Hae Min Lee's family learned that Adnan Syed's charges were being dismissed through social media, lawyer says

• Hae Min Lee's family learned that Adnan Syed's charges were being dismissed through social media.
• The family's lawyer said the move to rush to vacate the charges "sought to silence" the family.

Hae Min Lee's family learned that charges against Adnan Syed were dismissed through social media posts, their lawyer said on Tuesday.

"Hae Min Lee's family learned through media accounts this morning that the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office dismissed the charges against Adnan Syed," attorney Steve Kelly said in a statement shared with Insider.

"The family received no notice and their attorney was offered no opportunity to be present at the proceeding," Kelly said in the statement. "By rushing to dismiss the criminal charges, the State's Attorney's Office sought to silence Hae Min Lee's family and to prevent the family and the public from understanding why the State so abruptly changed its position of more than 20 years."

Syed was convicted in the killing of Hae Min Lee — his ex-girlfriend — in 2000 and had been serving a live sentence until last month. Syed was 17 when the crime occurred and has maintained his innocence.

Last month, a judge overturned Syed's decades-old murder conviction, and he was allowed to leave prison on September 19 after spending 23 years behind bars.

On Tuesday, Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby dismissed charges against Syed and said DNA testing cleared him of wrongdoing.

"It's still an open and pending case, but with regard to Adnan Syed, the case is finished," Mosby said at a news conference on Tuesday, the New York Times reported.

Kelly previously told Insider Lee's family felt "blindsided" and "betrayed" after a Maryland judge vacated Syed's murder conviction.

"All this family ever wanted was answers and a voice. Today's actions robbed them of both," Kelly said in the statement shared with Insider Tuesday.