MP Azim rejects Supreme Court ruling, says will continue to attend parliament sessions

MP Ali Azim has said he will not accept the Supreme Court ruling disqualifying him from parliament and that he will still continue to participate in parliament session.

Supreme Court ruled today that Medhu-Henveiru MP Ali Azim and Alifushi MP Mohamed Nashiz are no longer qualified to stay in parliament as they have a decreed debt, which is not being paid according to a court judgment.

MPs’ qualification status was brought into question following non-repayment of loans taken from Bank of Maldives (BML) by Funaddoo Tuna Products. On 7 February 2010, Civil Court ordered to repay the loans worth MVR 117 million, an order that was upheld by High Court.

MP Azim said he does not accept he lost the parliament seat and that all MPs believe that the Supreme Court ruling is unjustified.

“Personally, I don’t believe that I have lost the seat. I will participate in Saturday's session. I believe that all parliament members believe that the ruling is unjustified. Civil Court has even provided me in writing that I never had any decreed debt registered in the court. I will not accept any ruling without [proof of] a decreed debt,” MP Azim said.

He strongly criticized the Supreme Court judges who voted in favour of removing the MPs from parliament. The four MPs are; Judge Abdulla Saeed, Judge Adam Mohamed, Judge Ahmed Abdulla Didi and Judge Ali Hameed Mohamed.

MP Mohamed Nashiz, the MP who lost his seat along with MP Ali Azim, was unavailable for comment at the time of press.

The last hearing of the case asking to disqualify the two MPs, filed by lawyer Mohamed Haleem, was last heard in February this year.