Inquiry commission reveals street gangs allowed to ‘appoint’ judges

Local street gangs wield tremendous influence in the Maldivian criminal justice system and attaining ‘justice’ is impossible without addressing this, says Husnu Suood, chair of the presidential inquiry commission into ‘disappearances and deaths’.

Speaking to the press on Sunday, Suood revealed that local gangs have been known to ‘abuse’ the justice system through witness tampering and some members within local courts have ostensibly allowed it.

Suood said that gangs have been given a 'quota to appoint' judges to cases of their choosing, who henceforth have used members of these gangs as bodyguards, adding that the matter needs to be immediately investigated and forwarded to the Judicial Service Commission.

“I do not believe that justice can be achieved with the judges we currently have on the Criminal Court bench, we have a long way to go”, Suood said.

The commission also revealed that street gangs involved in murders have also come to ‘out-of-court settlements’ and made peace with each other to retract witness testimonies and corrupt other evidence, which Suood described as an ‘abuse’ of the criminal justice system.

The ‘Commission on Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances’ on Sunday identified the 25 cases they are currently investigating. Suood said that at the current pace, their inquiry may be completed by April next year.