Ex-VP remanded until end of appeal trial

Maldives former Vice President, Ahmed Adeeb has been remanded until the end of the appeal case against him.

The High Court made the decision, after reconvening on Thursday evening.

While the Criminal Court last week ruled to drop the seven charges raised against the former VP, the state had appealed this at the High Court, and had sought to keep him in remand until the end of the appeal trial.

Adeeb, who arrived at Thursday morning’s hearing without a lawyer, had requested additional time to appoint one after claiming he did not have the adequate time to do so.

While prosecutors agreed that Adeeb should be given adequate time to appoint legal representation, they argued that he had enough time.

Prosecutors had also noted the importance of expediting such a case related to a person’s remand, and stressed that the former VP is a flight risk given his previous attempt to flee.

While Adeeb argued this claiming that he cannot be declared a flight risk due to a single action, the judges’ bench agreed that there is a real threat the he might flee.

Hence, they adjourned the court to meet up later in the evening, with a decision on the matter. They ruled to keep him remanded for the duration of the trial.

Also at the hearing, Adeeb claimed that the state “wants to keep [him] pushed to a corner at all times”.

The Criminal Court dropped the seven charges raised against Adeeb last week, on the ground that a plea deal signed between him and the state was entered wrongfully.

While the court’s ruling claimed that the former VP was forced to sign the deals on the grounds that he will be provided medical leave, the prosecutor general said that this is not true as two of the deals signed were after he returned from treatment.

The presiding judge in the trial who handed down the Criminal Court verdict, Ismail Rasheed, is being investigated by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and has been suspended for 60 days.