Qasim arrest case dismissed
Case rejected as appeal was filed
Hisaan Hussain
Criminal Court on Tuesday night rejected the case filed by Member of Parliament Qasim Ibrahim’s legal team over the legality of his arrest.
Speaking to RaajjeTV, Qasim’s lawyer Hisaan Hussain confirmed the case had been rejected by the court. She said that Criminal Court had rejected the case on the grounds that Qasim’s remand had been filed for appeal.
The lawyer’s team said the case on the validity of Qasim’s arrest was submitted as he was arrested and detained in violation of the clauses of the parliamentary privileges.
Clause 13 (a) stipulates that unless a parliamentarian is caught red handed, the parliamentarian can only be arrested if a superior court or Supreme Court issues a warrant in connection to an ongoing criminal investigation. The clause also states that this can only proceed ahead with the go ahead from Prosecutor General.
However, Qasim was arrested without an order from Prosecutor General, but from an arrest order from the police.
Therefore, the opposition claims that Qasim is detained illegally. His case has been filed in Human Rights Commission of the Maldives as well.
MP Qasim Ibrahim was detained Thursday evening, with his remand set for six days on Friday by Criminal Court.
