Court concludes hearings for MP Ali Waheed

High Court has concluded the hearings for an appeal submitted by Thoddoo MP Ali Waheed, after stating that the case can no longer be continued since the prosecution had earlier chosen to recall the case.

Concluding today’s hearing, the chairman of the bench of judges Hussain Yousuf said that the hearings shall concluded as the court had heard both sides and that the court will announce a judgment at the next session for the case.

State raised charges of obstructing police duties against MP Ali Waheed and MP Ahmed Mahloof, accusing them of leading a protest in front of the president’s residence Muliaage where they had moved aside police barricades set in the area, on the night of the 25th of March 2010.

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) had recalled the case after raising charges, stating the they do not see it fit to be continued at that point in time.

The charges were recalled by PG after the police refused a direct order by the PG to investigate claims that two Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists Mohamed Sodree of Ma. Kudadhummaarige (Dhunmaari Nazim) and Hussain Ilham of G. Happy Side had barged into the office of the Civil Service Commission and created a commotion. Police had later obeyed the order and investigated the case which was forwarded to the PG, and later prosecuted in court.

When MP Ali Waheed’s case was presented to the Criminal Court for a second time, the MP’s defence had called for a procedural point of order stating a person cannot be prosecuted twice for the same offense.

Criminal Court had then stated that the defence had not been able to prove to the court that the PG’s intention of recalling the case was to completely abandon the charges and that thus, the court had continue the case.

Ali Waheed’s chief defence lawyer Husnu Al Suood told the High Court today that Gemanafushi MP Ilham Ahmed and the former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer had also participated in the protests on the night in question and that the State had not acted on the principle equality when prosecuting MP Ali Waheed and MP Mahlouf without prosecuting the other two individuals.

MP Ali Waheed’s defence had presented the same argument to the Crimial Court earlier.

Defence answered that individuals are prosecuted based on the evidence against them and that there was no evidence against MP Ilham and Umar Naseer.

MP Ali Waheed told the court today that his arrest regarding the incident was carried out illegally and that the purpose of the arrest was to intimidate him for a pending vote of no confidence against the Auditor General in parliament.

Assistant Public Proscutor Hussain Naashid told the court that the State had no intention of abandoning the charges when they decided to recall the case and that this had been stated in the court’s procedural decision.

Naashid said that the State had detailed the matter in previous hearings of the case and that the State does not wish to repeat them.

Concluding today’s hearing, the High Court bench requested the State to submit certain documents related to the case.