Letter: Appeal for right to a lawyer

Allow me to introduce myself. I am a member of the Writers’ Bureau of Manchester UK.

Even before the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) was officially recognised by the Maldivian government I was actively involved in trying to promote democracy in the Maldives.

Once we were able to topple the 30 year dictatorship of Abdul Gayoom through the ballot box the MDP was able to rule for three years before we were deposed by the military.

Now I find I am back on top of the persecution list by the government.

About a month back I was pulled in on a drugs charge. At the hearing I told the judge that he cannot ask the police investigative officer to take an oath – with the Holy Quran as witness – as the said police officer had not attended the scene of the crime. He was parroting second hand information supplied by others.

This made the judge so mad he called me into court to begin proceedings of a case dating back almost five years. Apparently five years ago the police had found a small pen-knife with remnants of cannabis. According to a local lawyer, this could get me a 15 year sentence.

I told the judge I was prepared to answer the charges once I was given my legal rights. A Maldivian citizen is entitled to legal counsel by law. I appealed for the state to provide me with a lawyer.

The judge refused. He stated that it was only where high profile cases were concerned that the state provided lawyers. I pointed out that according to the Maldivian constitution that all citizens are equal before the law.

I have a hearing on the 18th of this month and despite what the constitution says, I doubt the state will provide me with a lawyer because at present almost 90 percent of those facing trial are deprived of legal counsel.

I would very much appreciate if Amnesty would do their best to lend me a helping hand in countering the judiciary’s autocratic methods. The judiciary in the Maldives is a remnant from the dictatorship of Abdul Gayoom’s 30 year reign.

Yours truly

Ali Rasheed

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

American Centre to host lecture on importance of public museums

The American Center will be hosting a public lecture by US expert speaker Karen Lee on the topic ‘Museums Matter: Staff, Visitors and Exhibitions in the 21st Century’ on Saturday, July 20 2013 from 8:30pm to 9:30pm in the National Art Gallery.

According to a statement from the centre, Lee has a long and distinguished professional history as part of the world renowned Smithsonian community and is currently the curator of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History – a Smithsonian Institute.

Te lecture will be free and open to all interested parties.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Privatisation body to require criminal record checks for public company board appointees

Candidates appointed as directors on the boards of public limited companies in the Maldives will now face a mandatory criminal record check, according to local media.

Privatisation and Co-privatisation Board President Mohamed Amjad told Sun Online that any candidates appointed to the board of a public limited company will be required in future to submit their attested qualifications and a police report disclosing any criminal convictions they may have.

Amjad was quoted in local media as saying that the new review process would apply to all appointments made to boards of such companies in the future, with candidates also being checked to see if they have any pending debts owed to the courts.

The privatisation board has said it will also look to identify if a candidate also had relatives working for the same company.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President Waheed returns from Saudi Arabia visit

President Dr Mohamed Waheed today returned to Male’ after departing on an official visit to Saudi Arabia last week.

During his visit, Dr Waheed held meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to discuss bilateral relations between the Maldives and their respective nations, according to the President’s Office.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad confirmed that President Waheed had also performed an Umra pilgrimage whilst in Saudi Arabia.

The president’s visit followed reports that his predecessor, former President Mohamed Nasheed, last week had his own request to perform Umra rejected by Saudi authorities.

However, local media reported yesterday (July 14) that Nasheed had now been granted a visa, allowing him to conduct an Umra pilgrimage.

Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid and former Attorney General Ahmed Ali Sawad have also been granted visas, according to local media.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

PPM confirms “talks” with Adhaalath Party over prospective coalition

The government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has confirmed talks have been held with “senior members” of the religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) over potentially standing in a coalition for this year’s presidential election.

PPM MP and Spokesperson Ahmed Nihan has told Minivan News that “several meetings” had been held between the party’s vice presidential candidate Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, AP President Sheikh Imran Abdullah and Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed.

Nihan could not provide further details of what conclusion had been reached between the two parties, but claimed that the AP’s potential support would be a “huge boost” for the PPM’s election campaign.

Confirmation of the talks follows the AP’s announcement on Thursday (July 11) that it had quit President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s ‘Forward with the Nation’ coalition due to “mysterious events”.

The decision was taken just 24 hours after the AP publicly criticised President Waheed, accusing him of telling international media that the party had “extremist” elements.

However, AP President Sheikh Imran today rejected local media reports that his party had held any discussions with any other political groups following the termination of its coalition agreement with President Waheed.

Sheik Imran was not responding to calls at time of press.

Coalition uncertainty

PPM MP Nihan said today that with recent reports of “uneasiness” between the AP and President Waheed, talks had been held with senior leadership over a possible collaboration. However, he said it was uncertain if any coalition could be reached between the PPM and AP at present.

Nihan added that any potential agreement would still need to be approved by the PPM’s council before being finalised, though he said that the party’s charter did allow for presidential candidate MP Yameen and his running mate to hold talks with other candidates over key issues.

A meeting of the PPM Council has been scheduled for tonight, according to party officials.

Nihan said that he remained of the view that a coalition government was not a solution to run the Maldives effectively at the current time – an argument he claimed had been proven conclusively by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) coming to power backed by a number of parties in 2008.

Parties including the now government-aligned Jumhoree Party, the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and later the AP all eventually left former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government after backing him as their presidential candidate.

Nasheed later controversially resigned from office following a mutiny by sections of the police and military on February 7, 2012, with the MDP alleging a “coup d’eat” had toppled the country’s first democratically elected government.

“We believe it is difficult to have a coalition here,” Nihan claimed, adding that multi-party democracy in the country was still a very new concept.

He said that despite any potential boost the AP would provide to the PPM’s support base during the presidential election, concerns remained about how successful a coalition could be in the country.

In May, Nihan claimed that although the PPM would continue to lend its support to the present coalition backing President Waheed, the party was not looking to enter into a collaboration ahead of the election scheduled for September.

“Originally in the first round of the 2008 elections, former President Gayoom failed to obtain enough votes to get re-elected. As we know, [former President] Nasheed then formed a coalition to win the election in the second round,” he said. “What we saw then was after 20 days, JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim resigned without much reason from the government. This has put a big question mark over the strength of coalitions.”

Speaking at the conclusion of a campaign visit in Raa Atoll yesterday (July 13), MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, President Waheed’s running mate for the upcoming election, was reported in local media as saying that no other candidate had as strong of a team in the upcoming election as the incumbent.

Thasmeen, Leader of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), claimed President Waheed continued to be backed with the “most capable” people that would be able to run a government responsibly, according to Sun Online.

“Considering the ongoing campaigns, it wouldn’t be an untruth if I said that no other candidate has a team as strong as the ‘forward with the nation’ team. You would see who are included in the teams, if you look at the front row during major ceremonies, and if you watch party rallies on TV and the people who speak on stage during these functions,” he was reported as saying.

“I think that the team behind President Waheed consists of capable people who can responsibly run the government, even if they assume this responsibility tomorrow.”

Thasmeen also reportedly praised the president’s patience for being able to run a government with parties who did not always support him on key issues.

Thasmeen and President Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaadh Party (GIP) Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza were not responding to calls at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Former President Nasheed granted Saudi visa for Umra pilgrimage

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has been granted a visa to visit Saudi Arabia to conduct an Umra pilgrimage, reports local media.

The Saudi Embassy in Sri Lanka requested Nasheed ‘hand over’ his passport for visa processing and the request has been forwarded to the former president’s office, said State Foreign Minister Hassan Saeed.

Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid and former Attorney General Ahmed Ali Sawad have also been granted visas, according to local media.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Torture victims require redress, thwarted by institutionalised impunity

Maldivian victims of systemic and systematic torture that has been occurring for decades have yet to find redress, while the legacy of wide-scale human rights violations continues to be perpetuated by state institutions due to institutionalised impunity, government, state institutions and civil society organisations have said.

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has confirmed it is investigating three recent cases of detainees being tortured by Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) officers while in the Custodial Reception and Diagnostic Centre (Male’ Jail).

Officials from the HRCM visited Male’ Jail June 2, 2013 after the family of a detainee informed the HRCM on May 31, 2013 that the victim had been beaten by DPRS officers.

In March this year local media reported that the HRCM was investigating allegations of torture in Male’ prison, however due to authorities “not cooperating” with the investigation the HRCM team was forced to visit Maafushi Prison instead.

In response to the allegations, DPRS Commissioner Ahmed Shihan told CNM that thus far no warden was found to have been involved in the torture of detainees and if a prison warden was found to have acted unlawfully, action will be taken against the officer.

“We will keep monitoring to ensure that all wardens act according to the law,” said Shihan.

In May 2011, former Prisons Division Head of the DPRS Isthafa Ibrahim Manik was detained and questioned by police, after disturbing photographs of tortured victims in custody were obtained by the – now dissolved – Presidential Commission and leaked to the media.

While instances of Maldivians in state custody suffering human rights abuses remains problematic, it is symptomatic of a long standing history of torture that has yet to be remedied or seriously addressed.

“It is quite worrying that we keep hearing about accounts of torture in custody. These recent accounts are an indication of the consistence and continuing abuse in custody,” Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN)’s Executive Director Humaida ‘Humey’ Abdulghafoor told Minivan News yesterday (July 13).

“There is systemic and systematic abuse of detainees [in the Maldives], therefore the practice of torture is unlikely to just disappear over a short period of time,” she emphasised.

While the HRCM’s national preventative mechanism should protect people from the state committing human rights violations, Humaida believes this mandate has been inactive and not working effectively.

“The HRCM has a national preventative mechanism that legally obligates them to ensure mistreatment of prisoners is prevented from happening in jails,” she said.

“Monitoring and oversight is very important because of the history we have, but this mechanism is not working effectively,” she added.

Given the physical and psychological harm torture victims suffer that “cannot be dissociated”, supportive mechanisms that account for this trauma need to be established for Maldivians, explained Humaida.

“There must be an enabling environment for victims to come forward, which doesn’t seem to be there,” she said.

“Many families and victims are afraid and not willing to talk or report these violations because they feel intimidated [by the state] given the risks of revictimization and possible harassment,” she continued.

“Things on the surface may appear quiet, however that doesn’t mean everything is good,” she noted.

Humaida explained that without an enabling environment for victims to report the human rights abuses they have suffered, there is subsequently a lack of documentation and enquiries that would ultimately identify the root causes and/or perpetrators of torture in the Maldives.

“It is impossible for HRCM to know how this torture is happening without proper documentation and enquiries,” she said.

“The Torture Victims Association (TVA) is the only organisation doing such work,” according to Humaida. “The TVA [also] submitted torture victims’ testimonies to the HRCM February 6, 2012, which the victims were able to provide because they no longer felt afraid.”

“A report [by TVA and international NGO Redress] about ill treatment of prisoners was submitted to the HRCM in July 2012, containing the most concrete evidence produced regarding torture occurring while in detention,” she continued.

“Victims’ testimonies were also presented to the UN Human Rights Committee [July 2012 in Geneva], which made recommendations that the Maldives has not yet implemented,” she added.

Reports that included testimonies of police brutality, in addition to torture and ill-treatment of detainees in jail, were presented during the meeting held in relation the to International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which the Maldives is a signatory.

It has been over a year since the reports were submitted and Humaida cited the “inactivity and apathy of authorities” as a possible reason there has not been any action to redress these past, wide-scale instances of torture.

“I’m very surprised the HRCM has not given updates on how these investigations are proceeding,” she said.

“[Additionally,] while they used to visit prisons regularly and produce reports, that is not something they seem to be doing anymore, which is also a concern,” she added.

HRCM mandate limited

The HRCM mandate specifies that the commission’s focus should be on incidents post-2000, however there is a clause that does allow investigations of past human rights violations if a case is “serious enough”, HRCM Vice President Ahmed Tholal explained to Minivan News yesterday (July 13).

“Torture occurs when state authorities function with impunity, which does not produce a society that is respectful toward human rights,” said Tholal.

He explained that the HRCM is coordinating a strategy to holistically approach past human rights violations on a wider scale.

“We have discussed as a commission how to address human rights violations on a wider scale and how to approach cases to systemically root out torture,” Tholal stated.

“It is very important to ensure absolvement of that feeling [state authorities function with impunity] amongst the people,” he continued.

“The Maldivian people need some sort of redress and closure,” he added.

In regard to the accounts of torture submitted to the HRCM last year by TVA and Redress, Tholal explained that if a human rights violation has occurred then the HRCM looks into the issue on a case by case basis and that allegations of torture submitted by the organisations are currently under investigation.

“We are currently looking into the complaints of each victim [from the reports]. However, some information and evidence is hard to come by,” said Tholal. “For example, we are not able to contact the actual people directly, we have to seek their contact information from the organisation. But we are trying to move as fast as we can.”

Institutionalised impunity

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) was given an update on the current human rights situation in the Maldives this past April, by MDN in collaboration with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).

The brief noted that while some steps have been taken in the past decade to reform institutions and investigate allegations of human right abuses, including torture committed by the security services, limited mandates, a lack institutional will, and senior officials publicly dismissing these concerns has prevented redress.

“A culture of impunity has been institutionalised for perpetrators of past human rights violations that… encourages the security forces to disregard the rule of law and commit further human rights abuses in impunity,” stated the brief.

In September 2012, FIDH released a report detailing the human rights situation in the Maldives, titled “From Sunrise to Sunset: Maldives backtracking on democracy”.

FIDH noted that the government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has been accused of a wide range of human right violations, including violent harassment of street protesters, torture and harassment of pro-opposition media as wells as legal and physical harassment of the opposition.

“Practices to silence political dissent that had disappeared in the course of Nasheed’s presidency, have once again become prevalent under Mohamed Waheed’s presidency,” said FIDH.

Police station and prison torture

There are many accounts of the systematic and sustained use of torture within the state’s prisons and police stations perpetrated by military personnel, police, coast guard, and prison officers, according to the Redress/TVA report which included accounts of individuals who allege that they were tortured or ill-treated during former President Maumoon Gayoom’s regime between 1978-2008.

“Most victims were initially tortured or ill-treated during interrogation and questioning, either at police stations or at various detention centers,” stated the report. “Torture and ill-treatment continued in prisons and detention facilities, typically as a form of intimidation and punishment.”

“But until now, the victims of such treatment have not been provided with any justice for what has been done to them. Despite accepting that torture and ill-treatment occurred on a wide scale, the Maldives is yet to address its legacy,” the report noted.

The findings highlighted that “While there was no apparent limit to the forms of torture and ill-treatment used, many were quite specific to the island environment.”

Torture and ill-treatment of detainees was often inflicted outside the prison buildings, and guards appear to have been given free range to use whatever methods they choose, including: beatings, burning, being tied to palm trees, the use of high-pressure hoses, the use of stocks and other painful restraints as well as suspension, near drowning, being restrained and covered in sugar water to attract ants, subjection to noise and sleep deprivation, sexual abuse and sexual humiliation, etc., the report found.

The government of Maldives previously acknowledged that the use of torture was systematic in the country, as stated in its Universal Periodic Review report to the UN Human Rights Council in 2010.

However, current government officials deny torture and ill-treatment of detainees is problematic, and claim that human rights reports conducted by civil society organisations are subject to political bias in favor of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Meanwhile, former President Mohamed Nasheed – a previous torture victim himself – pledged to institute structural changes to reform police and military institutions upon his re-election in September, during an MDP function held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 13.

The Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) and Maldives Police Service (MPS) had not responded to enquiries at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

EC to take submissions for presidential candidates

The Elections Commission (EC) has announced it will open the opportunity for presidential candidates to formally file their candidacy at the commission to contest in the presidential elections, beginning from next Monday until July 24.

The elections commission previously announced that the presidential elections will be held on September 7 and should a run-off election need to be held, it would be held 20 days after announcing the results of the first election.

So far, five individuals have declared their bid to contest in the elections. Candidates include leader of the Gaumee Iththihaadh Party (GIP) and incumbent President Mohamed Waheed Hassan, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Presidential Candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed, government-aligned parties Jumhoree Party (JP) leader and business tycoon MP Gasim Ibrahim and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Presidential Candidate Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

Besides the four party candidates, former PPM Council Member and one of the founding members of the party, Dr Ahmed Saud, has announced he will contest the elections as an independent.

In a press conference held on Sunday, President of the Elections Commission Fuwad Thowfeek said the commission would determine a candidate’s eligibility to contest in the election within a period of 48 hours of its submission.

“The candidate will be informed whether he is eligible to contest in the election within a period of 48 hours. If the candidate is not satisfied with the decision of the commission, he will have an additional five days to file a case at the Supreme Court even after the deadline,” Thowfeek said.

Vice Chair of the Commission Ahmed Fayaz meanwhile said that the commission would strictly adhere to existing laws and regulations in conducting the elections.

He also highlighted that cases currently ongoing in the courts would not be a challenge to the commission or obstruct potential candidacy.

Currently, court cases involving former President Nasheed and President Waheed’s running mate Ahmed Thasmeen Ali are pending in the court system.

Nasheed currently has a criminal case pending at the Hulhumale Magistrate Court over the detention of Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.

However, the case is currently suspended by a High Court injunction, after Nasheed raised procedural points in an appeal at the High Court. A date for commencement of the hearings of the appeal is yet to be announced after the last scheduled hearing was suspended.

Shortly after the cancelling of the hearing, Chief Judge of High Court Ahmed Shareef – who was among the three-member judges panel presiding over the case – was “indefinitely suspended” by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) as a “precautionary” action over a case lodged at the commission a year ago.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Thasmeen who leads the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) – one of the three parties remaining in President Waheed’s ‘Forward with the nation’ coalition – has a case against him at the Supreme Court, where former MDP MP Mohamed Musthafa is contesting the legitimacy of his parliamentary seat over non-payment of a decreed debt.

However, both Nasheed and Thasmeen’s case are unlikely to be concluded prior to the election, meaning both the candidates are for the time being eligible to contest.

According to the constitution, a presidential candidate and his running mate must be of minimum of 35 years of age, they must not have undischarged decreed debts, and should not have been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of more than 12 months, unless a period of three years has elapsed since release, or the offender pardoned. A candidate must not have been convicted of an offence for which a hadd is prescribed in Islam or of fraud, deception or criminal breach of trust.

According to statistics provided by the Elections Commission, 240,302 people will be eligible to cast their vote in the 2013 presidential elections, 31,008 more than the number of eligible voters in the 2008 presidential elections (209,294).

The commission had already published the eligible voters’ registry which received 2,279 complaints from the public regarding errors in the list. However, the commission has expressed confidence in resolving the issues highlighted in the registry.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Supreme Court Justice’s sex tape a fake, claims business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim

Leader of the Jumhoree Party (JP) and business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim has defended Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed, dismissing the alleged sex-tape involving the judge as a fake.

The video of the Supreme Court Justice allegedly indulging in adultery came into media limelight following the arrest of Ahmed Faiz – a senior Council Member of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP) and former Project Advisor at the Housing Ministry.

Snapshots taken from the video began circulating on social media networks Twitter and Facebook, prompting a police investigation. Last week, the police formally notified relevant authorities including the JSC, the Prosecutor General and President Waheed regarding their investigation into the case.

The notification led the JSC to form its own five member committee to look into the matter.  According to JSC, the committee comprises of three of its members including Vice Chair of the commission Abdulla Didi, commission members Latheefa Gasim and Ahmed Rasheed. Two additional attorneys outside JSC have also been selected to sit on the committee.

Earlier this week local media reports claimed the JSC, in addition to the sex-video, had begun investigating videos of Hameed discussing political corruption of the judiciary with a local businessman, and a meeting with former immigration controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim. Both have been circulating on social media.

Speaking during a campaign rally held at Thaa Atoll Veymandoo Island on this Saturday, The JP Presidential candidate – who also sits in the JSC as a representative of the parliament – claimed that Justice Hameed had been victimised by the aides of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

The resort owner alleged that Nasheed – who is the presidential candidate of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – commands “a large group of vigilante criminals who will do whatever he demands.”

“They blackmail people in order to keep them in check. They do all kinds of things. Even today, look at that fake video of the judge. [Nasheed] will do what he wants by using blackmailing and other tactics,” Gasim claimed.

Following the MDP’s launched of its youth policy, dubbed ‘Entertainment without fear’, Gasim labeled Nasheed a “monster” claiming that he had done every “despicable act ever to be found in the world”.

The owner of Villa Group also alleged that there were “external forces” assisting those behind the video of the judge, and alleged that the motive of these unidentified forces were to take over state assets, introduce other religions to the country, and create infighting within society.

“There are people in the world that cannot digest the fact that Maldives is a 100 percent Islamic country,” said the resort tycoon, whose Villa Hotels chain in 2011 imported approximately 121,234.51 litres of beer, 2048 litres of whiskey, 3684 litres of vodka and 219.96 kilograms of pork sausages, among other haram commodities restricted to islands deemed ‘uninhabited’.

Violation of JSC Code of Conduct

President of Maldives Bar Association and former Attorney General Husnu Al Suood criticised Gasim’s remarks, alleging he had violated the code of conduct of the JSC.

Suood claimed that Gasim had violated section 24 of the code by making statements in a political forum on a matter currently being investigated by the JSC.

Section 24 of JSC’s Code of Conduct states that a member of the commission shall not disclose any information obtained from the commission by being its member to a third party, except for the purpose of executing the member’s duties.

“In my opinion, it is not fair for Gasim Ibrahim to sit on the JSC while being a presidential candidate.  He must leave the position. That is because these types of conflicts will arise when a commission member is campaigning for the position of presidency,” Suood said.

Suood further highlighted that Gasim, by misusing information from the JSC for his political benefit, had undermined the credibility and impartiality of the state institution.

The opposition MDP followed Suood in criticising Gasim’s remarks, claiming that the JP Leader was defending the sex-tape scandal and incompetent judges for his own benefit.

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP Spokesperson MP Imthiyaz Fahmy claimed Gasim was “hell bent on preventing the judiciary from being reformed”.

“Gasim Ibrahim is trying to undermine the entire judiciary for his own business and political interest. Why else is he sitting in the JSC while campaigning for presidency?” Fahmy questioned.

Fahmy alleged that Gasim’s greatest fear was a free and fair judiciary, “where his bribes will not work”.

“Look at his past track record. He has criticised reports produced by top technical experts from reputed international organisations regarding the judiciary. We all know how low he went in dismissing UN Special Rapporteur Gabriela Knaul’s report,” Fahmy said.

Gasim had previously accused UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul of “lying and joking” about the state of the Maldivian judiciary.

During her preliminary observations on the country’s judicial system, Gabriela Knaul expressed concern over the politicisation of JSC – the body constitutionally mandated to oversee the functioning of the judiciary.

“[Gabriela Knaul] claimed that the judges were not appointed transparently, I am sure that is an outright lie. She is lying, she did not even check any document at all nor did she listen to anybody. She is repeating something that was spoon-fed to her by someone else. I am someone who sits in JSC. She claimed there were no regulations or mechanism there. That is a big joke,” Gasim claimed at the time. “She couldn’t tell a bigger lie.”

Fahmy meanwhile called on the parliament members to initiate a motion to remove Gasim Ibrahim from the JSC.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)