MALE: A court docket in the Maldives on Wednesday convicted former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the sitting leader justice for obstruction of justice and sentenced them to 19 months in jail.
The trials are extensively seen as part of a plan through President Abdulla Yameen to tighten his grip on energy ahead of elections in September at which he seeks a second five-year term against an opposition yet to make a decision on a unmarried candidate. The govt denies this.
The country of 400,000 other people is popular with tourists however has seen political unrest since its first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Nasheed, was compelled to quit amid a police mutiny in 2012.
Nasheed was convicted of terrorism charges in 2015 and sentenced to 13 years after a trial criticized as unfair.
Gayoom, who is the country's longest serving leader, Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed had been found in charge on Wednesday after they had been charged for refusing to hand over their cellphones for a police investigation.
They won sentences of 19 months and 6 days.
The Indian Ocean island chain has faced upheaval since February, when Yameen, half brother of Gayoom, imposed a 45-day state of emergency to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed the convictions of 9 opposition leaders, including Nasheed.
During the emergency, government arrested the 3 men and a Supreme Court administrator on charges of seeking to overthrow the government. They nonetheless face the ones charges.
Saeed and Hameed refused the chance to make a ultimate argument announcing their lawyers had previous quit, bringing up grave procedural defects with the trial.
Criminal Court Judge Hassan Najeeb refused a couple of appeals through the defendants to be given time to appoint new lawyers.
Najeeb stated it was clear from "anonymous testimonies" that the defendants had cellphones and refused to comply with a police investigation and requests to hand over their devices and this represented obstruction of justice.
The opposition has accused Yameen's govt of jailing leaders who may challenge Yameen's re-election bid, a fee the government denies.
Reacting to the political scenario in Maldives, the Indian foreign ministry in a remark stated, "It is, therefore, with deep dismay that we learned that the former President of the Maldives as well as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are being sentenced to long prison terms without fair trial. This casts doubt on the commitment of the Government of the Maldives to uphold the rule of law and will also call into question the credibility of the entire process of Presidential elections in September this year."
Rights workforce Amnesty International stated in a remark the convictions are politically motivated and will have to be quashed because the trials did not meet global standards.
Athul Keshap, the US Ambassador for Maldives stated in a tweet that an unfair trial and not using a protection witnesses or defence lawyers would at all times lead to an unfair sentence.
"Judges cannot serve the cause of fair and impartial justice if they fear the Executive. When will the people of #Maldives see the restoration of rule of law?," Keshap stated on Twitter.
Gayoom informed the court docket he denied the charges and stated the trial was unfair. Najeeb stated the trial was conducted in keeping with the law.
Dunya Maumoon, the daughter of Gayoom, who resigned from Yameen's govt after her father was arrested, stated her circle of relatives was deeply stunned through the convictions.
The trials are extensively seen as part of a plan through President Abdulla Yameen to tighten his grip on energy ahead of elections in September at which he seeks a second five-year term against an opposition yet to make a decision on a unmarried candidate. The govt denies this.
The country of 400,000 other people is popular with tourists however has seen political unrest since its first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Nasheed, was compelled to quit amid a police mutiny in 2012.
Nasheed was convicted of terrorism charges in 2015 and sentenced to 13 years after a trial criticized as unfair.
Gayoom, who is the country's longest serving leader, Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed had been found in charge on Wednesday after they had been charged for refusing to hand over their cellphones for a police investigation.
They won sentences of 19 months and 6 days.
The Indian Ocean island chain has faced upheaval since February, when Yameen, half brother of Gayoom, imposed a 45-day state of emergency to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed the convictions of 9 opposition leaders, including Nasheed.
During the emergency, government arrested the 3 men and a Supreme Court administrator on charges of seeking to overthrow the government. They nonetheless face the ones charges.
Saeed and Hameed refused the chance to make a ultimate argument announcing their lawyers had previous quit, bringing up grave procedural defects with the trial.
Criminal Court Judge Hassan Najeeb refused a couple of appeals through the defendants to be given time to appoint new lawyers.
Najeeb stated it was clear from "anonymous testimonies" that the defendants had cellphones and refused to comply with a police investigation and requests to hand over their devices and this represented obstruction of justice.
The opposition has accused Yameen's govt of jailing leaders who may challenge Yameen's re-election bid, a fee the government denies.
Reacting to the political scenario in Maldives, the Indian foreign ministry in a remark stated, "It is, therefore, with deep dismay that we learned that the former President of the Maldives as well as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are being sentenced to long prison terms without fair trial. This casts doubt on the commitment of the Government of the Maldives to uphold the rule of law and will also call into question the credibility of the entire process of Presidential elections in September this year."
Rights workforce Amnesty International stated in a remark the convictions are politically motivated and will have to be quashed because the trials did not meet global standards.
Athul Keshap, the US Ambassador for Maldives stated in a tweet that an unfair trial and not using a protection witnesses or defence lawyers would at all times lead to an unfair sentence.
"Judges cannot serve the cause of fair and impartial justice if they fear the Executive. When will the people of #Maldives see the restoration of rule of law?," Keshap stated on Twitter.
Gayoom informed the court docket he denied the charges and stated the trial was unfair. Najeeb stated the trial was conducted in keeping with the law.
Dunya Maumoon, the daughter of Gayoom, who resigned from Yameen's govt after her father was arrested, stated her circle of relatives was deeply stunned through the convictions.
Former Maldives president, chief justice get 19 months in jail
![Former Maldives president, chief justice get 19 months in jail]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
June 14, 2018
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