Prosecutor General’s Office has on Sunday asked the Supreme Court to review former President Mohamed Nasheed’s 13-year jail term on a terror conviction.
Nasheed was sentenced in March 2015, after being found guilty of ordering the 2012 arrest of Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed. Supreme Court upheld the verdict in June 2016, dismissing widespread concern over trial irregularities raised by both the local and international community.
PG Office made the request noting that the case was a matter of significant public interest, and in accordance to the powers and responsibilities granted to the prosecutor general under Article 223 of the Constitution as well as the Prosecutor General’s Act.
The PG asked the top court to review the 13-year jail sentence imposed on Nasheed, as well as the rulings made in the appeal processes.
While the PG Office has made this request, a resolution has been submitted to parliament- with the signatures of 49 lawmakers- seeking to free the former president.
The motion notes that Nasheed’s conviction was politically motivated and violated international treaties the Maldives is party to.
Nasheed was arrested on 22nd February 2015 and sentenced less than a month later, on March 13.
He has been living in a self-imposed exile since January 2016, and is set to return on November 1.
