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JSC launches probe into three top court justices

Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Wednesday made the decision to investigate two complaints involving Chief Justice Ahmed Abdulla Didi and Supreme Court Justices Abdulla Areef and Adam Mohamed Abdulla.

The decision was made during the commission's sitting, although the judicial watchdog did not reveal details of the two cases.

One of the judges being investigated, Judge Abdulla Areef is the president of JSC.

A seven member investigative committee has been established to look into the cases, which include Vice President of the commission and the President's member to the commission Masthooru Husnee and Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath in addition to Thulhaadhoo MP Hisaan Hussain.

The JSC earlier probed the actions of Supreme Court Justice Abdulla Didi in an open investigation, and the investigative committee has recommended Judge Didi's dismissal.

Although JSC did not disclose the details of the cases, it has been reported that the complaints relate to the controversial court order issued on February 1, 2018 which ordered the release of political prisoners and the reinstatement of opposition lawmakers. A large part of the order issued with the agreement of five Supreme Court justices was overturned by the three judges in question.

Then Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and former Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed were convicted and sentenced for accepting bribes to issue the order. However, no charges were raised against the three remaining judges.