Tag: AG

Attorney General resigns claiming job untenable in parliament-caused “constitutional void”

Attorney General (AG) Husnu Suood has resigned claiming his position is untenable in the “constitutional void” triggered by parliament’s failure to enact legislation ensuring the continuation of state institutions such as the judiciary after the interim period.
Suood publicly called for Speaker Abdulla Shahid to follow his lead, after the Speaker cancelled a special session of parliament yesterday intended to resolve interim matters – such as the appointment of Supreme Court judges – before the deadline yesterday.

Following initial reports in the media from opposition MPs, the president’s office issued a statement confirming it had received a letter of resignation from the AG.

In his resignation letter, Suood stated that he had resigned because he did not believe that the state could be operated according to the constitution, because he had noted that state institutions had failed to fulfil their responsibilities as obliged by the constitution.

As a consequence, Suood wrote he did not have the opportunity to perform his own duties and responsibilities under article 133 of the constitution, prompting his resignation.

“His legal opinion is that his job is no longer tenable until the Majlis enacts the appropriate legislation,” said Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair.

Suood appeared on Television Maldives (TVM) this around noon blasting parliament for failing to legislate the continuation of state institutions by the interim period’s deadline yesterday.

Opposition DRP MP Ali Waheed meanwhile stated that the resignation of the AG “proves the disobedience of the executive to the laws.”

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President Nasheed nominates Ali Rasheed Umar for Auditor General

The President’s Office has nominated former Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) President Ali Rasheed Umar as the new Auditor General.

A Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)-led no-confidence motion in Parliament saw former Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem ousted from his post last month, shortly after he announced corruption allegations involving former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and senior members of both the former and current government.

Naeem was appointed as the first independent Auditor General in January 2008 by Gayoom, and his appointment was endorsed by the DRP-led Parliament. The post of Auditor General was created by Gayoom due to international pressure regarding the former government’s expenditure.

Umar was appointed president of the ACC in October 2008 and was head of the commission for eight months. Elections were then held for commission members, but he did not submit his name for the elections.

On 25 November 2008, Umar signed on behalf of the ACC, and Naeem as Auditor General, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for technical cooperation activities between the ACC and the Auditor General’s office. Both organisations were to exchange information and work together to eliminate corruption and promote good governance and accountability.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair confirmed Umar has been nominated by the president and his name has been forwarded to Parliament.

Zuhair said the Majlis should make their decision on whether or not they will endorse his nomination within the week.

“He is a qualified accountant and headed the ACC,” Zuhair said, adding that during the new government’s first week in office, Umar wanted to investigate the President’s Office’s financial records. “He performed very well [with the ACC].”

Zuhair added that Umar has no political affiliations to any party.

An on-going defamation case against Umar is in the Civil Court. Former member of the ACC Hassan Luthfee pressed charges against Umar for defamation, after Luthfee was accused of leaking ACC information for his personal gain.

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AG proposes narrowing ‘the right to remain silent’

The Attorney General Husnu Suood has proposed a bill to be presented to parliament removing the right to remain silent during investigation of people suspected of commit serious crimes.

The bill removes the right given under Article 48[N] of the Constitution that a person need only reveal their name and thereafter remain silent during police questioning.

The bill proposes that the right to remain silent should be removed in such cases such as threatening a person, attacking a person or his property, assault on a person using sharp objects or weapons, murder, drug trafficking, storing drugs to deal, importing drugs, using a sharp object or dangerous weapon in public without a valid reason, storing a sharp object in secret without a valid reason, gang rape and terrorism.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that the government believed it was necessary to remove the right to remaining silent on these cases.

”Why should we provide the right to remain silent for a man arrested with five kilograms of dope?” Zuhair asked.

”If the bill is passed people arrested in connection with these kind of crimes will be convicted for objection to order if they remain silent.”

He said the police would only arrest a person in the first place if they had conclusive evidence.

Spokesperson for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group Mohamed Shifaz said the MPs had tried very hard to introduce the right to remain silent.

”The government would try to remove it in certain cases only when they notice a credible reason,” Shifaz said.

Vice president of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Umar Naseer, a former police officer, agreed, saying the right to remain silent “should be removed for all the cases.”

”This would make it very easy to prosecute criminals, so I think it is very important,” he said.

The Maldivian Detainee Network issued a statement saying it was “concerned by the news that the Attorney General proposes to narrow fundamental rights afforded to persons accused of certain serious crimes.”

“We urge the Attorney General and Parliament to ensure that any legislation proposed or passed fully embodies the principle that all persons are innocent until proven guilty. Furthermore, any narrowing of rights must be done in accordance with Article 16 of the Constitution which states that “Any such law enacted by the People’s Majlis can limit the rights and freedoms to any extent only if demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

The NGO added that while it was concerned about the recent rise in crime and “the inability to successfully prosecute criminals, we would like to caution against reactionary steps which threaten fundamental rights.”

“The answer to rising crime in society is the full and effective implementation of a rights-based system by addressing the numerous issues within the criminal justice system,” it urged.

“The rush to discard fundamental rights is not only a short-sighted strategy which not only ignores the moral and practical imperatives behind those rights, but also risks returning to a society in which innocent citizens needed to fear the criminal justice system.”

Deputy Attorney General Abdulla Muiz did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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