we see him going through the photo album and he starts crying.” Rahman appeared briefly on the HBO documentary series The Case Against Adnan Syed and spoke about the pain his imprisonment had caused the family.
He refused to go to trial with the rest of the family but always believed in Adnan’s innocence. Rabia Chaudry, an attorney, said oxygen.com that no one who knew Adnan doubted his innocence.
Shamim told the outlet that he heard when everyone went to sleep. She added:
I lie here on this sofa and listen. It’s the part at the beginning where the prison operator says, “This is a prepaid Global-Tel link call from…” and Adnan says, “Adnan Syed.” So sweet. I hear that over and over and over again.”
Yusuf also said that he listened only so that he could give his full attention to the new information that the podcast provided. He opined that radio producer Sarah Koenig did a better investigative job than the police:
He’s investigating better than the police. It makes me so frustrated and angry that there is so little evidence. In fact? Is that all you had? To take my brother’s life? Is that all you had?
Tanveer, Adnan’s older brother, left the family and settled in Philadelphia. “Imagine having a family one day and the next day you wake up and it’s completely broken,” Yusuf lamented. Yusuf opined that Serial brought the family together: Tanveer returned home after fifteen years of absence.
Yusuf said: “When he [Tanveer] I heard my brother’s voice, it brought back all the memories. He has already visited us three or four times.
Shamim was the pillar that held the family together as he sought justice.
Shamim Syed and his son Yusuf | Jonathan Hnason/The Guardian
In the HBO docuseries, Shamim said that he felt like he was in jail with Adnan. “A large part of us died,” she said. “He is not the only one in prison. I am also here
Rahman could not be trusted to keep the family together. “Emotionally he is a very broken man,” Rabia Chaudry said. “He is a very shy person, he is very gentle, he is very, very sweet. He became a hermit after Adnan was convicted.
Baltimore’s Muslim community rallied around the Syed family, inadvertently making things worse for Yusuf and Shamim. the family told him the baltimore sun who withdrew from the community because they couldn’t stand the stares and whispers.
Shamim became the pillar that held everyone and everything together as the family sought justice for Adnan. “It’s Adnan’s mother who has just become a kind of pillar of strength,” Chaudry said. Shamim and Yusef appeared in CBS this morning at the height of Serial’s popularity to defend his innocence.
“It seems like yesterday,” Yusuf said. “It’s hard to remember that I ever had a family. Everything was removed. We are very grateful that the story is out there.”
In 2019, all hope seemed lost for the Syed family, as the US Supreme Court refused to hear Adnan’s appeal. Syed’s attorney, Erica Sutter, did not give up: Sutter and prosecutors investigated Adnan’s trial and found multiple procedural violations, including withholding evidence. Suter said after the hearing:
“Had that evidence been revealed, perhaps Adnan would not have missed his high school graduation, his pre-med plans, his 23rd birthday, vacations, family gatherings, community events and everyday moments of joy.”
The judge granted a motion from the prosecution to quash Adnan’s conviction “in the interest of justice and equity.” Prosecutors have thirty days to retry Adnan or drop the charges.
Overwhelmed with emotions, Shamim and Yusuf began to cry after Judge Phinn released Adnan.
Hae Min Lee’s family feels let down by the system
Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed | family brochure
Hae Min Lee’s family did not attend Syed’s latest hearing because, according to her lawyer, they had not received sufficient notice. The attorney requested a continuance, but Judge Phinn denied the motion. He paused the process for half an hour to allow Lee’s brother to join in via video link.
Young Lee protested the hearing, referring to the case as a nightmare. He said:
“I personally wanted to be there in person. I have been living with this for over 20 years. Every day when I think it’s over… it always comes back. It is killing me. It’s really tough.”
With a lump in her throat, Lee said she was not opposed to further investigation of the case, but asked the court to consider the cost to her family. Lee lamented that failures in the judicial system have forced the family to relive the horrific loss all over again.
Steve Kelly, an attorney for Lee’s family, said the family is not confident that justice will be served. Kelly said:
“I think it’s going to make it virtually impossible for anyone to be brought to justice. so frankly, [Lee’s family] he is very desperate for any justice for Hae. They are desperate”.
Kelly said that Hae, the victim of the crime, had mistakenly disappeared from the narrative. “The story is about him. He has been created to be a hero in the media,” Kelly added. Kelly released a statement from the family regretting their exclusion from the trial:
“The Lee family is deeply disappointed that today’s hearing occurred so quickly and that they were denied the reasonable notice that would have allowed them a meaningful say in the proceeding.”
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn