Male’, Maldives – Prosecutor General’s Office has filed a case with Criminal Court against the acting head of the opposition PNC/ PPM coalition, Abdul Raheem Abdulla (Adhurey) for using a curse word against the Criminal Court judges.
After the Former President of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s sentencing to five years in jail with a fine of USD 5 million on November 28, 2019, Abdul Raheem Abdulla had used a curse word against the five judges of the bench which made the ruling and said that the five judges would be prosecuted when the opposition comes back to power.
The Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) filed the case with the Maldives Police Service against Abdul Raheem Abdulla on the same day stating that it was an action which was in contempt with the court.
According to the constitution, the maximum punishment for cursing or indecent behavior is three months in jail and on the basic standards it’s one month and six days imprisonment while the minimum sentence is nine days of imprisonment.
After the case was filed, Abdul Raheem Abdulla told local media “Mihaaru” that the government was running out of options and this was an attempt by the government to silence the opposition. He also stated that this was a means of tormenting the opposition while ignoring to prosecute major cases such as the ventilator corruption case.
While Abdul Raheem Abdulla has been prosecuted for using a curse word in public against the Criminal Court judges, another such incident also took place in last August while Abdul Raheem Abdulla was speaking to media. He was speaking to the media after he was summoned to the police station for the oppositions protest which was held in Male’ City against the HPA guidelines.
