Male’, Maldives – The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of Maldives has decided to move for the dismissal of Criminal Court Judge, Ibrahim Ali.
The Commission’s decision was following a complaint filed regarding Judge Ibrahim Ali, regarding the issuing of an unconstitutional warrant. The matter in specific was the intentional delay in acting upon the order of the High Court to revise the decision to release all 10 individuals who were in for violence, after being held in remand and the beginning of the preliminary court hearings. The release was met with the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) appealing the issue at the High Court, where it was declared that the release was in violation of the set regulations, and hence should be revised should the PGO request so.
JSC further detailed that with regards to the matter of 9 out of the 10 individuals who were on trial for violence using a sharp object, it was found in the JSC’s investigation that, Judge Ibrahim Ali had failed to act upon the decisions of the High Court on multiple instances, and that, when requested to revise the remand decisions on three different instances by the PGO, being the 23rd October 2018, 30th October 2018, and 12th November 2018, Judge Ali Waheed had failed to schedule a hearing despite the High Court order to do so.
It was further revealed that in the matter of the 10th individual in the case, Moosa Ibrahim, the Criminal Court was required by the verdict of the High Court on Aril 17, 2019, which quashed the Criminal Court order to release Moosa Ibrahim, to established that if the PGO submits a motion to the Criminal Court requesting Moosa Ibrahim to be detained pending trial within five days, then the Criminal Court must revise the previous decision and take a new decision on the detainment of Moosa Ibrahim within five days of the motion being submitted. However, it was found that although the PGO submitted the motion within the given timeframe, Judge Ibrahim Ali had deliberately delayed the decision yet again.
JSC also shed light on the fact that Judge Ibrahim Ali ignored repeated letters by the PGO regarding the lack of compliance with the High Court rulings, as well on the matter of delaying making decisions on the detainment of the 10 defendants involved in the case. It was highlighted that Judge Ibrahim Ali had finally held a hearing with regards to the case on 10th June 2019, and that this was in response to a letter by the High Court of Maldives, during which his words appeared to be encouraging the defendants and demeaning the High Court. Since then, Judge Ibrahim Ali has been suspended from the duties of being a Judge, effective for 60 days.
