*Adnan Syed’s murder conviction in the death of Hae Min Lee has been reinstated nearly six months after he was released from prison.
On Tuesday, Maryland’s appeals court reinstated Syed’s conviction after Baltimore prosecutors provided new evidence in the case, NBC News reports. Syed was 17 when he was convicted of the first-degree murder of Lee, his ex-girlfriend, in 2000.
Syed was freed in October after Baltimore City State Attorney Marilyn Mosby said DNA evidence proved he was innocent. An appeal was filed by Lee’s family, alleging they had not been properly notified of efforts to free Syed. The Maryland appeals court agreed, finding that a lower court violated the family’s right to attend a hearing on vacating the conviction.
A new hearing will review the evidence for vacating Syed’s conviction, according to reports. In the meantime, the previous murder charges have been reinstated.
READ MORE: Adnan Syed Released from Prison After Judge Vacates Murder Conviction | Video
“We are equally pleased that the Appellate Court is directing the lower court to conduct a transparent hearing where the evidence will be presented in open court and the court’s decision will be based on evidence for the world to see,” Lee’s family said in a statement after the court’s decision.
Erica Suter, an attorney for Syed, said the appeal was “not about Adnan’s innocence but about notice and mootness.”
“There is no basis for re-traumatizing Adnan by returning him to the status of a convicted felon,” Suter said in a statement.
Syed, 41, served 23 years of a life sentence before the attorney’s office dropped charges last fall. During his incarceration, his case became the subject of the insanely popular “Serial” podcast.
Syed’s legal team intends to appeal the decision to reinstate his conviction.
