The trials filed against political individuals had been progressing at a fast pace. Court officials, lawyers and journalists barely have time to breathe.
The past two weeks had seen a flurry of court cases filed against those individuals arrested in connection to the explosion aboard the Presidential speedboat and related cases. Some lawyers had expressed concern over the fast pace of the trials, citing that they do not have ample time to prepare the cases.
"No influence, expediting cases due to Ramadan"
Judge Ibrahim Ali, who had been presiding most of the cases, said the cases were scheduled closely as Ramadan was nearing and that conducting the cases in Ramadan was difficult. He added that extended remand period periods were a reason why cases were expedited through the system. The Judge added that there was no influence in expediting cases.
The reasons for expediting cases are extremely clear. Lets take a closer review of the cases tried in the past two weeks.
Many hearings
Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb had been charged with abuse of power in connection to the explosion aboard the Presidential speedboat in the past two weeks. Both defense and state had presented their witnesses and evidence. The case got additional exposure, when Maldivian Idol presenter Aminath Maureena, a former staffer at the Vice President's Office, was listed as a key witness for the defense in the case.
Hearings of misappropriation case filed against the former Vice President, former Managing Director of MMPRC Abdullah Ziyath and businessman Hamid Ismail were carried out in the past two weeks. Similar to the other cases, the witnesses were submitted to the court. However, Ziyath's lawyer had not attended the hearings and was cancelled. Presiding Judge, Ibrahim Ali had warned that suspension was in line if the lawyers acted in any manner that hampered the court procedures.
Last week the lower courts ruled that the evidence presented by the state was not sufficient in proving that Inthif Rauf on weapons charges was in possession of a dangerous weapon. The case was appealed by the state in High Court on Wednesday.
Last Sunday, the hearings of the case filed against Adeeb for illegal weapons possession charges on May Day. However, the hearing could not be carried out as the state had failed to produce their witnesses to Court.
Hearings of the cases filed against Adeeb's bodyguards, Hussain Rikaz and Ahmed Amir, were carried out on Monday. The hearing was initially scheduled for Thursday, expedited on the orders of the Judge. However, during the trial, Adeeb had requested for additional time to prepare their evidence and had been postponed to the original schedule of Thursday. The state and defense had presented their witnesses and evidence. The hearing to take the statements will be held next week.
The hearing on the case filed against former PG Muhthaz Muhsin was carried out on Monday. The witnesses submitted as anonymous witnesses had been revealed later onward. Muhthaz said that details of the witnesses were listed in the discovery documents and he had presented the same witnesses on his side.
Tuesday was a busy day for the Criminal Court, with three major cases on the docket. Hearings were held for ADh Maamigilee Court Senior Magistrate Ahmed Nihan and Ahmed Fayaz (Papa) former Male' Area Commander, Moosa Zameer, Ahmed Thiham all in connection for Fininfenmaa explosion.
Last week the lower courts ruled that the evidence presented by the state was not sufficient in proving that Inthif Rauf on weapons charges was in possession of a dangerous weapon. The case was appealed by the state in High Court on Wednesday.
While the past two weeks had been hectic, additional cases had been scheduled for the next week. As such, Tuesday will be a high traffic day for the Criminal Court. Adeeb's cases had been scheduled for that day. It is rumored that verdicts for Adeeb and other cases will be announced before or during Ramadan.
New revelations!
Various new stories and allegations had surfaced during the hearings. The hearings held for Adeeb and bodyguards had revealed many allegations that had not been made public or had just been rumors previously.
- Adeeb's lawyers had said the President's son had been transferred from the airport to Male' in a different vessel
- First Lady's medico-legal report was missing from the discovery
- State alleged Adeeb had attempted to flee following the botched assassination attempt
- State alleged Abeed had tried to obtain visas
- Other assassination methods in case explosion failed
- Allegation that former President Maumoon had used the speedboat before explosion and Adeeb
- Adeeb's lawyers said he did not spent time alone in Aarah
- Adeeb's lawyers said explosion occurred after Pres said Adeeb must be removed
Adeeb cases are not just!
Adeeb, the respondent in many of the cases, had expressed concern over the speed of cases. He added that with the speed of the case, the direction and outcome of the trials were extremely clear.
His lawyers had also echoed his sentiments, noting the lack of time to meet their clients and review the progress. Following this, the Judge had ordered to grant additional time for the lawyers and their clients. However, Adeeb had claimed that the Police only granted two days a week for lawyer visitations. He also claimed that it was difficult to arrange legal consultation due to the weather.
Chief Justice's statements
Chief Justice Abdullah Saeed had previously said last year they had given the biggest priority to expediting cases through the justice system, noting that they will seek to repeat this in this year as well.
The Chief Justice said that the delivered verdicts have to be without any room to doubt the justness of it. He also said the judicial system had to be a compassionate one, taking into account all possible lenience based on the circumstances.
