Criminal Court suspends Husnu Suood over statements made to journalists

The Criminal Court on Tuesday afternoon suspended lawyer Husnu Suood, who is representing Maldives’ detained Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed.

A statement from the Criminal Court claims Suood has now effectively been barred from taking part in cases ongoing there, over statements he had made to the press.

While the suspension currently only applies to the Criminal Court, the validity of it has been questioned on the basis that only the statutory body tasked with judicial oversight has the authority to suspend lawyers.

The first hearing over the bribery charges made against Chief Justice Saeed, who is also accused of attempting to overthrow the government, was held on Sunday.

Suood told the press after that the trial against his client is arbitrary. Suood said this on the grounds that the Criminal Procedure Act has been suppressed under Maldives’ ongoing state of emergency.

Suood had said that the trial will likely continue in any manner that the judge ‘sees fit’.