Malé, Maldives – The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) released a statement on Tuesday stating that the newly amended Prevention of Terrorism Act (No. 32/2015) allows for the prosecution of suspects as new evidence is collected, even after a terrorist attack.
Without specifically naming any suspects, the PGO stated that “not filing charges at present does not indicate that a suspect will not be charged for evidence collected in the future.” The statement further read that additional persons may also be charged as evidence is collected over time.
PGO has stated this while facing criticism after the Maldives Police Service released a statement saying that a suspect in the May 6 terror attack was not charged by the Prosecutor General’s Office. Police stated that Ahmed Fathih’s case was sent to the PGO, who made the decision to not file charges citing that there was not enough evidence against the suspect.
PGO noted that two prosecutors were working closely with the police during the May 6 investigations in addition to the Special Envoy Abbas Faiz who ensured that the investigation was following international best practices.
The prosecution also utilized the assistance of friendly nations including the US, UK and Austria in the investigation.
While assuring that the prosecution of the May 6 suspects are continuing, the PGO urged to give courts the opportunity to assess evidence fairly.
