The state has forwarded the names of 16 ‘secret’ witnesses to the Criminal Court, to testify against Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed in the terror charges levied against him.
At Monday’s preliminary hearing, the state submitted a total of 32 evidences against the chief justice, including 16 secret witnesses. While the rest are documentary evidence, most of them were submitted as ‘secret’ evidence.
Terror charges were raised against him over the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling issued on February 1, releasing nine-high profile political prisoners and reinstating the 12 opposition lawmakers unseated by the Elections Commission following a previous ruling over floor-crossing. The said ruling was signed by all five justices of the Supreme Court.
In addition, he is accused of conspiring to overthrow the government by using officers of the Maldives Police Service and creating chaos in the country.
Chief Justice Saeed has denied the charges against him, adding that they are ‘baseless’ and that the court does not have the jurisdiction to oversee the case.
According to the state, 1st February’s ruling was issued ‘unlawfully’, as ‘it takes away the powers of the Judicial Service Commission’.
Noting that the case can be forwarded to trial, the presiding Judge asked both the defence and prosecutors to submit all required evidence before the 6th of May.
If found guilty, the chief justice could face a jail sentence between 10 to 17 years.
A number of high profile figures have been charged with terrorism over the ruling, including Justice Ali Hameed and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
