Maryland high court to review Syed's conviction in Serial podcast case

Adnan Syed had his conviction reinstated after a prison release over an investigation that found problems in the case against him

Adnan Syed outside the Robert Murphy Courts of Appeal building in February 2023, in Annapolis, Maryland. AP

The case of Adnan Syed, whose conviction for a Maryland murder was overturned and later reinstated, will be reviewed by the state's highest court under an order issued on Monday, documents showed.

Mr Syed, who was found guilty in 2000 of murdering Hae Min Lee, 18, and sentenced to life in prison, was released last year after an investigation identified problems with the case against him, leading a circuit court judge to vacate his conviction.

His case drew new attention after the popular podcast Serial raised doubts about his guilt. He served more than 20 years for the crime, which was committed when he was 17.

The judge left it to prosecutors to decide whether to retry him and they decided to drop the case.

But after Lee's family said it had been denied the ability to attend a critical hearing the case, an appeals panel in Maryland reinstated the conviction and ordered a new hearing.

The appeals court did not force Mr Syed to return to prison, saying that the issue could be handled without breaching protection in the US court system against trying someone twice for the same crime.

On Wednesday, Maryland Supreme Court senior Justice Shirley Watts said the court would review the appeals panel's ruling and a petition filed by the victim's family representative, Young Lee.

Arguments in the case were set for October 5.