A panel of judges on a Maryland appeals court has decided to uphold Adnan Syed’s murder conviction. Syed’s case gained widespread attention as it was discussed on the popular podcast Serial, which led to the global dissemination of his story.

The about-face occurred after a judge vacated Syed’s conviction in September at the request of prosecutors in Baltimore, on the basis that earlier prosecutors had not handed over evidence that could have affected the outcome of his case. The judge based his decision on the fact that earlier prosecutors had not handed over evidence that could have affected the outcome of Syed’s case.

Syed was found guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee the previous year, and he was sentenced to life in prison in the year 2000. He fought the verdict for over twenty years after it was handed down.

The decision to invalidate Lee’s conviction was appealed on Tuesday, and the Maryland Appellate Court found that the lower court had violated state law by failing to provide Lee’s family with sufficient notice of the hearing.

The judge decided that giving Young Lee, Lee’s brother, only one business day’s notice before the hearing was “insufficient time to reasonably allow Mr. Lee, who lived in California to appear” in person at the proceeding. In the end, he was forced to observe from a remote location.

The court stated that it was compelled to correct the violations that had been committed by the lower court “as long as we may do so without breaching Mr. Syed’s right to be free from double jeopardy.”

According to the Court, “We can do that, and consequently, we vacate the circuit court’s order vacating Mr. Syed’s convictions.” This causes the reinstatement of the initial convictions and sentence. It was also said that a fresh hearing would be convened in order to overturn Syed’s conviction.

When prosecutors in Baltimore asked the courts to overturn Syed’s conviction from the previous year, they stated that they were not arguing that the defendant was innocent. Instead, they stated that they did not have faith “in the integrity of the conviction” and suggested that he be freed on his own recognizance or on bail pending further investigation into the matter.

As justification for setting aside the conviction, the prosecutors claimed “undisclosed and freshly developed information involving two other suspects, as well as faulty cell phone tower data.”

According to the explanations provided by the prosecution, these “alternative suspects” were known individuals at the time of the initial investigation; nevertheless, they were neither adequately ruled out nor given to the defense.

The statement made by the office of the state attorney in Maryland at the time was as follows: “Whether the state ultimately continues with a trial in this matter or dismisses the charges will depend on the outcome of the continuing investigation.”

Syed, who was only 17 years old at the time of the murder, has always insisted that he did not commit the crime.

The first season of the Serial podcast, which focused on the case and raised doubts about some of the evidence, including mobile phone tower data, brought the tale to the attention of millions of people in 2014. At that time, the podcast was just beginning.

According to a report by the Associated Press news agency, the most recent ruling will not result in Syed being returned to detention at any point in the near future.