The Maldives Police Service has today sent the case of the arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdullah Mohamed to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Minivan News understands that under the submitted case, Former President Mohamed Nasheed could stand to face charges for his alleged role in ordering the detention of the judge earlier this year. Any final decision to press charges will then be down to the prosecutor general.
The country’s judges and their conduct became a major focus for former President Nasheed in the run up to him being replaced by Dr Waheed in February, leading to eventual calls for international assistance on the matter.
Nasheed had at the time raised concerns over allegations of perjury and “increasingly blatant collusion” between senior judicial figures and politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Charges
However, it is the former president who now himself faces criminal charges relating to the detention of the judge.
According to sources linked to the case, the charges levied against Nasheed relate to the violation of article 46 of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives, and for violation of Article 12 clause (a) of Judges Act (Act no 13/2010).
Article 44 of the Maldives Constitution states: “No person shall be arrested or detained for an offence unless the arresting officer observes the offence being committed, or has reasonable and probable grounds or evidence to believe the person has committed an offence or is about to commit an offence, or under the authority of an arrest warrant issued by the court.”
Article 12 clause (a) of the Judges Act states that a judge can be arrested without a court warrant, but only if he is found indulging in a criminal act. The same article also states that if a judge comes under suspicion of committing a criminal act or being about to commit a criminal act, they can only be taken into custody with a court warrant obtained from a higher court than that of which the judge presently sits on. This warrant has to be approved by the prosecutor general.
A police official today confirmed that the case regarding the judge’s attention had been submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office today.
“Today at around 9:30 am, we have submitted the case [the arrest of Judge Abdulla] to the prosecutor general. We have completed all the necessary investigations required,” the police official said.
An official from the Prosecutor General’s Office also confirmed to Minivan News that the charges sent to it by police were against Nasheed. However, the official refused to explain the exact nature of the charges, stating that the case was still being assessed by their legal team.
Spokesperson for Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Imthiyaz Fahmy said that he would not comment on the issue until after a party meeting scheduled to discuss the issue was held
Judge arrest
Judge Abdulla was arrested by the MNDF on January 16 this year, in compliance with a police request. The judge’s whereabouts were not revealed until January 18. The MNDF had acknowledged receipt but not replied to Supreme Court orders to release the judge.
As Judge Abdulla continued to be held, Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz later joined the High Court and Supreme Court in condemning the MNDF’s role in the arrest, requesting that the judge be released.
According to Muizz, police are required to go through the PG’s Office to obtain an arrest warrant from the High Court.
“They haven’t followed the procedures, and the authorities are in breach of law. They could be charged with contempt of the courts,” he said at the time.
However, following the controversial resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed on February 7, Judge Abdulla was released that evening after incumbent president Mohamed Waheed Hassan took over the presidency.
A second case involving Nasheed has also been sent to the prosecutor general by the police that involved the confiscation of bottles of alcohol allegedly found at his residence shortly after his presidency ended.
In a press conference, Deputy Head of the Drug Enforcement Department, Sub-Inspector Ismail Fareed, noted that all people questioned regarding the case had fully cooperated.
However, Nasheed maintained that he had no part to play in the confiscated liquor bottles.
HRCM
Just last month, Nasheed became the first president to be summoned before the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) regarding his role in the arrest of Judge Abdulla.
Nasheed used his testimony to claim that he had been informed at the time by the Home Ministry that the judge allegedly posed a “national threat” – prompting his eventual detention.
The former president additionally claimed that the Home Ministry had communicated with the Defence Ministry on the situation, which in turn led to the decision to arrest the judge after watchdog bodies like the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has raised alleged concerns over his ethical conduct.
“I was told Abdulla Mohamed would not comply with the police’s summons to investigate allegations [against him],” Nasheed later stated at a press conference following the meeting with the HRCM.
“The Home Minister wrote to the Defense Minister that Abdulla Mohamed’s presence in the courts was a threat to national security. And to take necessary steps. And that step, the isolation of Abdulla Mohamed, was what the [Defense] Ministry deemed necessary.”
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Nasheed should be tried. He went out of his legal boundary... Judge Abdulla's alleged misconduct should also be investigated.
Anni is an Angel. You cannot fault an Angel. God help us.
Nasheed may or may not have violated the constitution, but I can say with conviction that Anni's administration was the closest that Maldives came to a democratic and free society.
It is a shame that the democratic movement that began back in the days have gradually lost faith in their cause and moved on to more self centered ideals
I fear that this great cause maybe coming to an end, at least for the foreseeable future.
I just pray that I am wrong.
The truth is : the so called "judge" let a kid, sexually abused, perform the same "act" again, in public court, in front of the offender.
THAT is insane and ONLY THAT justifies to put that "judge" behind bars for the rest of his miserable life
this is unacceptable. The JSC and it's counterparts are setting a dangerous precedent - one that says judges and other such personnel cannot be accounted for their actions?
Nasheed as the president, I believe, was perfectly within his rights to order the arrest of the judge for said charges. The process may have been flawed, however, this does not excuse the original allegations. The allegation is a serious one, and should take precedent over a lash-back by the defendant. He needs to be tried first, before being able to counter-sue.
This is obviously a personal vendetta here... and should not be tolerated.
Nasheed was elected by the pople so he cannot be arrested for arresting a corrupt judge. The President knows Abdulla Gazi was corrupt. What is wrong in locking up a bad person. Even the British Queen approves Nasheed. And British PM is his frriend. Britain is a democratic country. The British taught democracy to Nasheed. He followed the Queen's trachings. Nasheed cannot be tried in a court. He is a true democrat.
Nasheed is not above the law. He may want to do things outside the constitution. But the future leaders should understand that they will be made accountable if they break the law. Similarly the judge is also not above the law.
i believe Nasheed was within his rights as a president to apprehend this man. this so-called judge, with no more than a basic literacy level and on the verge of becoming a dangerous criminal and one who has aided and abetted any number of criminals in the Maldives, was and still is a danger to society. I cannot believe he's now in the family courts. he should be behind bars for life for what he has done and helped others do! imagine the sort of damage he could do! In any case, a president has the right to make an executive decision, and seeing the magnitude of the problem I believe he was acting in the best interest of the nation. As usual, the crooks of this country who have much to hide and are hiding behind this dishonest 'judge' find it in their best interest to let a criminal judge walk the streets free while trying to find fault in our first democratically elected president, one who has public's popular support, was accomplishing more in 3 years than in corrupt 30 years and above all, is a true human being. these people behind the coup should be tried for high treason if they wrongfully arrest President Nasheed, on top of their unlawful acts which have piled up even all the way through the best 3 years Maldives has had in a 1/3 of a century!.
this 'judge' was not arrested. he was taken away because he was corrupting the judicial system and aiding criminals. simply out he was abusing his authority to a high degree that was unacceptable to the government and so becoming a danger to the citizens of this country.. this is a muslim country and none of this 'judge's' actions are acceptable from an ethical point of view.
Article 44 of the Maldives Constitution states: “No person shall be arrested or detained for an offence unless the arresting officer observes the offence being committed, or has reasonable and probable grounds or evidence to believe the person has committed an offence or is about to commit an offence, or under the authority of an arrest warrant issued by the court.”
This basically means if no one saw you do it, you are innocent.
Judge Abdulla a dangerous person and need to keep him behind bars for life time, a message to coup waheed, you are making a very wrong mistake now and you should face it in a short while.
We need to see dictator Maumoon to face trial for killing Ivan Naseem and Hussain Salah.
If nasheed should be tried why not maumoom he killed more than 100 people and tortured for 30 years are you blind
These are not judges they are hellfire
There are many people who are clear and present danger to the Maldives as a Nation and society.
We have a chained allegiance to the past. In the past, dangers such as these are executed. Stoning to death or hanged or gassed.
Anni, Judge Abdulla Mohamed, BMW, MAG, R Moosa etc. are all in this category.
Capital punishment and appropriate laws need to be passed to gas them all.
We all know that this isn't about Nasheed being unconstitutional. This is about putting Nasheed behind bars in the hope that all aspirations for democracy will be gone, if Nasheed is no longer there to lead MDP. Well, that's where the coup government is really wrong, they don't know that democracy lives in the hearts and souls of tens of thousands of people in this Country and if they lock Nasheed up it will give us more strength and courage to fight for our freedom. Anyway, if these loonies want to lock Nasheed up for being unconstitutional, they can only do so after locking up Maumoon, Yameen, Nazim, Abdullah Mohamed, Jabir etc for the number of unconstitutional things that they have done and are still continuing to do! And lets not forget the role of the Judiciary system in protecting these criminals and thieves. Why not lock up all the corrupt judges first?! I guess puppet Waheed won't have the guts for that eh!
Nasheed has serious mental issues...maybe too much pot. He shouldn't be locked up for these charges, but should be treated in a mental hospital.
former president's have something called immunity... that means nothing will happen to Anni. this immiunity thing was devised to protect maumoon by drp zombies. now anni will profit from their zombiness. good na?
First should jail Golhaboa
god willing we are going to get justice we will be free from all evil the day is not so far matter of couple years a head. Baagees can't escape neither mammon or any one can escape
I suppose its time to admit defeat. Nothing is going to stop Nasheed from being convicted. This was the plan all the while. Consolidating power with populist policies like back pay to civil servants and patiently waiting until the outrage over the coup dies down. Aasandha is curtailed, which would save the regime money and dismiss the biggest achievement of Nasheed as a failure in one go.
The two bi election results prove that the electorate does not comprehend the gravity of the situation where the strategic course of good governance is being reversed. Populist ideas, political personalities and plain old bribery wins the day.
When candidates who were endorsed by a President who had taken over a month ago after a coup wins; we can finally admit that the voters do not understand their responsibility.
Most of you have no clue about the constitution. Nasheed cannot break the law.period.
If he is then he would be prosecuted. Gayoom can also be prosecuted now if has broken the law as President but the new constitution was in place only after 2008.
Just because Judge Abdulla is an undesirable element or a corrupt judge he cannot be kidnapped by the MNDF.
This is a violation of his human right.
There are proper legal procedures to be followed in such cases and if Nasheed has done so, then he would not be in trouble now.
@ peasant
You are a true partisan. Arguing that you vigorously support Anni in defence of democracy, then in the same breath suggesting that 'voters do not understand their responsibility' because they voted for the wrong person!
Maybe the best solution in your eyes, in defence of democracy of course, is to do away with this voting business and just give all the seats to MDP to ensure the right outcomes. That sounds like a solid defence of democracy to me!
The ONLY thing that can really bring democracy in the Maldives is the upholding of the rule of law. Anni fell foul of this and needs to be brought to justice, regardles of whatever else he did. I'm no fan of Judge Abdullah and evidently his actions need to be fully investigated and dealt with through the rule of law, but simply holding someone without trial or charge is unacceptable. I don't see how anyone can believe it isn't. Whether Anni was the person with responsibility for this is, I hope, what the future investigation will find out.
"Democracy remains an article of faith—always. That is, it stands by the faith citizens have in themselves to arrive at proper decisions affecting their common future, and the faith they have in each other respecting that faith and its processes and outcomes. This renders democracy precarious because anyone at any time with sufficient resources can knock it over and down. All it takes is ‘bad faith.’ That is, anyone can destroy democracy by simply losing faith in what it is by its very nature".
Fiji Daily Pos
Guilty or not, we need to uphold the constitution first. And to do so, anyone who is incharge of governing this country needs to know that the constitution applies to himself as well. Regardless of the "immunity" that's devised to them. Regardless of which regime the person is from. Golhabo or Ganjabo or whatever, a crime is a crime and it needs to be investigated.
Just because Nasheed chose not to investigate Maumoon's regime does not mean that the same will be done in his favour. It's these kinds of favours that's ruining this country. And seriously, Maumoon needs to retire from this political s&*t and go back to being a real grandpa!
As for Nasheed, he was a good leader. He just lost it somehow!
I just want peace and harmony back in this beautiful country. This is where me and my family comes for our vacations. It's like being home, away from home!
Peace Lover,
I still accept the results of the vote.
What rule of law and due diligence was followed when an elected President was forced off and his entire govt replaced?
Are you naive enough to believe that the reason Nasheed was removed was to uphold the rule of law?
With the courts themselves corrupt the only avenue left was the good judgement of the people.
But when people, of any constituency, of any political belief accept a coup by any party. Then those people do not have and will not have rule of law or good governance. Neither do they deserve any of that.
Yes I am a partisan. Bi-partisanship requires a varied political landscape, whose differences are in government policies. Here we have a political party albeit a flawed one but against them there is a cabal of kleptocrats. Do you blame me?
Are Judges are above law?
This Abdulla Mohamed did all what he has done, before Nasheed did what was best for the country or let it be what he thought was best for himself!
Abdulla is immune! Nasheed to stand trial!
What common sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nasheed should be tried for all lawless actions during his 3 year terms.
If this judge made an innocent child who was abused, made the child re-enact the abuse he/she was forced to endure in a courtroom, the judge should be executed. Nasheed was far too lenisnt on this monster no doubt a paedophile himself.
Sick,Sick,Sick.
Nasheed is not above the law so as others. Police should investigate and complete much waited cases of Gayyoom era. When they hide & choose cases based on their preference then we can't say its a free & fair system.
Maldives is Islam, and Islam is Maldives.
Therefore, Maldivian Islam itself must be put on trial.
But where?
I do not know where. Certainly not in the Maldives.
By the way, I think Maldives deserves His Excellency Waheed Didi, the latest Maldivian President.
He is the right President for my beloved home country.
Michael Fahmy, you do know that sarcasm flies right over the heads of the intended recipients, usually.
Make Judge Abdullah Mohamed the President and Punish all infidels behind the Bars for ever. Maldives will continue to be the "Paradise on earth" for another 30 Years. Don't forget to make Maumoon as the Chief Judge. Only swamping jobs and eternal peace and Justice..for those who fail to survive.
Gayoom who violated the constitution time and time again gets to roam free, and no one lifts a finger to put him in jail. Nasheed put the worst judge in recent times in Maldives out of circulation for a while and bingo all these hypocrite politicians are up in arms.