Prominent legal experts in the Maldives have expressed concern over the Criminal Court allowing police to continue the search for evidence against opposition Jumhoory Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim despite having begun the trial.
The Maamigili MP has been accused of attempting to bribe government lawmakers ahead of the censure motion against parliament’s speaker Abdullah Maseeh, and undue influence on a state official.
The criminal court had begun his trial on Thursday behind closed doors but had issued a warrant to search the home and offices of the business magnate on Sunday for the police to gather more evidence related to the charges.
Renowned lawyer Maumoon Hameed questioned the validity of the case if police did not already have enough evidence to seek charges against the seasoned lawmaker.
"Is Gasim Ibrahim being charged without sufficient evidence or before the investigation was completed? Either way there's a lack of justice," Hameed stressed.
One of Gasim's lawyers Hisaan Hussain echoed similar concerns insisting that prosecutors should review the evidence before bringing formal charges against her client.
Hisaan also noted the inconsistencies in usual procedure.
MP Gasim Ibrahim was arrested on April 6 over the bribery allegations; however, the high court last Wednesday freed him after ruling that he was arrested in violence of due procedure. However, the appellate court had levied three fresh charges against him on counts of attempted bribery and undue influence on a state official.
The seasoned lawmaker was arrested after the criminal court issued an arrest warrant, on direct request of the police.
However, according to parliament rules of procedure, unless from a scene of a crime, a lawmaker can only be arrested under a warrant from a superior court on direct request from the chief prosecutor.
The opposition coalition, which now JP is a part of, has claimed that the government is descending into autocracy and has been heavily critical of its “crackdown” on the opposition.
