Nasheed gets relief as trial against him gets stayed by HC
2 April 2013 7:29 AM IST
In a major relief for former President Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldivian High Court on Monday stayed temporarily the trial against him in a abuse of power case till it decides legitimacy of the bench of the lower court.
The temporary injunction was granted after Nasheed’s counsel challenged the legitimacy of the bench, asking the High Court to declare the composition of the Hulhumale Court bench unlawful.
The High Court order comes three days ahead of Nasheed’s hearing at the Hulhumale Court over the arrest and subsequent detention of Chief Criminal Judge Abdulla Mohamed during his term, Haveeru daily reported.
The Maldivian Democratic Party, headed by Nasheed, welcomed the order but expressed apprehension that the government might try to ‘drag’ him into some other case.
‘We welcome this order. Till, now it was suspected that he would summarily be sentenced by the Kangaroo court. But we can’t rule out that the government may drag him into some other case,’ MDP MP and the party’s international spokesperson Hamid Abdul Gafoor told reporters.
The composition of the three Judge bench of the Hulhumale Court by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has been up for much debate recently. Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has maintained that Nasheed’s trial is a ‘politically motivated sham’ to disqualify him from the upcoming presidential elections.
The temporary injunction was granted after Nasheed’s counsel challenged the legitimacy of the bench, asking the High Court to declare the composition of the Hulhumale Court bench unlawful.
The High Court order comes three days ahead of Nasheed’s hearing at the Hulhumale Court over the arrest and subsequent detention of Chief Criminal Judge Abdulla Mohamed during his term, Haveeru daily reported.
The Maldivian Democratic Party, headed by Nasheed, welcomed the order but expressed apprehension that the government might try to ‘drag’ him into some other case.
‘We welcome this order. Till, now it was suspected that he would summarily be sentenced by the Kangaroo court. But we can’t rule out that the government may drag him into some other case,’ MDP MP and the party’s international spokesperson Hamid Abdul Gafoor told reporters.
The composition of the three Judge bench of the Hulhumale Court by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has been up for much debate recently. Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has maintained that Nasheed’s trial is a ‘politically motivated sham’ to disqualify him from the upcoming presidential elections.
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