Adnan Syed's case earned worldwide attention when it was taken up by 'Serial,' a weekly podcast that saw a US journalist revisit his conviction and cast doubt on his guilt
Adnan Syed's case earned worldwide attention when it was taken up by 'Serial,' a weekly podcast that saw a US journalist revisit his conviction and cast doubt on his guilt AFP

The top court in the US state of Maryland on Friday upheld a ruling by a lower court reinstating the conviction of the man at the center of the hit podcast "Serial, who had served more than 20 years in prison for his ex-girlfriend's murder.

Adnan Syed, 43, whose case received worldwide attention through the podcast, had been serving a life sentence for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, but was released in 2022 after Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn vacated his conviction.

A Maryland appeals court reinstated his conviction in March of last year, however, saying that the rights of Lee's brother, Young Lee, who lives in California, had been violated because he had not been given adequate time to attend that hearing in person. The brother has nothing to do with the case.

The Maryland Supreme Court upheld that decision on Friday and ordered the circuit court to conduct a new hearing on the motion vacating Syed's conviction.

"In an effort to remedy what they perceived to be an injustice to Mr. Syed, the prosecutor and the circuit court worked an injustice against Mr. Lee by failing to treat him with dignity, respect, and sensitivity," the Supreme Court said.

It said the "remedy is to reinstate Mr. Syed's convictions and to remand the case to the circuit court for further proceedings."

Syed has been free since his September 2022 release from prison and the Maryland Supreme Court said he did not have to return to jail while the legal proceedings move forward.

Lee's body was found buried in February 1999 in a shallow grave in the woods of Baltimore, Maryland. The 18-year-old had been strangled.

Syed steadfastly maintained his innocence and prosecutors asked Judge Phinn to vacate his conviction, citing the discovery of new information regarding two alternative suspects.

Syed's case earned worldwide attention when it was taken up by "Serial," a weekly podcast that saw a US journalist revisit his conviction and cast doubt on his guilt.

His case has also been the subject of a four-part documentary on the HBO channel called "The Case Against Adnan Syed."

The "Serial" podcast -- a mix of investigative journalism, first-person narrative and dramatic storytelling -- focused its first season on Syed's story in 12 nail-biting episodes.

Both Syed and Lee were high school honor students and children from immigrant families -- he Pakistani, she South Korean -- who had concealed their relationship from their conservative parents.

Prosecutors claimed during his trial that Syed was a "scorned lover" who felt humiliated after Lee broke up with him.