LOCAL EDITION
JSC's committee concludes the session. It announces the Justice Didi will be informed if an additional session becomes necessary.
Justice Didi also allowed 30 days to submit any complaints to the report the committee will issue regarding the allegations against him.
Masthoor from JSC says Justice Didi and his attorneys will have five days to submit written responses to the questions asked of him.
Responding to Justice Didi’s reference to a letter he received from the police which said there were no open investigations against him, AG Riffath pointed out that the lack of an open investigation against him at that point in time did not mean the police could not or did not open an investigation into the Justice later on.
AG Riffath said that he was referencing a letter from the police which confirms the Justice Didi is under a criminal investigation.
Justice Didi is questioned by AG Ibrahim Riffath regarding text messages exchanged between Didi and a politician to obtain US dollars.
Didi responds that he maintains his previous stand that he has never accepted a bribe.
He says the authenticity and the origin of the messages needs to be identified.
Justice Didi’s attorneys asks several members of the JSC to excuse themselves from running the inquiry alleging conflict of interest.
JSC’s committee points out that the inquiry is not regarding the bribery complaint filed by Speaker of Parliament, President Mohamed Nasheed, but regarding a criminal investigation run into him by the police.
The committee says there is no grounds to assume conflict of interest.
Justice Didi’s attorneys voice their disapproval over the proceeding. JSC’s committee advises the attorneys to keep calm.
A fourth member of the audience is escorted out.
Justice Didi’s attorneys say they do not contest that the phone number is his, but contest the authenticity of the documents.
JSC’s committee asks Justice Didi for confirmation the phone number which includes ‘777’ written in the document is his phone number.
Justice Didi says he uses a ‘777’ phone number, but cannot say for certain whether the number in question is his.
JSC’s committee passes him a note with the full phone number.
Justice Didi repeatedly says he has been informed by the police that there is no open investigation against him.
He says that it needs to be first established whether the evidence collected against him by police were obtained through legal means before they can be used against him.
Justice Didi is questioned about text messages exchanged between him and an unnamed witness which talks about an appointment to the Maldivian Embassy in Malaysia.
In response, Didi says he has never accepted a bribe, and has always worked with integrity.
Justice Didi hasn’t directly answered any of the questions asked of him.
Justice Didi says the inquiry should follow due process. He said he received the document from police today itself. He said that he needed time to verify the authenticity of “the messages and other stuff” in the documents.
Justice Didi is questioned over evidence his decision to release two suspects held in Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla’s abduction from police custody was unduly influenced. Didi’s attorney’s sidestep the question and say Didi’s suspension contained procedural irregularities.
Total three people were escorted out of the hall for disruption behavior. The hall is once again calm and orderly. JSC’s committee resumes its inquiry.
Justice Didi asks whether JSC is not perusing its original investigation into him, which is a USD 1 million deposit to his wife’s bank account.
Some of the members of the general public in the audience are escorted out of the hall following a display of disruptive behavior. There aren’t many in the audience.
AG Ibrahim Riffath says that the documents presented this Thursday doesn’t have much information. He said the accused should therefore be able to look through the documents and answer the questions. He said the accused will be given 30 more days to prepare an additional response. He said that the inquiry will be held in accordance with due process.
AG Ibrahim Riffath reads a chatlog submitted as evidence: Didi and Maan each USD 10,000. He asks whether Didi and his attorneys see the message.
AG Ibrahim Riffath asks whether Justice Didi has received some specific documents handed over by JSC for the inquiry. He asks that Didi be handed over the documents again after Didi and his attorneys say some of the documents are unclear.
Justice Didi says he received the documents submitted as evidence in the inquiry after he arrived at Dharubaaruge this Thursday morning. He says that he therefore has not had sufficient time to respond to the allegations against him, and repeatedly asks for more time.
Didi’s attorney’s, Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, has repeatedly asked for the committee to provide more time to respond to the allegations. The committee says Didi must answer the questions being asked of him. Dr. Jameel says such major allegations required sufficient time to prepare.
The first question Masthoor asked was the date on which Didi assumed judgeship. But Didi’s attorney’s, Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, did not answer the question and said he wanted to note some procedural irregularities. JSC’s investigative committee did not provide the opportunity for Jameel to proceed.
Didi said he wasn’t clear on the exact date, and said the JSC would know better.
JSC’s Masthoor points out that the inquiry in progress is not regarding Didi’s suspension, but regarding a possible ethical violation by Didi based on the evidence collected by Maldives Police Service in its criminal investigation into him.
Masthoor said Didi’s attorneys were focusing solely on his suspension, and asked them to respond to the questions being asked.
Justice Didi’s attorneys: You are running a criminal probe
Justice Didi’s attorney, during his passionate statement, accused JSC of running a criminal investigation. He said that it was the police, and not the JSC which should be questioning Justice Didi if he is under criminal investigation. He also questioned why JSC decided to hold an open inquiry which could possibly impede the police's investigation.
JSC reprimands the members in the general public in attendance for disruptive behavior, and warns they will be escorted out by security officers if they do not maintain order.
Justice Didi: JSC’s allegation is unclear
After the JSC concluded reading the list of allegations made by Maldives Police Service against him, Justice Didi said that he still wasn’t clear as to the allegation being made against him by JSC.
In response, Masthoor said that JSC has identified Justice Didi violated the code of ethics for judges based on the allegations against him by the police.
Police suspect Justice Didi played a role in the release of two suspects in the abduction of missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla.
The key suspect in the MMPRC case, in his statement to the police investigators, said Justice Didi was given money on multiple occasions.
Hisaan Hussain
Hisaan Hussain says the JSC made the decision to open an inquiry into Justice Didi at its initiative upon receiving the document from Maldives Police Service.
Document sent by Maldives Police Service says the agency has information Justice Didi took money from key suspects in the MMPRC embezzlement and money laundering case on multiple occasions.
Masthoor Husnee announces that Justice Didi is being questioned by JSC regarding the criminal investigation opened against him by Maldives Police Service over the allegation he took embezzled funds from Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
The inquiry is being presided over by Vice President of JSC, Masthoor Husnee.
Speaker of Parliament, Mohamed Nasheed, who is part of the seven-member committee in charge of the inquiry into Justice Didi, is not in attendance.
Justice Didi was greeted to applause by several members of the public in the audience upon his arrival.
The inquiry has begun.
Justice Didi’s attorneys include former Vice President and Advisor to the Leader of Jumhoory Party (JP) – Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, and former President’s appointee to JSC, Ahmed Saleem.
Justice Didi arrives at Rannabandeyri Maalam.
The inquiry will be overseen by a seven-member committee. They are:
The inquiry into Justice Didi this Thursday is regarding his decision to report to work in defiance of his suspension, and the allegation he actively partook in the presidential campaign for former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
