Police summoned President’s Advisor Ibrahim ‘Ibra’ Ismail for questioning last night after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) requested the former Male’ MP be investigated for calling on the public to “rise up and sort out the judges” at a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally on September 2.
Speaking to press outside police headquarters, Ibra’s lawyer Ahmed Abdulla Afeef said “it was unclear” what offence or crime Ibra was suspected or accused of committing.
“Police said it was to clarify information after a letter was sent from the Judicial Service Commission,” he explained, adding that the alleged offence, or under which specific penal provision the investigation was to be conducted, was not clearly stated.
The letter from the JSC referred to an article on newspaper Haveeru reporting Ibra’s remarks at the September 2 MDP rally at Kaafu Thulusdhoo, Afeef said, stressing that neither police nor the JSC letter referred to any violation of laws.
“Judges are issuing verdicts any way they please. The effort we have to make against this is not inconsiderable. It was citizens who came out and ousted Maumoon from power. The matter of judges too can only be sorted out by citizens rising up,” Ibra, who was also the first elected president of MDP, was quoted as saying in newspaper Haveeru.
Ibra said last night he had “complete assurance” that criminal charges could not be pressed against him “because I have not committed a crime specified in the law.”
The former chair of the Special Majlis’ constitution drafting committee urged police to conduct a full investigation.
Ibra added that he was “very happy” that “today we have police who brings the law to bear on people in high posts of the government.”
“I won’t [exercise the right to] remain silent to evade the law, I won’t obstruct police investigations and court trials through various means to evade the law,” he asserted.
“Runaway judiciary”
The JSC is constitutionally mandated to investigate complaints of misconduct by judges, take disciplinary action and recommend dismissal of judges by parliament (through a two-thirds majority). Last year, 143 complaints were filed at the commission; by its own statistics none were tabled and only five were ever replied to.
Outspoken whistle-blower and then-President’s member on the JSC, Aishath Velezine, was meanwhile stabbed in the street in January this year.
In late 2010, Velezinee launched an emotive appeal against “a runaway judiciary” and the constitutionally-mandated reappointment of judges after vetting by the JSC, despite a quarter of sitting judges possessing criminal records and many having only finished seventh grade.
The majority of the current bench was appointed by former President Maumoom Abdul Gayoom, who was “the highest authority on administering justice” under the old constitution, with powers to appoint and dismiss judges as well as grant pardons and amnesties.
In an interview with Minivan News in September, Ibra argued that the JSC had been “compromised” and “the Supreme Court and key elements within the judiciary are still controlled by Gayoom – directly or indirectly.”
Ibra’s criticism of the judiciary at a ruling party rally in September prompted the JSC to conduct an “emergency meeting” where it decided to ask the “relevant authorities” to carry out an official investigation.
The Supreme Court meanwhile issued a press statement contending that Ibra’s remarks encouraged “the illegal curtailment of the tasks of the judiciary” and could lead to “the loss of peace and security of the Maldivian state and plunge the nation into unrest.”
Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla is also the chair of the JSC, which has three judges from three tiers of the judiciary, one lawyer elected by licensed lawyers, one member of the public, the Speaker of parliament, an MP elected by parliament, a member of the President, the Attorney General and the chair of the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
Ibra meanwhile sued the Supreme Court last month for defamation in light of its statement. Shortly after the case registered, the apex court issued a writ of prohibition and took over the defamation case against itself from the Civil Court.
As a result, Ibra said at the time, “I now have to go before the Supreme Court and say to them ‘You have defamed me, now please decide in my favour.’”
He suggested that the Supreme Court’s reaction “establishes what I originally claimed. We as citizens – the public – have to do something. We can’t let seven idiots hijack the justice system of the entire country.”
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This is ridiculous. Is this what the government needs now? The time of police is spent on something so frivolous?
In a well balanced country of course these need to be considered and reprimanded if necessary. But where are we?
Rampant crimes like : Blatant corruption, day light robbery, murder, kidnapping and yes.. rape as well.
But all the police need to worry about is some blabber mouth, an invalid at that, wanting to get some attention??
OMG!!!!!!!!!! Athif i am shocked at u discriminating a person labeling him as an invalid.......... Your views about any person or Ibra is not my concern but its Taggin a person as an ivalid which is out of usual norms in any society........... btw Ibra has made a great contribution to the society so he z thousand times worthy than the so called able bodies folk as u.
Invalid Ibra against a battery of valid judges ha ha !!!! Ibras reasoning and his mouth isn't invalid I presume....
ps. I hear Natti is on the road to invalidity ...
@ Athif: Someone needs to point out to you the role of the judiciary to tackle all of the problems you've listed.
Bettina,
Please, point out to yourself, the role of whole system to ensure the rule of law in our country. The judiciary, prosecution officials and investigations and enforcement officials need to work as a whole.
There are certain comments that are allowed against the judiciary and some that are not. The MDP has clearly shown that their wish is to dismantle the judicial structure altogether hoping to build it back in their own image.
What they do not understand is, tear something down and they will find out that building it back up will not be so easy.
The Judiciary has NO RIGHT to ask the Prosecutor General to investigate this. The Judiciary is not an investigating branch of government.It cannot execute authority. It is only the Executive Branch that can call for an investigation.
This is a move against free speech and i condemn it. Anyone else with half a brain should as well.
Here is the oopinion of an outsider, a non-Maldivian who happens to look into Maldivian politics. For those out there who claim it is insane for a faranji such asmyself to be involved, well, i am sorry, but if you love a place like I love Maldives, you just can't help it, so, I can't help myself.
Ibra's struggle is Noble intentioned.
I have no doubt any pain which he will endure in this cause will reap benefits for his soul, we must struggle, we must fight with Ibra in this cause to be part of the treasure this effort shall earn.
As to whether it will reap lasting worldy benefits is a different issue.
Even if the Maldivian people cast off the judiciary, where will one find judges who would not eventually be able to bribed by someone, by someone in the MDP even? The political pressure on any Judge will, for a long long time, be so fierce, so hot, and because Maldives is a small society, no Maldivian Judge would possibly be able to remain completely objective in matters that come before the courts. The Judges themselves will have family members who had been victims, or beneficiaries of injustice, crime, corruption.
The political climate is so personal, it is psychologically violent and malicious, even the most liberal intentioned Politicians are forced into acting out like tyrants, even the grand, liberal hearted benevolent ones.
The tense, violent, unjust nature of the political environment is so much part of the fabric of Maldivian social life, that no Judge can be objective...
How sad it is for me to see, that the most naturally beautiful spirited, the most intelligent people I know, the Dhivehin, have been cast into this seemingly inescapable hell of endless psychological warfare due to circumstances beyond their control.
This whole mess of injustice is nobody's FAULT! It is not even Maumoon's fault, he is just as much a victim of the social system as anyone!
Not even the most disciplined, compassionate person could resist the urge to benefit from corruption and become a dictator in such a heated social environment...
I think, the challenge to create justice has to be a war every one of us has to wage within ourselves!
Before we think of waging a struggle for justice out there, in the political world, in the Majlis, in the courts, we have to embark on a struggle for justice within our own hearts, we have to fight the war against our own hate, greed, and desire, and it is a war won not by throwing punches, but by becoming a master at absorbing punches!
@ tsk tsk: Point noted, and I do agree. Problem is the whole system is not working in harmony.
One cannot deny we have a runaway judiciary, this has been pointed out and talked about before mainstream MDP decided to take this up.
I am sure you've heard of the phrase: 'Keccha elhi bingaa kechaa hama ah dhiya yas hunnaannee kechah?'