PG decides not to appeal bribery charges against jailed justices and Siyad Qasim

The Prosecutor General (PG)’s office has decided not to appeal the bribery charges against the jailed justices and others related in the case.

The PG’s office stated that it has decided not to appeal the cases of former justice Abdulla Saeed and Ali Hameed, former judicial administrator Hassan Saeed, and the son of opposition leader Qasim Ibrahim, Siyad Qasim, after the court dismissed their charges.

In a press release on Thursday, the PG’s office stated that its evaluation has shown that the state’s case has enough evidence to move forward and disagrees with the Criminal Court’s decision to dismiss the charges, adding that even the higher court’s overturning of similar convictions should not be enough for the Criminal Court to make the decision.

The Criminal Court dismissed their bribery charges on October 10. Attorney Hisaan Hussain cited the Criminal Court’s chief judge Ahmed Hailam saying that the state was unable to prove that justices Saeed and Hameed and administrator Saeed accepted bribes.

While the bribery charges were dismissed, justices Saeed and Hameed are currently serving sentences totaling over three years after being found guilty of three other charges.

Siyad Qasim was charged with offering bribes after the state alleged that his signature was found in documents from his father’s company Villa Group showing that the company had paid for properties in Malaysia on behalf of justices Saeed and Hameed. The state also claimed that the documents were found inside judicial administrator Saeed’s home.

Siyad, the managing director of Villa, had been jailed for the remainder of his trial but was released on July 19.