Speaker of the Parliament and former president of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has stated that the now jailed former president, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom wishes for Nasheed to sit on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
Former President Abdulla Yameen has been jailed for five years after being convicted on money laundering charges. While Nasheed now sits on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) as the Speaker of the Parliament, the opposition, which continues to claim that President Yameen was jailed on false charges, has stated that Yameen will not get justice if Nasheed continues to remain a member of JSC.
While debating an emergency motion submitted on climate change during Wednesday’s parliament sitting, opposition members reiterated their concerns regarding Nasheed's JSC membership. Maavashu MP, Mohamed Saeed said a president who successfully served the citizens for five years does not deserve to sit in jail, and called upon the parliament to deliver justice. Further describing the current members of JSC as Nasheed’s ‘legal team’, Saeed called for Yameen's release and for Nasheed’s resignation from JSC.
In response to Saeed’s comments, Nasheed said if justice is not established in the Maldives, the trials that former presidents of the Maldives will have to undergo would be immense. Therefore, Yameen himself would wish for him to be a member of JSC, said Nasheed. He further said that as per the citizens of the nation, there is no reprieve for presidents who have committed crimes. He assured that all work he undertakes as a member of Judicial Service Commission will be carried out fairly and sincerely. Nasheed further noted that the constitution does not allow for him to resign from JSC while he remains the Speaker of the parliment.
JSC is comprised of ten members, including the Speaker of the Parliament, a judge of the Supreme Court, a judge of the High Court, a judge of the Lower Courts, a member of the Parliament, a member of the general public, the President of the Civil Service Commission, a person appointed by the President, the Attorney General, and a lawyer elected from among the lawyers licensed to practice in the Maldives. Main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) strongly pushed for the JSC composition to be reconstituted before they took over administration in 2018.
