Tag: Sex tape scandal

Pro-government MPs vote against debating JSC decision on Justice Ali Hameed

Pro-government MPs have voted against a motion without notice submitted by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Imthiyaz Fahmy to debate the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) decision last week to clear Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed of misconduct over his alleged appearance in a series of sex tapes.

The early motion – which would have opened the floor to a one-hour debate – was defeated with 44 votes against and 18 in favour at the ongoing sitting of parliament.

Presenting the motion, MP Imthiyaz said the JSC decision was “a permanent stain” on the Maldivian judiciary and an obstacle to judicial reform.

Following the vote, Imthiyaz tweeted:

The presence of a disgraced judge on the Supreme Court bench – who most citizens believe has lost his integrity – threatens the independence of the apex court, adversely affects decisions of lower courts, and robs Maldivian citizens of their constitutionally guaranteed right to a free and fair trial, the party contended in a press statement this week.

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Committee investigating supreme court judge’s sex-tape requests suspension

The sub-committee formed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to investigate the alleged sex-tape scandal of Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed has again requested for the suspension of the judge after his refusal to cooperate with the investigation.

“We have sent the request to the JSC to suspend Ali Hameed after the members of the committee found the need to suspend him. We don’t know whether commission would do it or not,” a member of the committee was quoted saying in the local media.

Speaking to Minivan News, a JSC member confirmed that a request had been received to the commission but had not yet made a formal decision regarding the request.

Local newspaper Haveeru has reported that the committee’s request for suspension of the judge was also due to challenges facing the commission – from both the JSC and the Supreme Court – due to Hameed remaining as sitting judge.

Furthermore, local media claimed that Judge Hameed had turned down requests made by the commission to come in for questioning.

Previous call for suspension

Last July, a similar call by the same committee to suspend the disgraced judge was disregarded by the full commission, who questioned the committee’s basis for such a request.

Judge Hameed was able to survive the committee’s attempt to suspend him after four JSC members voted against the recommendation.

The four members included President Mohamed Waheed’s Attorney General Azima Shukoor and his representee Latheefa Gasim – a member of the committee who supported the suspension in committee before later changing her mind.

The other dissenting members were then-parliament’s representative to the commission, resort tycoon and MP Gasim Ibrahim – who later lost his seat at the JSC following his decision to contest the 2013 presidential elections and then-Chair of the Civil Service Commission, Mohamed Fahmy Hassan. Fahmy had been dismissed by parliament in a late 2012 no-confidence motion over allegations of sexual harassment, before being reinstated by the Supreme Court in March 2013.

All four members defending Hameed said that there was “lack of sufficient evidence” to suspend him.

Police Investigation

Earlier this December, local media reported that police had sent a letter to the JSC in which it claimed the sex-tape probe had been stalled due to Criminal Court’s failure to provide key search warrants central to ascertaining Judge Hameed’s depiction in the videos.

The police had allegedly sought two warrants, one being an authorisation from the court allowing police to take a facial photograph of Judge Hameed for comparative analysis, and the second being a search warrant of Hameed’s residence.

Neither the police nor the JSC have confirmed the existence of this letter, though the police have publicly noted similar difficulties in its investigation without mentioning warrant requests.

Superintendent Abdulla Nawaz told media earlier this month that the police had been awaiting some key information from abroad regarding the case.

“We believe once we get this information [from abroad], more doors will be opened and more clues to the case will be revealed, to enhance our investigations,” Nawaz said at the time.

In sum, Nawaz admitted that efforts had not been fruitful in determining the participants, let alone whether it was Hameed seen fornicating with multiple foreign women inside the hotel room.

The sex-tape

Spy-cam footage allegedly depicting the Supreme Court Judge indulging in different sexual acts with multiple foreign women surfaced on local media last July.

In one such video, time-stamped January 24 2013, showed the judge fraternising with a topless woman with an eastern European accent. At one point the figure alleged to be the judge – who was only wearing a white underwear –  leans into the camera, making his face clearly visible.

Afterwards, the woman repeatedly encourages the man to drink wine from a mini-bar. “If I drink that I will be caught. I don’t want to be caught,” the man insists, refusing.

The case rose to prominence once more after the Supreme Court’s decision to annul the first round of the presidential elections in October.

Images and symbols depicting scenes from the sex-tape formed a prominent part of protests against the court’s repeated interference in the election.

The videos appeared shortly after a film – also involving Judge Hameed – began circulating on social media in which the Supreme Court Judge appeared to be discussing political influence in the judiciary with a local businessman.

The appearance of the videos also coincided with the arrest and release of Ahmed Faiz – a council member of former President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party and the then-project advisor at the Housing Ministry – while he was allegedly trying to sell a sex-tape of the judge.

As of yet, despite public circulation of the videos and widespread media coverage on the scandal, Judge Ali Hameed still continues to sit in the Supreme Court.

He had been one of the four judges who formed the majority ruling in the Supreme Court’s decision to annul the initial first round of the 2013 presidential election as well as the ruling that unseated two opposition MPs over a controversial case of undecreed debt.

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Supreme Court Judge’s sex-tape probe stalled as Criminal Court fails to provide warrants

The police have been unable to proceed with the investigation into the alleged sex-tape scandal of the Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed, after the  Criminal Court failed to respond to police requests for warrants, reports local newspaper Haveeru.

An official from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) – which is constitutionally mandated to oversee the judiciary – was quoted in the paper as stating that it had received a letter from the police noting that the Criminal Court’s failure to respond to requests for two warrants – made three months ago – had forced them to halt the investigation.

According to the unnamed official, the warrants sought by the police included authorisation for the police to take a facial photograph of Judge Hameed for comparative analysis with the videos relating to him, and a second warrant requesting the court’s permission to search his residence.

In a bid to verify the claim, Minivan News contacted the Criminal Court’s Media Official Mohamed Manik. When asked about the case, Manik told Minivan News that he would call back after reading the Haveeru article, though he not responding to further calls at the time of press.

Spy-cam footage allegedly depicting the Supreme Court Judge indulging in different sexual acts with multiple foreign women surfaced on local media last July.

The case rose to prominence once more after the Supreme Court’s decision to annul the first round of the presidential elections in October. Images and symbols depicting scenes from the sex-tape formed a prominent part of protests against the court’s repeated interference in the election.

The videos appeared shortly after a film – also involving Judge Hameed – began circulating on social media in which the Supreme Court Judge appeared to be discussing political influence in the judiciary with a local businessman.

The videos came after the arrest of Ahmed Faiz – a council member of former President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP) and the then-Project Advisor at the Housing Ministry – while he was allegedly trying to sell a sex-tape of the judge.

The public circulation of the videos and widespread media coverage on the scandal prompted both a police and a JSC investigation into the matter.

The then-Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz has previously confirmed to local media that the police had been probing the case.

Police subsequently summoned Judge Hameed for questioning in the same month as part of its investigation into the video.

“We are currently investigating two cases concerning the video. One is the case of those who had been using the video to blackmail the people in it, and the other concerns the content of the video,” the spokesperson said at the time.

However, apart from the summoning the police remained largely silent on the matter.

The JSC – whose mandate includes looking into the disciplinary issues and ethical conduct of Judges – also formulated a five member sub-committee to probe into the matter.

The initial members of the committee included JSC Vice-Chair Abdulla Didi, commission members Latheefa Gasim, Ahmed Rasheed and two lawyers outside the JSC – Mohamed Anil and Hussain Siraj.

However, following Anil’s appointment to cabinet as the new Attorney General, he was promptly replaced by veteran lawyer and President of Maldives Bar Association Husnu Al Suood.

Minivan News attempted to contact Police Media officials and the JSC Spokesperson but they were not responding to calls at time of press.

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JSC Chair Adam Mohamed set to face no-confidence vote

Chair of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed is set to face a no-confidence vote introduced by fellow commission member Shuaib Abdul Rahmaan.

Speaking to local newspaper Haveeru, Rahman said that he had filed the motion earlier this week but that the Commission Chair Adam Mohamed had refused to table it during last Wednesday’s commission meeting.

“When I first filed the motion, the Secretary General of the Commission said that he could only table the motion with a proper reason. Then I told him all the reasons why the motion should be filed. But still Adam Mohamed refused to table the motion. Now he has unofficially said that he would table the motion in coming Monday,” he said.

Even though the motion has yet to be officially introduced, Rahman said that some members of the commission had talked about how the commission was currently running.

Rahman claimed that the motion was filed because the entire commission is now in a state of limbo and that Commission Chair Adam Mohamed had been abusing his powers.

Among other reasons for the motion to be filed, Rahman claims included the JSC’s failure to look into the leaked sex-tape scandal of Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed, and abusing the power to release press statements on behalf of the commission.

Rahman alleged that Adam Mohamed has also repeatedly requested the High Court to expedite the case concerning the legitimacy of Hulhumale Magistrate Court while other important cases concerning the commission were still pending at the courts.

“There are several other issues regarding Adam Mohamed. Even other members of the commission discuss these and have on some occasions said that a motion of no confidence against Adam Mohamed needs to be filed.  However none of those attempts materialised,” he said.

Rahman added that no member of the commission opposed the idea of filing a no-confidence motion against Adam Mohamed.

Rahman told Minivan News today (August 22) that he is trying to table the motion next Monday, but said that Adam Mohamed has been “very reluctant” to acquiesce.

When asked if he had discussed the matter with other commission members, Rahman said that he did not wish to comment on the outcome of the motion at the moment.

“Right now I am trying to table the motion. But I do not wish to talk about the outcome of the motion. But other members have expressed their concerns over how the commission is being run currently,” he repeated.

The JSC has meanwhile refused to comment on the matter.

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Supreme Court Justice’s sex tape a fake, claims business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim

Leader of the Jumhoree Party (JP) and business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim has defended Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed, dismissing the alleged sex-tape involving the judge as a fake.

The video of the Supreme Court Justice allegedly indulging in adultery came into media limelight following the arrest of Ahmed Faiz – a senior Council Member of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP) and former Project Advisor at the Housing Ministry.

Snapshots taken from the video began circulating on social media networks Twitter and Facebook, prompting a police investigation. Last week, the police formally notified relevant authorities including the JSC, the Prosecutor General and President Waheed regarding their investigation into the case.

The notification led the JSC to form its own five member committee to look into the matter.  According to JSC, the committee comprises of three of its members including Vice Chair of the commission Abdulla Didi, commission members Latheefa Gasim and Ahmed Rasheed. Two additional attorneys outside JSC have also been selected to sit on the committee.

Earlier this week local media reports claimed the JSC, in addition to the sex-video, had begun investigating videos of Hameed discussing political corruption of the judiciary with a local businessman, and a meeting with former immigration controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim. Both have been circulating on social media.

Speaking during a campaign rally held at Thaa Atoll Veymandoo Island on this Saturday, The JP Presidential candidate – who also sits in the JSC as a representative of the parliament – claimed that Justice Hameed had been victimised by the aides of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

The resort owner alleged that Nasheed – who is the presidential candidate of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – commands “a large group of vigilante criminals who will do whatever he demands.”

“They blackmail people in order to keep them in check. They do all kinds of things. Even today, look at that fake video of the judge. [Nasheed] will do what he wants by using blackmailing and other tactics,” Gasim claimed.

Following the MDP’s launched of its youth policy, dubbed ‘Entertainment without fear’, Gasim labeled Nasheed a “monster” claiming that he had done every “despicable act ever to be found in the world”.

The owner of Villa Group also alleged that there were “external forces” assisting those behind the video of the judge, and alleged that the motive of these unidentified forces were to take over state assets, introduce other religions to the country, and create infighting within society.

“There are people in the world that cannot digest the fact that Maldives is a 100 percent Islamic country,” said the resort tycoon, whose Villa Hotels chain in 2011 imported approximately 121,234.51 litres of beer, 2048 litres of whiskey, 3684 litres of vodka and 219.96 kilograms of pork sausages, among other haram commodities restricted to islands deemed ‘uninhabited’.

Violation of JSC Code of Conduct

President of Maldives Bar Association and former Attorney General Husnu Al Suood criticised Gasim’s remarks, alleging he had violated the code of conduct of the JSC.

Suood claimed that Gasim had violated section 24 of the code by making statements in a political forum on a matter currently being investigated by the JSC.

Section 24 of JSC’s Code of Conduct states that a member of the commission shall not disclose any information obtained from the commission by being its member to a third party, except for the purpose of executing the member’s duties.

“In my opinion, it is not fair for Gasim Ibrahim to sit on the JSC while being a presidential candidate.  He must leave the position. That is because these types of conflicts will arise when a commission member is campaigning for the position of presidency,” Suood said.

Suood further highlighted that Gasim, by misusing information from the JSC for his political benefit, had undermined the credibility and impartiality of the state institution.

The opposition MDP followed Suood in criticising Gasim’s remarks, claiming that the JP Leader was defending the sex-tape scandal and incompetent judges for his own benefit.

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP Spokesperson MP Imthiyaz Fahmy claimed Gasim was “hell bent on preventing the judiciary from being reformed”.

“Gasim Ibrahim is trying to undermine the entire judiciary for his own business and political interest. Why else is he sitting in the JSC while campaigning for presidency?” Fahmy questioned.

Fahmy alleged that Gasim’s greatest fear was a free and fair judiciary, “where his bribes will not work”.

“Look at his past track record. He has criticised reports produced by top technical experts from reputed international organisations regarding the judiciary. We all know how low he went in dismissing UN Special Rapporteur Gabriela Knaul’s report,” Fahmy said.

Gasim had previously accused UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul of “lying and joking” about the state of the Maldivian judiciary.

During her preliminary observations on the country’s judicial system, Gabriela Knaul expressed concern over the politicisation of JSC – the body constitutionally mandated to oversee the functioning of the judiciary.

“[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. “She couldn’t tell a bigger lie.”

Fahmy meanwhile called on the parliament members to initiate a motion to remove Gasim Ibrahim from the JSC.

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