Judges agree to provide voice samples for probe into alleged audio clips leaked online

The three Criminal Court judges being investigated after alleged audio recordings leaked online, have agreed to provide voice samples for the investigation.

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) who is investigating the case against the judges revealed this via a press statement on Monday.

Alleged audio recordings of three of the five-judges' bench that presided over former President Abdulla Yameen's 2019 money laundering trial were leaked online on Sunday.

Noting that an emergency meeting was held on Monday morning over the audio recordings which have yet to be verified, JSC said that a committee was formed to probe the matter.

The commission said work is underway to question the judges accused of misconduct -Hussain Faiz Rasheed, Ali Adam and Mohamed Sameer- adding that all three have denied having such a conversation.

Further, the remaining two judges -Ali Rasheed Hussain and Ahmed Shakeel- have been questioned as well.

JSC said that all five judges maintained that the recordings are fake.

Former President Yameen was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in November 2019, for money laundering. He was found guilty of laundering USD one million through state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) via a private company, Scores of Flair, during his presidential tenure. 

While the conviction has been appealed at the Supreme Court, the audio recordings were leaked after the court scheduled a hearing in the case.

In one of the recordings, a voice reported to be Judge Hussain Faiz Rashaad indicates that the bench that presided over Yameen's trial "was held hostage" as well as that support for the former president has been growing as he remains in jail unjustly. The man also admits to being coerced to issue the verdict in the case.

While all three judges deny the accusations as well as the having this conversation, JSC further said that they have agreed to provide voice samples for the investigation. The commission has requested an audio analysis from the police, to determine the authenticity.

JSC further said that judges have to be independent, impartial and neutral, and rely on the Maldives Constitution. It further said that such issues of judges being coerced to conclude cases in certain ways, whether by a member of the public or government official, will be investigated with utmost priority.

The commission assured, that although these judges represent and work for the state, the investigation into will move forward without prejudice by an independent investigation committee.