The Criminal Court on Sunday concluded its hearings in the case of former General Intelligence Department (GID) chief Mohammad Dahabi and will issue the verdict in a session next week.
Amid expectations that only a few weeks are left for the GID chief in prison, the court’s verdict will conclude three months of hearings.
The former intelligence chief is standing trial on several corruption-related charges including embezzlement, money laundering and exploitation of public office.
Dahabi spent 10 months in custody while the prosecution was probing the case, collecting evidence and questioning witnesses.
A source familiar with the case said the maximum penalty will be one-year imprisonment, which Dahabi has already served in custody during the trial period.
Therefore, Dahabi will be set free as soon as the court issues its final decision, according to the source, who spoke under condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Lawyers familiar with the case expected Dahabi to be convicted only of exploitation of public office, and that he would be acquitted of the other charges.
This legal opinion is based mainly on the arguments and testimonies made before the court over the past few months, the lawyers said, indicating that, as per relevant laws and regulations, Dahabi cannot be convicted of embezzlement and money laundering based on these testimonies.
Dahabi, who headed the GID between 2005 and 2008, entered a not guilty plea to all charges.
The prosecution sought the maximum sentence for the defendant, under Article 1/174 of the Penal Code, which stipulates a penalty of a maximum of 15 years in prison with hard labour for officials convicted of embezzlement.
