High Court orders Haneef's release

High Court has ordered to release former Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Education Ibrahim Haneef, who was arrested on charges of having threatened to kill High Court Judge Shujau Usman.

While he was transferred to house arrest on the 16th of this month, he had appealed the Criminal Court ruling at the High Court. The Court had extended his remand four times before placing him in house arrest for 15 days.

High Court in its hearing noted that at the remand hearing held on May 11, the court had ruled to keep him in remand for seven days, and that if the authorities are not able to prosecute him by the time his remand expires, that he will be released. It further noted that authorities had failed to make a decision on prosecuting him within in the period.

Furthermore, the court noted that the it is against the Maldives judicial system, for a court to make rulings that will hinder the ruling of another court, especially without adequetely reviewing the initial ruling.

High Court said that Haneef had agreed to the conditions placed by the judge’s bench of the criminal court, and ordered his immediate release.

High Court had previously upheld the Criminal Court’s verdict to keep Haneef in detention, noting that he was charged with terrorism and therefore posed a security threat to the general public, adding that the state had enough evidence to prove that Haneef had attempted to carry out an attack on a Judge.

He was arrested on April 5, and his phone was confiscated a day prior.