Former Controller of Immigration and current State Minister for Defence Sheikh Ilyas Hussain pleaded not guilty to corruption charges at the Criminal Court on Wednesday (April 10).
Ilyas – brother-in-law of President Dr Mohamed Waheed – was charged with abuse of authority to benefit a third party in awarding a contract to Malaysia-based mobile security firm Nexbis to establish a border control system (BCS).
At the first hearing of the trial, Ilyas’ lawyer requested 30 days to study the evidence presented against the ex-controller. Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed reportedly granted the defence counsel’s request.
Ilyas is accused of omitting from the concession agreement clauses that required Nexbis to provide 29 scholarships and 200,000 identity cards free of charge. The clauses were in the original technical proposal submitted by Nexbis to the tender evaluation board.
If convicted, the state minister could face either a jail term of up to three years, banishment or house arrest.
The case against Ilyas was forwarded to the PGO in December 2011 by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). In September 2012, the ACC informed parliament’s Finance Committee that the BSC agreement would cost the Maldives MVR 2.5 billion (US$162 million) in potential lost revenue over the lifetime of the contract.
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This trial and the events related to it, demonstrate exactly why Maldives judiciary should not consider itself qualified to implement the Hudud Allah! The case is tried by the judge who would be most beholden to the current regime, especially Sheikh Ilyas Ibrahim and Mr Mohamed Waheed. Indeed, were it not for the coup detat, Judge Abdullah Mohamed might still be (wrongfully) in military custody. Mr Waheed broke another hudud (that of rebellion) to free the judge. And now, just to make sure that the judge is not alone in feeling gratitude towards Mr Waheed, a new Attorney General has been appointed. The old Attorney General who owed no allegiance to either Mr Waheed or Sheikh Ilyas Ibrahim, has been removed from office at the start of the trial! While I have every respect for the new Attorney General, having to prosecute the boss' brother-in-law on the first day on the job, would not be an easy ask, and can quite easily get mixed up with the "thank you" letter she must write to Mr Waheed on her first day of work! Besides under the Maldivian version of "Islamic sharia", the brother-in-law of the President cannot be found guilty of fraud. There is over 900 years of recorded history behind that.
Justice is so far removed from the Maldives that we might even find a snow-capped mountain in an atoll sooner than we can find justice in our courts run by Salafi mullahs and Wahhabi maktabies.
Hadd punishments cannot be imposed where doubt exists, and this is 100% clear from Sunnah. Our judiciary has been grossly faulted by everyone who has examined it- from Prof Paul Robinson to Sir Ivor Lawrence and Gabriella Knaul. Our judiciary simply cannot claim that they have the independence, the competence and the capacity to safeguard the hudud Allah, without delivering injustice. The JSC must acknowledge that; the parliament must recognise that. The people have known this all the time; that is why only two amputations were allowed in the entire history of Maldives!
watch this video from 4:30 minutes. Proof Dr.Shaheed's worshiping Gayoom and Money.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owiMsF2TErU