A Civil Court Judge overseeing a defamation case filed by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom today ordered that the passport of 82 year-old historian Ahmed Shafeeg be held.
The judge said the court would seize Shafeeg’s his passport after Gayoom’s lawyer said he had information that Shafeeg was about to leave the country.
Shafeeg was unable to appear at today’s hearing, with media reporting that it was the sixth hearing that had to be cancelled because Shafeeg could not attend the court because of his medical condition.
A medical certificate was presented to the court today by Shafeeg, which Gayoom’s lawyer said was against procedure and that Shefeeg would have to fill a form stating that he could not appear at court due to his medical condition.
Gayoom’s lawyer told the judge that Shafeeg was intentionally dismissing the summons “because he has been attending other functions.”
The lawyer requested the judge summon the doctor who had issued the medical certificate, citing an the incident where former president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak was summoned to the court despite his weak medical condition, and requested the judge to apply the same procedure to Shafeeg’s case.
According to daily newspaper Haveeru, before dismissing today’s hearing the judge said that Shafeeg’s doctor would be summoned to the next hearing.
A spokesperson of the Civil Court confirmed that the media reports were correct and that the judge has ordered Shafeeg’s passport held.
‘’I can confirm that the reports about his passport detention is correct. The judge also said that Shafeeg’s medical service provider will be summoned to the court during the next hearing,’’ he said.
The former President sued Shafeeg after he published a book alleging that 111 inmates disappeared in custody during Gayoom’s administration.
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