Will vote to oust Maseeh, if Nazim is not released: MP Latheef

Dhihdhoo Consitutency MP Abdul Latheef Mohamed says if the Government does not free or lessen the jail term on jailed former Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim, he will cast his vote in favor of the no confidence motion on Parliament Speaker Abdullah Maseeh.

Speaking to Raajje.mv, Latheef said with Adeeb's letter to the Supreme Court, Nazim's innocence has been proven beyond reasonable doubt and as such he must be released.

Speaking to Raajje.mv, Latheef said releasing Nazim was something all Maldivians and he himself wished to see. If the Government fails to follow through, he said he will have to reconsider his position on the no confidence motion on Speaker Maseeh.

Adeeb’s letter with the Supreme Court claimed that he knows the truth behind those that had ‘framed’ Nazim on the weapons charged for which he is serving an 11-year jail sentence.

The former vice president said, in the letter, that he thoroughly understands how the firearms were found inside the apartment where Nazim lives, and that the former defence minister had no part in it. He reportedly claims to know the individuals responsible for ‘framing’ Nazim.

On 18th January, 2015, masked police officers entered the Nazim’s apartment and isolated all its residents – his wife and family – into the living room and kept them kneeled under threat. Officers had proceeded to search the entirety of the house before bringing out a black bag – from which they removed a pistol, three bullets, and a magazine. They had also later claimed to have found a portable drive containing plans to ‘harm senior government officials’ and an explosive device.

Nazim has vehemently denied the charges, even having appealed the 11-year jail sentence passed against him by the Criminal Court at the High Court and eventually at the apex court. All adjudicators had decided to uphold the initial sentence.

The case has come under criticism as officers had neglected to follow procedures under which such search operations need to be conducted. They had not videotaped the operation, nor had they compiled a list of times procured in the search.

The trial itself has been scrutinized as the judge passed the jail term before the prosecution could adequately prove that the weapons belonged to the former defence minister. Nazim had also been sentenced under a law that dated back to 1975, although a more recent law passed in 2010 would have been the most appropriate for the allegations.

Adeeb himself has been sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison on allegations of an assassination attempt against President Abdulla Yameen and for his role in the heavily publicized case of graft involving the state-operated Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation.