Hearing cannot be rescheduled as requested by Nasheed: Judiciary Media Unit

The hearing of the criminal prosecution against former President Mohamed Nasheed scheduled for next Sunday could not be rescheduled as Nasheed had requested, says the Media and Publications Unit of the Department of Judicial Administration.

Latheefa Qaasim, Spokesperson of the Judiciary at the Unit, said today that Nasheed had sent a letter to Hulhumalé Magistrate Court during the weekend requesting for delay of the hearing. Latheefa said that the reason for Nasheed’s request for delay, according to his letter, was his absence from Malé as he is currently in a campaign tour to the southernmost atolls of the country.

However, Latheefa said that the magistrates assigned for the proceedings would not allow the request, as it cannot be granted in accordance with the Regulation on Summoning Persons to Court.

“The Regulation on Summoning Persons to Court specifically lays down the procedure to be followed in such cases, and what would happen if any person fails to comply with a court summon. Hulhumalé Court would only follow what is stipulated in the law, in the said regulation”, said Latheefa.

The Regulation, in Section 8, stipulates three situations in which a person’s absence from a court hearing after summon has been served can be justified. These three situations are when the person is cannot attend court due to a sickness, when a person cannot attend due to obstruction of travel on land or at sea due to bad weather, and when a situation arises which, in the opinion of the Judge, makes it genuinely impossible for the person to attend court.

Nasheed left Malé in contravention to a Court order, issued in accordance with a consistent procedural standard that has been observed for years, asking him to take leave from the Court before leaving Malé. Proceedings against Nasheed were scheduled to start on Sunday, last week, but he left Malé on the same day ignoring the Court order, as well as summon for the hearing. Nasheed did not inform the Court of his absence or the reasons for his absence.

While Hulhumalé Magistrate Court has scheduled the first hearing of the case to take place tomorrow at 16:00 hrs at Justice Building in Malé, the Court has also issued an order on the Maldives Police Service to ensure Nasheed’s presence at the hearing.

Nasheed is being prosecuted for his “unconstitutional and unlawful abduction of the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court in contravention to human rights laws in the Maldives as well as established by international human rights instruments during Nasheed’s Presidency, during January this year”. The Prosecutor General had stated that he would “investigate the matter and prosecute whoever is responsible for the abduction of the Chief Judge” as soon as the incident took place. The Prosecutor General also ordered Nasheed’s government to immediately release Chief Judge Abdullah Muhammad. However, Nasheed as President ignored the order, as well as similar orders from the Supreme Court of the Maldives and the High Court of the Maldives. Ensuing opposition demonstrations staged by the people against Nasheed’s “autocratic and ruthless” government culminated in his resignation on the 7th of February this year.