Gahdhoo Council President accused of child sex assault remanded once more following court-ordered release
The Gahdhoo Magistrate Court issued an order on 3 May to have Council President Mohamed Ahmed released from detention
Mohamed Ahmed won the race for Gahdhoo Council President while charged with three counts of child sexual abuse
President of the Gahdhoo Island Council Mohamed Ahmed, who faces three charges relating to child sex abuse, has been remanded once more following an overruling of the Gahdhoo Magistrate Court's release order by the High Court on Sunday.
Mohamed Ahmed had been detained previously until the end of his trial, but the Gahdhoo Magistrate Court had issued an order on 3 May to have him released from detention. The state went on to appeal this order with the High Court, following which the High Court overruled the release order issued by the Gahdhoo Magistrate Court on Sunday.
The Prosecutor General's Office confirm that with these developments, the state would once again be able to detain Mohamed Ahmed until the end of his trial.
Mohamed Ahmed was elected as the Gahdhoo Council President on opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)'s ticket, while he was in police custody for three charges of child sexual offences. Mohamed Ahmed has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor in 2015 during his council Presidency, exposing a minor to pornographic material, and a count of possessing pornographic material in 2020.
The charges raised against Mohamed Ahmed, Vincent, GDh. Gahdhoo in 2015 are still filed with the Gahdhoo Magistrate Court. He won the Local Council Elections held in April with 737 votes. Mohamed Rizan of main-ruling MDP contested against him and was able to secure 652 votes. This is a difference of 85 votes.
At the time of the election, both the Elections Commission and the Progressive Party of Maldives had been aware of the charges raised against Mohamed Ahmed in court. However, he had been allowed to contest in the elections despite the serious and sensitive nature of the allegations, as he had not been proven guilty of them in court.
In a tweet posted on the issue, Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem remarked that the state did not believe an alleged child sex offender's election to public office made them any less dangerous to the children around them, and that therefore the state could not accept the reasons presented to justify Mohamed Ahmed's release from court pending criminal prosecution.
