Court drops two of the four charges against MP Mahloof

Criminal Court has on Thursday nullified two of the four charges against opposition-aligned lawmaker, Ahmed Mahloof.

While this includes the terror charges raised against him, over a protest in front of Maafushi Prison on February, the presiding judge said that the charges were not raised accordingly. He added that it should have been levied under the Penal Code.

In addition, the South-Galolhu constituency had been charged with ‘false reporting’ for a tweet he had posted in mid-January about medical negligence in jails and accusing relevant authorities of negligence.

Nullifying the case, the presiding judge noted that the investigation had not been conducted properly and that the current charges ‘could lead to contradictions.’

Mahloof, who had been in house arrest since April having been arrested in March, is one of the many opposition-aligned lawmakers released from police custody following incumbent President Abdulla Yameen’s loss in Sunday’s polls.

Despite prosecutors arguing that he was being kept under house arrest ‘due to the threat that he might tamper with evidence’, the court ordered his release without pre-conditions.