Hearing on charges against ex-President's employees cancelled as presiding judge 'unwell'
The cancellation was announced over an hour after scheduled time
Gayoom’s personal secretary Najma Ibrahim (R) and security guard Mohamed Azmee
Criminal Court has cancelled Monday's hearing in the obstruction charges against Mohamed Azmee and Najma Ibrahim, two employees of detained former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
It was cancelled as Judge Adam Arif was unable to attend 'due to an illness'.
While the hearing was scheduled for 11am, the cancellation was announced over an hour later at around 12:15pm.
While the Court claimed that Judge Arif was not well enough to attend the hearing, there have been reports that he is being transferred to Drug Court. However, the Judicial Service Commission denied this, saying no such decision has been made 'yet'.
Monday's scheduled hearing was regarding an appeal by both defendants, over their continued detention; Azmee is in police custody while Najma is under house arrest.
Both were arrested in February, and have since been accused of being involved in a plot to overthrow the government; their employer former President Gayoom is accused of being one of the leaders of the said plot, and has been in police custody since February as well.
The last hearing in the case concluded after giving prosecutors time to gather and submit all necessary documents, including the report on the 'black box'- which reportedly contained key evidences in the case- confiscated from Najma's home.
