Criminal Court refuses issuing order to detain MP Eesa, says he is unlikely to influence investigations
MP Ahmed Easa reportedly attacked his former spouse Asra Naseem and threatened to throw their son out of the balcony on Tuesday night
Member of parliament for the Kendhikulhudhoo constituency Ahmed Easa was also named as a suspect in the MMPRC corruption case
The Criminal Court has declined to issue an order for the arrest of MP for Kendhikulhudhoo constituency Ahmed Easa, who has been accused of assaulting his former spouse and threatening their son.
On Thursday, The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) revealed they had sought a warrant against member of parliament for the Kendhikulhudhoo constituency Ahmed Eesa following a statement by his former spouse Asra Naseem detailing domestic violence against her and their one-year-old son.
While a request had been submitted at the Criminal Court on 11am, the court has since maintained they do not believe MP Ahmed Easa will influence investigations against him. The Criminal Court has declined to issue a warrant for his arrest, and Raajje MV has learned that both the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Prosecutor General's Office failed to present evidence against MP Ahmed Easa in this case.
MP for Kendhikulhudhoo constituency Ahmed Eesa was among four MPs from main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) named in MMPRC corruption suspects list. Following the allegations of assault and battery raised against him, MP Easa has been absolved of some of his duties as a member of the 19th People's Majlis and MDP. The Parliament Committee on Social Affairs had been unable to forcibly remove MP Eesa from his position as Chairperson at the committee due to the absence of MP for Funadhoo constituency Mohamed Shahid, MP for Dhuvaafaru constituency Ismail Ahmed and MP for Ihavandhoo constituency Mohamed Shifau. However, MP Ahmed Easa resigned from his position as Chairperson of the Committee on Social Affairs on Thursday.
A neighbor of MP Easa's former spouse Asra Naseem had reported domestic violence against Asra and her one-year-old son by Eesa at 1:30am on Wednesday. Asra Naseem is the younger sister of Vice President Faisal Naseem, and has since provided her statement regarding the assault to MPS' Family and Child Protection Department on Wednesday.
The reported violence took place on Tuesday night at MP Easa's home, where he became violent amid a dispute and attacked Asra. It has been reported that MP Eesa had threatened to throw their one-year-old son out of the balcony of their home. Asra received treatment for her injuries at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, and a neighbor who witnessed the instance of domestic violence reported the incident to Police late at 1:30am on Wednesday.
The Criminal Court added that the PGO had been unlawful to seek an order of detention against MP Ahmed Easa, as such order was not issued even for instances of domestic or psychological abuse against children living as wards of the state.
The Criminal Court went on to state that they could not issue an order of detention against MP Easa as there was no legal precedent to do so.
