Lawyer Imthiyaz Fahmy, also an MP for the Maldivian Democratic Party, has been found in contempt of court and suspended for six months by Senior Judge at the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed.
Fahmy was defending a man who had been accused of throwing an egg at a DRP supporter in their campaign office next to the former president’s wife’s house Enderimaagu.
Fahmy says before he began with the case, he noticed the defendant’s name was misspelled and his address was not on the charge document.
“The charge document should say who it’s against,” he said.
Fahmy said that due to procedural methods, he felt he needed to correct the matter before beginning the case, and asked the judge if this mistake could be rectified.
“The judge was taken by surprise,” said Fahmy, “and asked the prosecutor to correct the document in court. This is not how a criminal case is conducted.”
Judge Mohamed said Fahmy “did not cooperate with the court” and “just wanted to play.” He added that Fahmy “was not being serious” and was “arguing” with him and the attorney.
Fahmy said he was then asked to leave the courtroom by Judge Mohamed, while his client was told to remain there. Fahmy claims his client later told him that he had been asked to give his statement before another judge in his absence.
The next day, Fahmy found out through the media that he had been suspended.
“I wasn’t even informed,” he said. “I went to the court for the document on my suspension, but was denied [the document].”
Judge Mohamed says Fahmy cannot attend the court on the same case again.
Fahmy said he was “not surprised by the judge’s misconduct in court,” and he intends to make an appeal against Judge Mohamed’s decision to the High Court and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The commission confirmed that Judge Mohamed is currently under investigation for issues relating to conduct.
The case Fahmy would have been defending has been dismissed.
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