JSC transfers Judge Adbulla Mohamed from the Criminal Court to the Drug Court

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has today decided to transfer the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed to same position with the Drug Court.

In a tweet today Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza, who is also the member representing the parliament in the JSC, confirmed the decision was made at today’s meeting.

Speaking to Minivan News today Hamza said that the decision was made to strengthen the courts by transferring experienced judges to different courts so that they could share their knowledge and experience with others.

He said about eight judges has been transferred to different courts.

A JSC spokesperson said that he was on vacation and did not have information about the matter.

Newspaper Haveeru reported that a member of the JSC told the paper that Abdulla Mohamed would start work in January next year.

The paper reported that the decision was made as part of a refreshment program.

In January 2012, Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested by the MNDF in compliance with a police request. The judge’s whereabouts were not revealed until January 18, when the MNDF has acknowledged receipt but not replied to Supreme Court orders to release the judge.

Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz soon joined the High Court and Supreme Courts in condemning the MNDF’s role in the arrest as unlawful, and requesting that the judge be released.

A series of protests were held by the then-opposition political parties calling for the release of the judge which ended with a police and military mutiny on February 2012 resulting in President Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster.

In 2005, then Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed forwarded to the President’s Office concerns about the conduct of Abdulla Mohamed after he allegedly requested that an underage victim of sexual abuse re-enact hear abuse for the court.

In 2009 – following the election of the current government – those documents were sent to the JSC, which was asked to launch an investigation into the outstanding complaints as well as alleged obstruction of “high-profile corruption investigations”.

The JSC decided not to proceed with the investigation on July 30, 2009. However, in November last year, the JSC completed an investigation into a complaint of ethical misconduct against the judge.

The case was presented to the JSC in January 2010 by former President Nasheed’s member of the JSC, Aishath Velezinee, after Abdulla Mohamed appeared on private network DhiTV and expressed “biased political views”.

In October 2011, the ruling MDP appealed for assistance from the international community over the “increasingly blatant collusion between politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and senior members of the judiciary – most of whom were appointed by Gayoom during his thirty years of power.”

The MDP statement also referred to the corruption trial of Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim, charged with multiple counts of defrauding the former Atolls Ministry, which remains “indefinitely delayed.”

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