Malé, Maldives – The Criminal Court stated today that despite police claims otherwise, there has been no request at the court for bench warrant in the English language regarding former Tourism Minister Ali Waheed.
This comes after the Maldives Police Service claims that the police had requested for a bench warrant in the English language from the Criminal Court in December 2021 to produce an Interpol red notice to bring back Ali Waheed from the UK.
Speaking to local news “Dhauru” the Spokesperson of the Criminal Court Aman Mohamed denied these claims stating that as of Thursday, 13 January 2021, the Maldives Police Service have not requested the Criminal Court for a bench warrant in the English language regarding Ali Waheed’s case.
The Criminal Court however confirms that the police have in fact sent a letter to the court without revealing any further details.
On 30 November 2021, the Criminal Court of Maldives issued a court order to bring Ali Waheed to the court under police custody after his failure to appear in court on November 28.
Ali Waheed, charged with 7 counts of sexual offences is now given 72 hours to appear in court following which the court will take action against quarantor Ali Ashad.
Alleged sexual offender Ali Waheed exited Maldives after assigning State Minister for Youth and Sports Assad Ali as his guarantor prior to his departure.
The Prosecutor General (PG) of Maldives Hussain Shameem has previously stated that the PG Office has the option to pursue an Interpol red notice to bring back the defendant, however, Ali Waheed still remains in the UK and has yet to return to the Maldives despite a Supreme Court jail sentence for contempt of court.
Ali Waheed who fled from the country, after his passport was released due to a medical emergency, was also supposed to arrive in Maldives in June as his medical treatment duration of 4 months has expired.
The Prosecutor General’s Office is charging the suspect Ali Waheed with a total of seven counts of sexual offences 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 Maldives Penal Code 9/2014.
To date, Ali Waheed has denied all the charges that were raised against him. However, if he is found guilty of the charges levied against him, Waheed will face up to 21 years imprisonment.
