Presidential candidate for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and MP for Mulaku constituency Abdulla Yameen has said that former Attorney General Husnu Al Suood should not have any connections with sitting judges.

Yameen’s remarks follow recent allegations by Husnu Al Suood that Abdullah Yameen contacts judges and actively tries to influence them.

Answering the allegations, Yameen told Sun last Monday that Suood’s statements are self incriminating and that they have made it apparent that he maintians close relationships with the judges. Yameen said that Suood's statements can be regarded as a confession to these close connections.

“From Husnu Al Suood’s statements, from his confession, it is apparent that he has connections with judges. Because he works in the same field he said, there are people who know him, who respect him. So I think that it is Suood who is trying to have connections with judges. You cannot foster relationships with judges while acting as people’s defence lawyer. Husnu Al Suood should not have connections with any of the judges. Except for what he has to say in court to defend his client, Suood should not have any relationship with the judges,” Yameen said.

Regarding the Judicial Service Commission's (JSC) recent suspension of Chief Judge of High Court Ahmed Shareef, Yameen said that JSC does not have to function on democratic principles and that their functioning is based on laws and regulations.

He said that a person who is subjected to inquiry by the JSC will have the chance to speak in his defence and that he believes that the JSC decision to suspend the Chief Judge was made within the boundaries of the laws and regulations governing JSC.

Yameen said that prior to his suspension, the media reports had circulated accusing the Chief Judge of meeting officials of Nexbis in Malaysia and that no judge should meet with a party involved in a court case that he presides. Yameen said that instead of accusing him of influencing the judges, Suood would to better to make sure that his client, the Chief Judge Ahmed Shareef, does not do the same.

Regarding the trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed, Yameen said that it important to know and be clear whether the former president will be allowed to stand for office in the upcoming presidential election. He said it is necessary, as it effects the rights of the thousands of members that make up the former president’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). He said that dragging his trial process by hanging on to procedural matters is not something that is practiced in other countries around the world.

“It has to be decided whether or not president Nasheed can compete in the presidential election. In the rights of the thousands of people of MDP, and to ensure that the laws in the Maldives are protected and that they endure, the trail has to decide whether president Nasheed can compete. We don’t want to face the elections without knowing. This is one issue. What I’ve generally been saying is that, what we’re seeing now is taking up procedural issues and dragging the trial. This is not something that is practiced in other countries around the world,” Yameen said.

Contrary to expeditious process, Maldives judiciary is clogged with cases contesting procedural issues and that it is an issue that has to promptly addressed, Yameen said.