Abdulla Mohamed
| Honourable Judge Abdulla Mohamed | |
|---|---|
| Chief Judge of the Maldives Criminal Court | |
|
Assumed office 21 September 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Abdulla Areef |
| Chief Judge of the Maldives Criminal Court | |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 27, 1966 R.Ungulu |
| Spouse(s) | Aminath Shareef |
| Children | 4 children |
| Residence | Bahaaruge |
| Religion | Muslim |
| Website | http://criminalcourt.gov.mv/ |
Judge Abdulla Mohamed is the Chief Judge of Criminal Court Maldives[1] Judge Abdulla Mohamed started as a Judge at Criminal Court and was later promoted as Chief Judge after his predecessor was selected as Justice at Supreme Court.[2] He holds BA (Hon.) in Shari'a & Law from Al-Azhar University in Egypt. Before joining the judicial sector he was a teacher at Institute of Islamic Studies and Center for Higher Secondary Education in Malé. He is currently married to Aminath Shareef. He has four children.
Military detention
On January 16, 2012, Mohamed was arrested for 14 instances of obstruction of police duty, including "ordering unlawful investigations, withholding warrants for up to four days, limiting the issuance of warrants to himself exclusively at times, disregarding decisions of higher courts, strategically delaying cases involving opposition members, and barring media from corruption trials", according to then Home Minister Hassan Afeef.[3] Afeef further alleged that the chief judge “twisted and interpreted laws so they could not be enforced against certain politicians” and stood accused of “accepting bribes to release convicts.”[3] Protests against Mohamed's arrest led to Mohamed Nasheed's resignation under duress.[4]
Arrest and aftermath
Allegedly on the orders of President Nasheed, the Maldives National Defence Force detained and arrested Mohamed on 16 January 2012 [5] on charges of corruption, after he had made a ruling to support the release of government critic Mohamed Jameel Ahmed (who had claimed that Nasheed was conspiring against Islam with the help of Christians and Jews) [6] and also after Mohamed had allegedly tried to block a police summons containing allegations that he was corrupt and that his rulings were politically biased. (A government statement quoted foreign minister Ahmed Naseem as saying that Mohamed was arrested "for corruption, in particular for allowing his judicial decisions to be determined by political and personal affiliations and interests".)[7]
The arrest led to street protests and a boycott of sessions by all the nation's courts.[8]
Calls to release the Judge
The prosecutor general's office stated that under the constitution a judge can be arrested only with the consent of the Supreme Court decision to do so, and the Maldivian Supreme Court, Prosecutor General and Judicial Services Commission (JSC), as well as the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, all issued statements declaring the arrest illegal and calling for Mohamed's release.
The MNDF refused to comply with High Court and Supreme Court orders to release Mohamed, and ignored a High Court order to produce him issued on 26 January.[9][10]
President Nasheed resigns
President Mohamed Nasheed resigned on 7 February 2012. After the resignation, he claimed that he was forced to resign by a coup d’état.[4] On 30 August, the Maldives' National Commission of Inquiry stated that it had found no evidence to support Nasheed's version of events, a verdict supported by the US and the Commonwealth of Nations.[11]
References
- ↑ http://criminalcourt.gov.mv
- ↑ "Supreme Court of the Maldives". Supremecourt.gov.mv. 2013-07-20. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- 1 2 "Chief Judge held "in good condition" at MNDF training center Girifushi | Minivan News". Minivannews.com. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- 1 2 "Former military, police intelligence chiefs claim Nasheed had no choice but to resign | Minivan News". Minivannews.com. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ↑ "Police arrest Judge Abdulla against court orders", Haveeru daily January 17, 2012
- ↑ "Foreign Ministry Shares Information on Extremist Rhetoric with Foreign Governments", Ministry of Foreign Affairs January 18, 2012
- ↑ "Ministry briefs State Department over hate speech and expresses concern over the judiciary", Ministry of Foreign Affairs January 19, 2012
- ↑ Associated Press. "Maldives courts boycott sessions to protest chief justice's arrest; Judge arrested on Monday after he freed an opposition leader detained for allegedly defaming the government" The Guardian 17 January 2012
- ↑ Johnstone, Eleanor. "Lawyers Forward Chief Judge's Case to International Criminal Court", Minivan News January 23, 2012 Archived 22 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Ahmed Nazeer. "MNDF Dismiss High Court Order to Produce Judge Abdulla Mohamed, Minivan News January 26, 2012 Archived 29 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Ashish Kumar Sen (30 August 2012). "Maldives panel: President was not forced to resign". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
| Preceded by Abdulla Areef |
Chief Judge Criminal Court 2008–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |