The jail term passed against former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom marks ‘another shameful day’ in Maldives’ history but the ‘hope for democracy’ cannot be imprisoned, says Henveiru-North constituency MP Abdulla Shahid.
The pro-opposition lawmaker said this in a tweet after a Criminal Court judge on Wednesday sentenced Maumoon and Supreme Court chief justice Abdulla Saeed and justice Ali Hameed to a year and more in prison on.
Yet another shameful day in our history. Former President @maumoonagayoom sentenced to jail in a sham trial. Now we have two former Presidents convicted under this regime. We will not let the hope for Democracy be imprisoned.
— Abdulla Shahid (@abdulla_shahid) June 13, 2018
Presiding Judge Hassan Najeeb found Maumoon and the top court adjudicators to be guilty of obstructing justice; for being in possession of their mobile phone devices but refusing to hand it over to the police.
While the trial proceedings for bribery and terror charges against the trio are also ongoing, which are also described as as 'unfair and unsubstantial', Maumoon had protested his sentence on Wednesday.
In court on Wednesday, Maumoon had said that testimonies from his witnesses show that he had attempted to hand over the phone. However, the judge had earlier decided not to accept witness testimonies from the defendants.
The former strongman, a certified scholar with a background in Islamic jurisprudence, also said witness testimonies provided anonymously are not admissible or even permitted in Islamic law.
MP Shahid is a veteran statesman who has served in several government positions before being elected into Maldives's unicameral parliament, People's Majlis, in 2000. In 2005, Shahid was also appointed as Foreign Minister and elected in 2009 as the 17th speaker of the People's Majlis.
