SC concludes hearings in Home Minister's conviction review case
Abdulla was convicted on terror charges in February 2016, and was issued a 12-year jail sentence
Adhaalath Party leader, Imran Abdulla was appointed as the Home Minister on Saturday
Supreme Court has on Monday concluded hearings in the review case on the newly appointed Home Minister Imran Abdulla’s terror conviction.
Abdulla was convicted on terror charges in February 2016, and was issued a 12-year jail sentence. While the High Court had upheld the conviction in April 2017, Supreme Court had initially rejected his appeal case.
However, the country’s top court earlier this month issued a stay order on enforcing the sentence as it reviews Abdulla’s conviction and subsequent sentence.
While the court is yet to conclude the case, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Saturday appointed the Adhaalath Party leader as his administration’s home minister.
The president’s decision received immense backlash as Article 130 (b) of the Constitution, states that a person who “has been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of more than 12 months, unless a period of three years has elapsed since his release, or pardon for the offence for which he was sentenced” is disqualified from being a member of the cabinet.
