The Baltimore murder case that received international attention from the viral podcast’s first season will be retried, marking a major victory for Syed

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Adnan Syed, whose murder case received international attention through the viral podcast Serial, has been granted a new trial, marking a major victory for the Maryland prisoner.

Serial, Adnan Syed and the revival of the obsessive world of online supporters Read more

Baltimore judge Martin Welch on Thursday granted Syed’s request for a new trial after the record-setting podcast sent thousands of internet sleuths digging through the details of the murder of Hae Min Lee 17 years ago.

Syed, now 35, had argued in Baltimore court that Cristina Gutierrez, his lawyer in the original trial, had provided ineffective counsel and failed to investigate a crucial alibi.

In Welch’s order, he disagreed that Gutierrez erred when she failed to contact Asia McClain Chapman, the key alibi featured on the podcast. The judge also disagreed with Syed’s claims that prosecutors breached their duty by withholding exculpatory evidence.

But Welch did agree that Syed’s attorney should have cross-examined a state’s expert witness about the reliability of cell tower data that placed him near the burial site.

Syed has been serving a life sentence since his conviction in 2000 for the murder of Lee, his ex-girlfriend from high school.

C Justin Brown, Syed’s current lawyer, said at a press conference on Thursday that the judge’s order means “the conviction is erased, it’s gone. As of this day, he’s not convicted any more.”

Brown quoted Serial host Sarah Koenig, saying there was a time when this outcome seemed impossible.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An undated photo provided by Yusuf Syed shows an earlier photo of his brother, Adnan. Photograph: AP

“She said this case is just hanging by a string. Statistically it was over. We have come back from that and we have incrementally won and won and won and gained more and more traction. This is us getting over the hill.”

Brown said he expected the state to appeal the decision. “We’re prepared to fight. Our heels are dug in … We know the state’s not going to give up and we’ll be ready.”

In February, Syed’s mother, Shamim Syed, told the Guardian that she believed racism played a role in her son’s arrest.

“For me it was discrimination,” she said. “He was a 17-year-old Muslim. If his name was something else they wouldn’t touch him but his name was Adnan Syed and his parents were from Pakistan and they forgot he was born and raised in America.”

After the huge success of Serial, Rabia Chaudry, a family friend of Syed who brought the case to the radio producers, launched her own podcast called Undisclosed, which reported further crucial details.

Chaudry’s podcast uncovered documents that raised questions about the evidence from cellphone towers.

Syed’s current lawyers argued in court that the data linking his phone to the burial site on the day of Lee’s murder was misleading, because it lacked a cover sheet warning that incoming call data was not reliable.

Chaudry celebrated the news of the new trial on Twitter, writing: “I am shaking with joy, shaking!”

Brown said he has been unable to reach Syed in prison, but expects he has received the news. The legal team will now be pushing for Syed to be released.

“I’m feeling pretty confident right now. This was the biggest hurdle. It’s really hard to get a new trial,” he said.

In 2014, Serial became the fastest podcast to reach 5m downloads and streams in iTunes’ history with a huge following in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, and eventually reaching the top 10 in Germany, South Africa and India.

After the podcast ended, communities on Reddit, Facebook and other online forums continued to investigate the murder.

Lee’s family has maintained that Syed is guilty, releasing a statement in February saying the proceedings had “reopened wounds few can imagine”.

“It remains hard to see so many run to defend someone who committed a horrible crime, who destroyed our family, who refuses to accept responsibility, when so few are willing to speak up for Hae,” they wrote. “She stood up for what was right, regardless of popular opinion.”

The state attorney general’s office suggested it intended to appeal against the decision in a statement on Thursday night. It said: “There does appear to be at least one ground that will need to be resolved by the appellate courts. The state’s responsibility remains to pursue justice, and to defend what it believes is a valid conviction.”

Associated Press contributed to this report