Day: November 17, 2009

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has suspended Civil Court Judge Mohamed Hilmy pending an investigation by police into alleged sexual misconduct.

Hilmy was arrested in Hulhumale’ last week while he was allegedly undressed at the beach with a woman.

A press release from the JSC states that Hilmy has been asked to stay home until further notice by the commission or until the police investigation was completed.

“Further, the commission has asked the Police Integrity Commission to investigate a complaint from Mohamed Hilmy that police mistreated him, exhibited profane behaviour and gave defamatory information to media,” it reads.

Shahinda Ismail, president of the Police Integrity Commission, told Minivan News today a complaint was filed by the Judges Association (JA) yesterday and the JSC requested the commission to look into the matter today.

“In their letter, JSC said the JA are saying that he has complained to them, that he was walking in Hulhumale’ with his fiancé and police came and handcuffed both of them and basically undressed them by force,” she said. 

In a statement earlier this week, police denied media reports that the judge was abused in custody.

On Saturday, local daily Haveeru reported that Hilmy was arrested in Hulhumale’ and beaten by police.

“In connection with the case written about in that news story, two people were arrested at about 11pm midnight on 12 November 2009,” reads police statement.
“The two had to be taken into custody on suspicion of sexual behaviour in a public place as they were at the garbage dump in the south of Hulhumale’ with their pants down.”

Police further denied the allegation that the judge was abused by police and photographed after his pants were forcibly pulled down.

Hilmy told Haveeru that he lived in Hulhumale’ and was walking with his fiancé when they were set upon by police.

The judge alleged that police handcuffed him, used obscene language and beat him before photographing him.

Hilmy further alleged that a senior police threatened him at a meeting at civil court and told him they would show him how powerful the police force was.

High-profile cases that Hilmy has heard includes Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s request for an injunction against the presidential commission and the Herethere Resort dispute.

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The former atolls ministry has said President Mohamed Nasheed’s resignation was essential for the “salvation” of the country.

In a statement to press yesterday, Abdulla Hameed, ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s brother, denied allegations of corruption levelled against him by police at a press conference in August.

Hameed claimed police had made the allegations on the instruction of the government, which he alleged was determined to ruin his reputation.

“I call upon President Nasheed to stop these personal attacks against me and expend whatever energy he has left to try and lift out the country from the dark pit it has been plunged into during his short reign,” he said.

But speaking to Minivan News today, Police Sergeant Ahmed Shiyam said there was not need for police to falsify information as the case was based on strong evidence.

In May, Nasheed set up a presidential commission to investigate allegations in over 30 audit reports on state institutions and ministries. The opposition have rejected the commission as biased.

In the police press conference in August, police exhibited evidence implicating Hameed in corruption practices including handing out bids without public announcements, making advance payments using cheques against the state asset and finance regulations, approving bid documents for unregistered companies and discriminatory treatment of bid applicants.

However, this week the case was returned from criminal court to the prosecutor general’s office, prompting a letter from the president to the Judicial Services Commission to confirm the reason.

Speaking to Minivan News, a court official said the case was returned due to incomplete documentation. The case was finally registered on Sunday.

Hameed said he believed the president was “worried and anxious” when criminal court rejected the corruption case against him.

He added the president’s letter to the Judicial Services Commission was testament to the president’s “thirst to destroy” him.

“Is the executive influencing the judiciary the way things are done in this excellent democracy that President Nasheed’s government claims they brought to the country?”

Mohamed Zuhair, president’s office press secretary, said that Nasheed did not have a personal vendetta against anyone in the former administration.

“The purpose of the presidential commission is not to pinpoint anyone specifically,” he said, adding the audit report was a documents prepared by an independent auditor.

A separate three-page statement issued by Hameed’s family yesterday said that the government disseminated information about the case thereby conducting his trial through the media rather than the courts.

As a result, it continued, Hameed welcomed the opportunity to clear his name in court.

The statement said the audit report was released a day before the parliamentary election, adding police did not take up the investigation of their own initiative but on a direct order from the president’s office.

But, said Zuhair, the letter to police asked for an investigation into any reports of corruption and did not mention Hameed specifically.

It added that alleging Hameed committed serious crimes in a press conference further violated his right to a fair trial as stipulated under article 42 of the constitution.

It further called on police and the prosecutor general to provide information and documents stored at the former atolls ministry that would exonerate Hameed and prove his innocence.

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