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Adnan Syed had been “trying to tamp down hope” that he would ever regain his freedom, before his shock release on Monday, it has been revealed.

In a new episode of the podcast Serial, Sarah Koenig revealed that the 41-year-old had recently been losing faith that his conviction would be overturned.

Syed was 17 when he was arrested and charged with strangling Hae Min Lee to death in 1999.

He had spent the last 23 years behind bars.

On Monday, a judge overturned his conviction and ordered his release.

Adnan Syed walked out of the court in Baltimore to cheers after the judge overturned his 2000 murder conviction on Monday.

Watch the moment he left the courthouse a free man below:

The host of the Serial podcast has said that Adnan Syed’s case involves “just about every chronic problem” in the criminal justice system.

Journalist Sarah Koenig released a new episode in the series on Tuesday – one day after Syed walked out of court a free man following the vacating of his murder conviction.

In it, Ms Koenig pointed out that almost all of the evidence which casts doubt on his conviction was available back when Hae Min Lee was murdered in 1999.

“Yesterday, there was a lot of talk about fairness, but most of what the state put in that motion to vacate, all the actual evidence, was either known or knowable to cops and prosecutors back in 1999,” she said at the end of the episode.

“So even on a day when the government publicly recognizes its own mistakes, it’s hard to feel cheered about a triumph of fairness. Because we’ve built a system that takes more than 20 years to self-correct. And that’s just this one case.”

Eight years ago, a new sound hit the airwaves. It was minimalist, just a few notes on a piano, layered with an audio recording of a phone call coming from prison. Then, two voices: that of Adnan Syed, a man who at that point had spent 14 years behind bars, and that of Sarah Koenig, a journalist who had spent a year trying to figure out whether he belonged there.

Serial’s first season aired over just two months, but it marked the beginning of a saga that remains ongoing – and recently reached a high point when a Baltimore judge granted prosecutors’ request to vacate Syed’s conviction and give him a new trial. That in itself is a momentous development, and Serial’s impact has been felt beyond Syed’s case.

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon has the full story:

More than two decades on from his arrest for the murder of his former girlfriend, Adnan Syed is set to finally walk free from prison.

On Monday, ​​Baltimore City Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn threw out the 41-year-old’s conviction and granted him a new trial, ordering his release after spending the last 23 years behind bars.

Syed, who was 17 when he was accused of killing Hae Min Lee, will be released from prison today.

Syed’s sudden release marks just the latest twist in a legal battle that has rumbled on for more than two decades – and during which he has always maintained his innocence.

Read a timeline of the case so far:

Twenty-two years ago, Adnan Syed was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Lee, a student in Baltimore County, Maryland, was 18 years old when she went missing in January 1999. She was found dead of manual strangulation in February of that year. Syed, who was 17 at the time of Lee’s death, was charged with her murder later that month; he was convicted a year later and sentenced to life in prison.

Syed’s case came to renewed attention in 2014, with the launch of Serial, the podcast that changed the face of true-crime programming and cast doubt on the solidity of Syed’s conviction.

Over the course of 12 episodes, journalist Sarah Koenig, the show’s host, pointed to weaknesses in the evidence used against Syed, as well as remaining idiosyncrasies and blurry areas. If there is one central theme to Serial’s first season (the show had two more, dedicated to other topics), it’s doubt — a crucial factor, considering that the US justice system dictates that one should only be convicted of a criminal offense if the jury believes they are guilty “beyond reasonable doubt.”

The Independent’s Clémence Michallon discusses the case:

Prosecutors have listed several issues with Adnan Syed’s conviction, which led them to call for his release “in the interest of fairness and justice”.

Two alternate suspects

Evidence has been found about two other potential suspects.

The two suspects, who were not named because of the ongoing investigation, were both known to the initial 1999 murder investigation and were not properly ruled out, prosecutors said. One of the suspects had made a threat to kill Hae Min Lee.

The two suspects, who were not named because of the ongoing investigation, were both known to the initial 1999 murder investigation but the state did not disclose the information to Syed’s legal team.

The judge ruled that this was a clear Brady violation – where a prosecutor fails to provide the defence with evidence that could be helpful to a defendant’s case.

Validity of cellphone data

Cellphone location data placing Syed at the crime scene has since been found to be inaccurate and inadmissible in court.

Unreliable witness

The prosecution also cast doubt on the credibility of Jay Wilds – the star witness in the state’s original trial.

Wilds, a friend of Syed’s, claimed that he helped Syed to dispose of Lee’s body in the shallow grave in Leakin Park, Baltimore.

Prosecutors said that Wilds has changed his story multiple times – with contradictions between his first interviews with police, his trial testimony and a recent interview with the press.

Detective on original case

One of the main detectives on the original case, Bill Ritz – who interviewed Wilds, was later accused of misconduct in another 1999 murder case.

The man convicted in that case was exonerated in 2016.

The “messy” notes, which were found deep within boxes of files on the case earlier this year, revealed that two different people had placed two separate phone calls alerting prosecutors to the unnamed suspect prior to Syed’s 2000 conviction.

Despite the tipoffs, the notes were not shared with Syed’s legal team and instead sat gathering dust in boxes inside the state attorney’s office for the past 23 years – all the while Syed was holed up behind bars for a crime he says he didn’t commit.

Now, in 2022, the notes have finally come to light and “shocked” both the prosecution and the defence.

On Monday, a judge overturned Syed’s conviction and he walked out of court a free man.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

With Adnan Syed’s conviction now quashed, questions remain around what happens next.

Will Syed be retried for Hae Min Lee’s murder?

Will one of the other suspects face charges?

Or is the case now cold?

Duncan Levin, former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office and a prominent criminal defence attorney at Levin & Associates who has represented clients including Harvey Weinstein and Anna Sorokin, tells The Independent on Tuesday that he thinks this marks the end of Syed’s two-decade long legal battle.

“This is pretty much the end of the road,” he said.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

A moving video has captured Adnan Syed enjoying food at his family home not long afte his release on Monday.

The footage, posted on Twitter by family friend and attorney Rabia Chaudry, shows the 41-year-old searching through the fridge in the home, looking for food.

Syed is seen taking out samosas and dumplings while his brother Yusuf stands next to him, happily grabbing and sharing the food.

“We got fresh samosas coming though,” Ms Chaudry is heard saying.

Syed is seen trying a dumpling and smiling, after two decades of prison food.

“Pretty good,” he says.

Ms Chaudry captioned the post: “Leftovers at home never tasted so good!!”