Male’, Maldives – Former President of Maldives and the current Speaker of the Parliament, Mohamed Nasheed says that he is shocked to know about the seven counts of sexual offences that are filed against the former Tourism Minister, Ali Waheed.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, a total of seven counts of sexual offences were filed as six cases against the former Minister at the Criminal Court of the Maldives. These being;
- One count of sexual abuse under article 16 of the Sexual Offences Act (17/2014)
- One count of attempted rape under article 15 of the Sexual Offences Act (17/2014)
- One count of indecent exposure under article 132 of The Constitution of Maldives
- One count of sexual harassment under article 18 of the Sexual Offences Act (17/2014)
- One count of attempted sexual abuse under article 19 of the Sexual Offences Act (17/2014)
- Two counts of unlawful sexual contact under article 81 and 412 of The Constitution of Maldives
In the national Majlis group of the MDP members in WhatsApp, Nasheed said that he looked into the charges that were taken against Ali Waheed and that he was shocked after seeing all the seven counts of sexual offences against him. In defense of Ali Waheed, Nasheed mentioned that he is that such huge accusations are being taken on Waheed.
“The person who sexually abused and killed a woman in Thinadhoo had only received two counts. There are so many similarly guilty people who were freed without any charges,” Nasheed said while noting that different people are receiving different treatments.
After President Ibrahim Solih received complaints that Waheed had sexually abused employees several times, he had terminated Waheed from his position on July 9th after Waheed refused to turn in his resignation as per the president’s order a few days prior.
After he was fired, Waheed’s mobile phone and laptop were confiscated by the Maldives Police Service as evidence in the investigation. Waheed was also placed under a travel ban following the incident.
On June 19th, Waheed was summoned to the Police for further questioning regarding the case. In In an interview after being summoned to the police, Waheed said that the accusations against him are “politically motivated” and that he was framed.
In addition to the sexual harassment case, Ali Waheed is also under investigation by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) regarding eight different issues which were highlighted in the compliance report published by the Auditor General’s Office, concerning the expenses made by the Ministry of Tourism with regards to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
