Addu City, Maldives – Addu City Hithadhoo Magistrate Court has suspended a High Court sentence and set a suspect free citing medical reasons.
The suspect, Rushan Ahmed Didi, Mandhoobuge, S. Hithadhoo was arrested for smuggling 98kg of drugs into the Maldives and remanded till the end of trial by the Maldives High Court in 2020.
According to the lower court the suspect indicated symptoms from,
- October 2020 – numbness on one side of his body
- December 2020 – fainting spells in his cell
- September 2021 – doctors refer to ENT specialist after MRI
- November 2021 – visit to ENT specialist
- December 2021 – tests indicate hearing loss
The magistrate court released the suspect for medical care stating that since the suspect has admitted to guilty charges, the magistrate court suspends the High Court’s ruling under 2020/HC-A/216 for 90 days starting from the day of the judgement.
Not providing the detainee with medical diagnosis and treatment one year since the first symptoms is negligence.
Hithadhoo Magistrate Court
The suspect was released under conditions that he would not leave the country, leave his assigned place of residence from 00:00 to 06:00 and contact others via phone or any other means.
Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem has raised alarms regarding this judgement by a lower court, stating that it is simply not done and in cases like this where a person is released valid reasons must be shown. PG Shameem added that this case will be appealed at the High Court and complaints will be filed at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
