Civil Court issues, cancels order to detain DRP MPs Nashiz and Azim over BML debts

The Civil Court issued an order on Sunday to take Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs Mohamed Nashiz and Ali Azim into custody and present them in court.

The order was cancelled later the same day, on the grounds that the judge presiding over the case was out of the country.

Police Media Official Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said police had been working to implement the order. He confirmed that the hearing had been scheduled for 1.30pm on Monday.

After the cancellation of the order, Sub-Inspector Haneef said that the reasons stated were that the judge was currently out of the country and other cases the same judge were presiding on had now been scheduled.

Following the initial issuing of the order, the DRP declined from making any comments on the issue. MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom said then that the case involved a personal matter and had no relation to politics or the party.

Dr Mausoom was not available for comment after the cancellation.

Department of Judicial Administration Director Ahmed Majid confirmed that the MPs were being taken to court in relation to a case submitted by the Bank of Maldives Pvt Ltd, asking the court for assistance in seeking due payments from the two persons.

This is in relation to a verdict by the Civil Court ordering Mahandhoo Investments and Kabalifaru Investments – two companies with ties to DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali – to repay millions of dollars worth of loans to the Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML). The verdict was also upheld by the High Court in October 2011.

“This is the normal procedure. The courts have summoned them numerous times, and they have continued to fail to attend, with no acceptable reasons presented. It is then legally at the court’s discretion to have police intercept and present them to court,” Majid said.

He further confirmed that the members would be released from custody after Monday’s hearing.

Meanwhile, the vote to determine if secret ballots can be taken during the taking of no confidence votes have been scheduled for Monday’s parliament session.

Waheed attempting to influence vote: MP Azim

DRP MP Azim has alleged that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and other senior members of the executive had approached him, offering to cancel the court summons if he agreed to vote for the secret balloting in a way they preferred.

Azim alleged that in addition to Waheed, his Political Advisor Ahmed Thaufeeq and Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza had called him and made similar statements.

Azim further said in parliament today that he was “not the least bit surprised” that Waheed had called, adding that he had expected as much. He alleged that Waheed had previously called him with similar intentions, including during the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) elections.

Following the arrest of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and Jumhooree Party MP Abdulla Jabir last Thursday alleging use of alcohol, many opposition politicians claimed that this was a political stunt to jeopardise Monday’s vote.

Both the Maldivian Democratic Party(MDP) and the Human Rights Minister Dhiyana Saeed alleged that there was a “political motivation” behind the arrests.

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