Tag: criminal court

MP ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam faces trial over alcohol possession

MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam Mohamed has been charged with smuggling and possession of alcohol after a liquor bottle was found in his luggage in March 2012.

According to local media reports, the Criminal Court has scheduled the first hearing of the case for 9:00am on Thursday (November 7).

A bottle of alcohol was allegedly discovered in the tourism tycoon’s bag when it was screened at the airport upon his return from a trip overseas.

While police concluded the investigation and forwarded the case to the Prosecutor General’s Office last year, it was initially sent back in August 2012 to clarify further information.

The case was filed at court by the PG office over a year and a half after the incident.

The penalty for alcohol possession in the penal code is either a fine of between MVR1,000 to MVR3,000 or imprisonment, banishment or house arrest for up to three years.

MPs Abdulla Jabir and Hamid Abdul Ghafoor of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party are also currently facing charges of alcohol possession following their arrest on an uninhabited picnic island in November 2012.

Under article 73 of the constitution, an MP convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to more than one year in prison will lose his or her seat in parliament.

The MP for Dhaal Meedhoo is the leader of Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) – which has 7,537 registered members and three MPs – and founder of the Sun Travel and Tours company.

Shiyam’s MDA formed an alliance with the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in August to back PPM presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen.

In March 2012, an audio clip of a conversation between Shiyam and Yameen was leaked on social media, in which the pair aired grievances against PPM figurehead and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

In the leaked audio, Shiyam expressed disappointment with the former president for refusing to issue him a diplomatic passport and grant land for a boat yard in the industrial island of Thilafushi.

“These are the only two favours I ever asked of Maumoon,” Shiyam said.

“Once [Gayoom] took me to Singapore on some trip. All the vice presidents [of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party] went. All of them had red passports [diplomatic passports]. We went and I was given a very average room. Even when I travel on my personal business, I don’t stay in anything but a suite. So I went and said it is a very small room, I cannot stay there. They told me that was how it had been booked. So I told them to give me the presidential suite. I stayed in a suite bigger than Maumoon’s. Dr Shaheed [foreign minister under both Gayoom and Mohamed Nasheed] and others ridiculed me quite a bit,” Shiyam said.

After Shiyam returned, he met with Gayoom and told him, “I am this party’s [DRP’s] vice-president. You have given red passports to many businessmen, and ordinary people as well. I would like one as well. And he told me he could not do so under the law.”

Yameen replied saying that arranging for a diplomatic passport was a small matter and that “it’s no issue at all.”

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Inter-Parliamentary Union delegation arrive for urgent visit

A delegation from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has arrived in the Maldives in order “to help find ways to improve trust and confidence between State institutions”.

“The frequent intimidation, harassment and attack of MPs as they go about their work have been deeply worrying,” read an IPU press release.

The organisation’s request for an urgent visit was prompted by the growing list of cases – 24 in total – involving Maldivian MPs currently filed with the IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians.

Local NGO Transparency Maldives has meanwhile called upon the Supreme Court to ensure that all MPs are treated impartially whilst calling upon members not to abuse parliamentary privileges for personal gain.

The IPU delegation, having arrived on Friday (November 1), will spend one week in the country during which time it will meet with government leaders, senior parliamentary authorities – including Speaker Abdulla Shahid, Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz, and members of the Supreme Court.

The group will also meet with President Dr Mohamed Waheed – recently returned from a private trip to Singapore and Hong Kong.

“The mission not only aims to promote confidence and trust between State institutions ahead of the forthcoming election, but also to have a better understanding of recent allegations of human rights violations against members of parliament. These include arbitrary arrests, attacks and intimidation, including death threats,” says IPU head of human rights programmes and mission member, Rogier Huizenga.

The delegation’s arrival follows a fraught week in the People’s Majlis, during which two MPs were unseated by the Supreme Court – a decision subsequently rejected by the speaker.

Meanwhile, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor – who has sought refuge within parliamentary grounds – was handed a six month jail term by the Criminal Court.

Both the verdict for Hamid and for the MPs unseated by the Supreme Court were given in absentia, a tactic the MDP has described as reminiscent of “old autocratic practice”.

The party described the Hamid sentence as “the latest move by the Maldivian judiciary in a political witch-hunt to purge MDP MPs following the party’s newfound majority in parliament.”

Transparency Maldives

Whilst calling for neutrality in the courts, Transparency Maldives (TM) has also condemned what it characterised as “attempts to shape laws and rules for protecting personal interests of the Members of the Parliament and abuse of parliamentary privileges and the institution of the Parliament.”

In a statement last week, TM contended that such attempts “weaken the legal system and obstruct the rule of law. Similarly, such acts undermine the integrity of the Parliament, eroding public confidence in the institution.”

“Members of the Parliament must be provided with appropriate privileges and immunities in order to carry out their duties as lawmakers. However, Transparency Maldives reiterates its concern that the Parliamentary Privileges Act affords undue privileges and powers to the MPs,” the statement read.

The press release followed this week’s submission of amendments to the penal code, the Drugs Act and the parliamentary rules of procedure by the MDP.

The amendment to the penal code seeks to abolish article 81 regarding public servants exercising their authority to detain innocent persons. The MDP presidential candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed is being charged under the article for the military’s detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.

The amendment to the Drug Act meanwhile proposes shortening the jail sentence for the offence of refusing a urine sample from one year to 15 days while the amendment to the parliament regulations would allow MPs convicted of a criminal offence to attend parliament and participate in votes.

In addition to his sentence for refusing to attend court hearings, MP Hamid stands charged of drug and alcohol offences, as well as allegedly refusing to provide police with a urine sample.

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Criminal Court sentences MP Hamid to six months for non-compliance with court summons

The Criminal Court has sentenced Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor for not complying with the court summons in a case where he was charged for refusing to provide a urine sample to police.

Criminal Court Spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Manik today confirmed that the court has sentenced Hamid to six months in prison.

“He was sentenced for not complying with the court orders,’’ he said. ‘”The other case where he is charged for not giving the urine sample will continue.’’

Hamid’s lawyer and former deputy prosecutor general Hussein Shameem today told Minivan News that he had not officially received information about the court verdict but that he had heard it through the media.

‘’In the past eight years no one was sentenced to six months in a case where a person failed to comply with court summons,’’ he said.

Shameem said that normally the court sentences for not complying with court summons were a fine of MVR75 or a four month jail sentence.

He said that he will decide on appealing the case after he gets the court verdict officially.

According to Shameem, the court could sentence Hamid to an additional one year if it finds him guilty of the original case where he was charged for denying a urine sample to police.

Meanwhile, Hamid has issued a statement on the MDP’s website saying that he was not provided with an official requisition form as is required under article 7 of regulations on procuring, transferring, and testing urine samples and that he was not instructed to provide a urine sample as per regulations.

‘”At the hearing of the case held on 9 October 2013, the prosecution (state) lawyer had repeatedly failed to respond to my lawyer’s query whether I was instructed to provide a urine sample through an official requisition form as per regulations,’’ Hamid said in the statement.

“Therefore, this is an irrelevant and unsubstantiated case of political predation by the Maldives Police Service, the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Criminal Court, in direct contravention and disregard to official procedures and laws.’’

He said that he had been attending the court according to the summons until 23 October, when there had been a parliament sitting scheduled meaning he was unable to attend, sending a letter to the court informing it of such.

Hamid said that the court did not respond to his letter.

Majlis refuge

Parliament yesterday brought an amendment to its regulations, allowing MPs to attend parliamentary sittings and voting even if they are convicted of a criminal offence.

A total of 10 people were taken into police custody on November 16 after police raided and searched Hondaidhoo with a court warrant. Officers alleged they found large amounts of suspected drugs and alcohol upon searching the island.

In August this year Criminal Court Media Official Ahmed Mohamed Manik told Minivan News that the PG had charged MDP MPs Abdulla Jabir and Hamed with smuggling alcohol into the country and consuming alcohol.

Jabir and Ghafoor were also both charged with objecting to urine testing and possession of cannabis.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiza were also charged for objecting to take a urine test, said Manik.

Additionally, the son of former President Nasheed’s Special Envoy, Mohamed Hamdhoon Zaki,  has been charged for trafficking illegal drugs into the country – the penalty for which is 25 years and can be fined up to MVR10million.

On 24 October, the Criminal Court issued a warrant to arrest and summon Hamid to the court, but the MP took refuge in the parliament building on the same day meaning police were unable to arrest him.

Article 11 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act states that an MP cannot be summoned to court when Majlis sittings or parliamentary committee hearings are scheduled.

The parliament has also scheduled a no-confidence motion against Prosecutor General [PG] Ahmed Muiz for being biased and also for not fulfilling his legal duties in taking action against police and military officers who violated the law on February 6 and 7, 2012, after the Commission of National Inquiry’s (CoNI) report found that officers had violated the laws.

The issue has been now scheduled to next Monday after the PG told the parliament that he needed more time to respond to the no-confidence motion.

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Suspect in Afrasheem murder case transferred to house arrest

The Criminal Court has reportedly transferred Azleef Rauf, a former Maldives National Defence Force officer suspected of involvement in the murder of MP Afrasheem Ali in October 2012, to house arrest.

In May this year, Rauf was detained on charges of terrorism, extortion, and involvement in criminal gang activities, after which the court extended his remand detention.

While a case against Rauf over alleged involvement in the murder of the moderate religious scholar was sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office in September, the case has yet to be filed at court.

Rauf is also facing separate charges of extortion, theft, and damaging public property along with former Judicial Service Commission member Mohamed ‘Reynis’ Saleem.

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Criminal Court warns MP Ghafoor of trial in absentia

The Criminal Court has warned Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor that it will try him absentia if he fails to attend a court hearing scheduled for 1:30pm on Thursday.

Ghafoor took refuge inside the People’s Majlis on Thursday (October 24) following several police attempts to arrest him and present him at the Criminal Court. He is being tried for refusal to provide a urine sample – an offense that carries a one year jail sentence and could disqualify him from his parliamentary seat.

“The Criminal Court orders Hamid Abdul Gafoor of H. Shady Corner, Malé to attend court at 13:00 on 31 October 2013. If Hamid Abdul Gafoor is not present at the court at the specified date and time, we inform him we will continue with and conclude the above trial in absentia as per Article 30 (a) of the Regulations on court summons,” a statement issued by the Criminal Court today said.

Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed is presiding over the case.

Ghafoor has accused the criminal court of a “politically motivated personal hunt” to influence the MDP and its ally Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s simple majority in parliament. Ghafoor is also being tried separately for possession of alcohol.

The MP has pleaded innocent at the two hearings that have taken place so far. A third hearing was scheduled for October 23 at 9:00 am. But Ghafoor’s lawyers told the Criminal Court a day in advance that the MP could not attend due to a parliamentary proceedings scheduled at the time.

Article 11 of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act sates that an MP cannot be summoned to court during Majlis sittings or parliamentary committee hearings.

However, the Criminal Court did not respond to the letter. Instead, it scheduled a new hearing for 1:00pm on October 24 and issued a court warrant ordering police to arrest Ghafoor and present him at court. The MP took refuge inside the Majlis and has not left parliament premises since.

The Criminal Court scheduled a second hearing on Monday October 28 at 9:00am and issued new arrest warrant. The police wrote to Speaker Abdulla Shahid to turn Ghafoor over, but Shahid cited Article 11 of the Parliamentary Privileges and Powers Act and said Ghafoor could not be summoned to court during Majlis hours.

Speaker obliged to protect MPs, says Majlis

Ghafoor’s lawyer Hussein Shameem said his client would appeal the Criminal Court’s “unlawful” arrest warrants at the High Court, saying that the Criminal Court had not followed due process.

Shameem also argued the state had no grounds to prosecute Ghafoor as there was no legal evidence of the police having requested a urine sample. According to the Drug Act, the police are to ask for a urine sample in writing and obtain a signature from the accused if they refuse to provide a sample, he claimed.

Shameem has written to Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz to review the case due to “procedural issues” and to carry out the PG’s duty to uphold the constitutional order and the law as per Article 223 of the constitution by taking action against the courts for issuing unlawful summons.

Ghafoor told Minivan News on Sunday that he was willing to stay inside the Majlis premises “until the judiciary is destroyed.”

“Now I know how helpless ordinary citizens are. I feel like I’m being hunted by a corrupt judiciary. You don’t feel good when you are being singled out. You feel like prey. You can never relax,” Ghafoor said.

The MDP has condemned the judiciary’s attempts to “purge” its MPs. On Thursday (October 24), the Supreme Court, in a controversial ruling, stripped MDP MP Ali Azim and DRP MP Mohamed Nashiz of their parliamentary seats over decreed debt.

Eight other MDP MPs are currently being investigated for contempt of court and disobedience to order. MP Abdulla Jabir is also being tried for refusal to provide a urine sample and possession of alcohol.

Meanwhile, former Attorney General Azima Shakoor has criticized Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid for allegedly helping MPs evade courts by harboring those who had committed criminal acts inside the Majlis building. Azima was voted out of office in a no confidence motion on Tuesday.

A Majlis secretariat statement has refuted the allegations, arguing that the speaker is constitutionally obliged to protect MPs.

“The People’s Majlis Speaker assures all the citizens he will uphold the rights and privileges enshrined in the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act for all Members of Parliament without any political bias,” it said.

The Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) has expressed alarm over the prosecution of MPs and is to send an urgent IPU delegation to the Maldives.

“I propose that an IPU delegation returns urgently to the Maldives to discuss and agree with the relevant authorities and stakeholders effective steps to ensure that the parliament can fully discharge its legislative and oversight functions freely and independently and that its members can do their work unhindered, without fear of intimidation and harassment or attack on their physical integrity,” said the Secretary General Anders B. Johnsson.

MDP MP Ahmed Easa has submitted an amendment to the Drug Act to reduce the jail time for refusal to provide a urine sample from one year to 15 days. Easa said the specific article in the Drug Act was being used unfairly for politically motivated reasons.

Speaking to local media, the National Drug Agency’s CEO Ahmed Shahid spoke against the amendment, claiming that reducing the sentence for refusal to provide urine would obstruct identifying drug abusers and providing treatment for drug abuse.

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Police unable to summon MP from refuge in Majlis

Additional reporting by Zaheena Rasheed

The Criminal Court cancelled this morning’s hearing into the case of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor who is being charged with refusal to provide a urine sample.

The Police told the Criminal Court they are unable to summon Ghafoor as per the arrest warrant because the MP is  currently residing within the inviolable premises of the People’s Majlis.

In reply to a police request to detain Ghafoor, the Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid, in reference to Article 11 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act, told the police an MP cannot be summoned to court when Majlis sittings or parliamentary committee hearings are scheduled.

The speaker warned such an act is punishable by law, stating: “Any act that violates the People’s Majlis immunity, honor and functioning and committed in contravention to the [Parliamentary Powers and Privileges] Act will breach the Majlis privileges.”

He also stressed that the time at which today’s trial was scheduled is the normal time parliament sittings have started every day since May this year.

Last Thursday, the Criminal Court issued a warrant to arrest and summon Ghafoor to the court, but the MP took refuge in the parliament building on the same day. Ghafoor is also being charged with possession of alcohol. He was arrested along with MDP MP Abdulla Jabir and eight others on Hondaidhoo Island in November last year

Speaking to Minivan News on Sunday inside the Majlis courtyard, Ghafoor said the courts were on “a personalized hunt” for him, and were not following due process.

Investigations into the case had been concluded a year ago. But the trial was suddenly being fast tracked to influence the MDP’s current majority in parliament, he alleged.

The Supreme Court on Thursday stripped MDP MP Ali Azim and MDP aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Mohamed Nashiz of their seats, though the Parliamentary Privileges Committee said they do not accept the “politically motivated” ruling.

When Azim attempted to attend Saturday’s parliamentary sitting, the Maldives National Defense Forces (MNDF) – in absence of instruction from the Speaker – stormed the building, removing Azim from the Majlis premises and turning him over to the police. Azim is currently being detained for allegedly assaulting an MNDF officer.

The police had previously arrested Ghafoor on October 7 to produce him at court.

“I’m being hunted by a corrupt judiciary”

“I’m not dealing with a court. I’m dealing with thugs. They have got armed people to produce me in court. There are no procedures. No norms,” said Ghafoor.

Recounting his treatment on Hondaidhoo Island on November 16 2012, he said that black clad police had stormed a private island, swimming onto the island’s beaches from the ocean at 4:00 am.

“They had lights on their foreheads so we could not see their faces. They came up from behind us, handcuffed us and threw us to the ground. They pushed our faces in the sand and kicked us with their boots,” Ghafoor said.

The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) launched an investigation into police conduct on Hondaidhoo Island and found the police guilty of assault of MPs Jabir and Ghafoor.

In August this year the PG filed charges against Jabir, Ghafoor and a person identified as Jadhulla Jameel, with smuggling alcohol into the country, consuming alcohol, objecting to urine testing and possession of cannabis. Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiza were also charged for objecting to take a urine test.

According to the Drug Act, Sections 123(a), 161(a) and 161(b), any person arrested on suspicion of having abused alcohol or narcotics has an obligation to comply with police requests for routine urine examination by promptly providing urine samples, and failure to comply is a criminal offence punishable with a one-year jail sentence.

If found guilty, Ghafoor and Jabir will be disqualified from their parliamentary seats.

Ghafoor said there was no other place but the parliament building for refuge, though he said he did not feel safe even at the Majlis. The MNDF storming of the Majlis to arrest MP Azim suggests they may do the same to him, he claimed.

“I am willing to stay here until the judiciary is destroyed. Now I know how helpless ordinary citizens are. I feel like I’m being hunted by a corrupt judiciary. You don’t feel good when you are being singled out. You feel like prey. You can never relax,” he said.

He spends his days reading and doing parliamentary work. His family and supporters visit him often and bring him evening tea and dinner.

“My party has been very good to me. I am always accompanied by my party’s MPs. Since I came here, I’ve been left alone only for an hour during Friday prayers. My family and supporters bring me food. I get food enough for ten people. I know they are with me,” Ghafoor said.

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MDP’s Hamed Abdul Ghafoor fails to attend court appearance, cites parliamentary privilege

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamed Abdul Ghafoor reportedly failed to attend a court hearing today where he faces charges of refusing to provide a urine sample following suspicions of alcohol consumption.

Sun Online reported that Ghafoor’s legal representatives told the court he was unable to attend the 2pm hearing due to his presence in the People’s Majlis – therefore excusing his absence under parliamentary privilege.

During his last court appearance, Ghafoor denied he had been asked to provide a urine sample following his arrest on the island of Hondaidhoo last November, asking for the case to be thrown out.

Ghafoor allegedly failed to provide the urine sample after being arrested on the uninhabited island along with a group of MDP politicians and other senior political figures.  A number of those arrested with Ghafoor were charged with alcohol and drug possession.

In a case related to the same incident, the Prosecutor General’s Office had previously told the Criminal Court that it had 11 witnesses prepared to testify against Ghafoor, proving that he was in possession – and under the influence – of alcohol when arrested.

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Court grants opportunity to appoint lawyers in murder of 16-year old

The Criminal Court has given the four persons charged with the murder of 16 year-old Mohamed Arham the opportunity to appoint defence lawyers after the judge decided that their current legal representative was not cooperating with the court.

According to local media present at today’s hearing the judge told the court has been facing difficulties when conducting the trial of the case because of their defence lawyer.

Arham’s body was found in May 2012 with stab wounds in his neck, back and chest with blood all over his body, the surrounding ground, and on the walls of the park.

Deputy Head of Police Serious and Organised Crime, Dhaudh Mohamed, said shortly after the attack that Arham had been killed in a revenge attack after an argument between two gangs.

Dhaudh said that the police investigation had  found out that Arham had a close relationship with the gang, who were based in the park in which he was found dead. The victim had no previous criminal record, although he used to visit the park frequently.

The four suspects charged in the case were previously identified by the court and police as Mohamed Sufyan of Gahdhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, Mohamed Visaam of Maavah in Laamu Atoll, Mansoor Yousuf of the same island, and Athif Rasheed of Mahchangolhi Scenery View.

During today’s hearing the judge asked each of them individually if they wanted to appoint a lawyer. Defendant Athif said that he would like the state to appoint him a lawyer if his family was unable to do so.

Sufyan also said that he had been trying to appoint a lawyer but had been facing difficulties due the charge being one of murder

Visam told the court that his family had not responded to his phone calls and he would like the state to appoint a lawyer for him.

Mansoor said that his family has asked him to appoint a lawyer and he would also like to request the state to appoint a lawyer for him.

The local media reported that the judge had announced the next hearing of the case was scheduled for October 31,and that those who requested the state to appoint lawyers for them would be granted the opportunity on that day.

On March 30, patrolling police officers discovered Arham, of Noree house in Haa Alif Atoll Hoarafushil, inside the park behind Kulliyathul Dhirasathul Islamiyya (Islamic College).

The victim’s friends insisted that the assailants attacked him while he was sleeping inside the park that night.

On November 1, Sun Online reported that the Prosecutor General’s Office lawyers had told the judge that on May 30 between 1:00am and 6:00am Athif, Visam and Mansoor had gone to the park on motorbikes with some other people.

The lawyer told the judge that Visam, Sufyan and Mansoor had entered the park and assaulted Arham before leaving with Athif and some other people.

Arham was studying in grade nine at Dharumavantha School when he was killed.

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Criminal Court hears separate cases against opposition MPs

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs Imthiyaz Fahmy and Hamid Abdul Ghafoor were brought before the Criminal Court today for separate hearings to face the respective charges of “scandalising” the country’s judiciary and refusing to provide a urine sample to police.

MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy ‘Inthi’ has pleaded not guilty to charges of “disobeying orders” for contemptuous comments allegedly made about the country’s Supreme Court earlier this year.

Meanwhile, fellow MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor asked for his Criminal Court case, in which he is charged with refusing to give a urine sample to police, to be thrown out completely.

Ghafoor allegedly failed to provide the urine sample after being arrested on an uninhabited island along with a group of MDP politicians and other senior political figures.  A number of those arrested with Ghafoor were charged with alcohol and drug possession.

However, Ghafoor today told the Criminal Court that police had not asked him to provide a urine sample following his arrest on November 16, 2012, arguing that the case should therefore be dropped.

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office had previously told the Criminal Court that it has 11 witnesses testifying against Ghafoor, proving that he was in possession – and under the influence – of alcohol when arrested on the island of Hondaidhoo last November.

Meanwhile, MP Fahmy stands accused of making contemptuous remarks about the country’s judiciary during a television show earlier this year – charges he denied during the opening hearing of his own case today.

The opposition MP added that the court had granted him the right to appoint a lawyer before reconvening. The next hearing is currently scheduled for November 24.

Fahmy argued that as an elected representative in parliament, it was questionable why he could not make comments criticising the country’s judiciary on television when he had made the same accusations during live transmissions broadcast from parliament.

“In a free democratic society, the offensive of scandalising court is not even recognised. It’s dead elsewhere in the world, but still alive here in the Maldives. This is unacceptable,” he said.

Fahmy case background

In April, Fahmy told Minivan News that Police had begun an investigation of a case filed by the Department of Judicial Administration against him, over his allegedly “contemptuous remarks” against the Supreme Court and its judges.

Addressing the allegedly contemptuous remarks made during a program broadcast on Raajje TV, Fahmy argued this week that he had been addressing the concerns of constituents by expressing his belief that the country’s Supreme Court had encroached on the powers of parliament.

He also alleged that the Supreme Court’s judges were not qualified to understand or interpret the country’s democratic constitution, arguing the apex court was the most “undemocratic” institution among the three branches of state.

Fahmy added that his comments were mostly reiterating the conclusions drawn by numerous international legal experts about the Maldives court system in recent years; including the views of UN Special Rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul.

Knaul, in a report released earlier this year, expressed “deep concern” over politicisation within the country’s court system.

The special rapporteur stated that there was near unanimous consensus during her visit to the Maldives this year that the composition of watchdog body the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) – which draws members from sources outside the judiciary, such as parliament, the civil service commission and others – was “inadequate and politicised”.

This complaint was first highlighted in a report published by the International Committee of Jurists (ICJ) in 2010.

Current presidential candidate of the Jumhoree Party (JP) and former JSC Member MP Gasim Ibrahim later called Knaul’s findings ‘lies and jokes’ at a rally held in February.

“[Gabriela Knaul] claimed that the judges were not appointed transparently, I am sure that is an outright lie. She is lying, she did not even check any document at all nor did she listen to anybody.”

“She is repeating something that was spoon-fed to her by someone else. I am someone who sits in JSC. She claimed there were no regulations or mechanism there. That is a big joke,” Gasim claimed at the time.

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