The High Court has upheld the decision made by the Criminal Court on 11 July 2013 to detain Ahmed Faiz of Pink House in Feydhoo, Addu City, on charges of possessing pornographic material and trying to defraud money through blackmail.
Faiz, at the time a prominent member of President Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP), is accused of allegedly using a sex video of Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed involved in sexual activities with two women to try and blackmail the judge.
The High Court said Criminal Court warrant number 145-J[MD]2013/6077 orders the Maldives Police Service to hold Faiz in pre-trial detention, as the court believed he may try to eliminate evidence if freed.
The Criminal Court issued the warrant to hold him in detention from 11 July 2013 12:13 pm to 26 July 2013 12:12pm.
The High Court stated that Faiz’s appeal was based on two points: one in which he claimed others involved in the same case had not been arrested, and that the Criminal Court’s decision to detain him in his absence was unconstitutional.
The High Court ruling stated that Faiz was detained on charges of possessing a pornographic video of a person in a senior position in the state, with the assistance of others, and for attempting to extort large amounts of money by blackmailing the victim, and for attempting to sell the video for a price to others.
The High Court said Faiz had a pre-existing criminal record, including the possession of pornographic material.
In reference to the points noted, the High Court ruled there was no legal ground to rule against the Criminal Court’s decision.
Snapshots taken from the video began circulating on social media networks Twitter and Facebook, prompting a police investigation. The police formally notified all relevant authorities including the JSC, the Prosecutor General and President Waheed regarding their investigation into the case.
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