Male’, Maldives – S. Hithadhoo Magistrate Court orders Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) to check the status of two detainees.
S. Hithadhoo Court ordered HRCM to check the status of two detainees who were being accused of a case that was currently ongoing in the court. This is to ensure that one of the detainees was receiving care at the jail as instructed by a doctor and to find out the reason why the other detainee, who tested positive for Covid-19 and could not be presented to the court for hearing, is unable to proceed with the hearing virtually.
However, as the Magistrate Court gave orders to the HRCM, the Commission appealed it to the High Court stating that such orders lowers their powers and that they feel that their rights are violated.
To this, High Court decided not to accept the appeal case as they do not believe that the rights of HRCM is violated with the two orders from S. Hithadhoo Magistrate Court. In fact, High Court stated that according to the laws of HRCM, the commission can be ordered to check the status of detainees of ongoing cases and asked to report the status back to the respective judges.
HRCM has always checked on the status of detainees, however, only when the detainees present a complaint or when the commission decides to do it themselves. This is the first time HRCM has been ordered by a court to check the status of detainees.
