Maldives Correctional Service has given the
jailed former Defence Minister, Mohamed Nazim, permission to travel
abroad for medical treatment.
Speaking to RaajjeMV, Commissioner of Prisons Mohamed Husham said that the Correctional Service had given Nazim 15 days to undergo treatment in Singapore for a heart-related problem.
Nazim has, however, not decided a date for his departure yet.
Former Defence Minister, who is currently serving a 11-year jail sentence “for the possession of firearms”, was last brought to IGMH for medical treatment on December 22, 2015.
A few weeks ago, the Correctional Service had given Nazim permission to travel to Singapore for seven days to treat an eye-condition. However, since 7 days is not sufficient to receive treatment from Singapore, Nazim had declined the Correctional Service’s offer, and requested for permission to travel to India instead.
In the last hearing of Nazim’s appeal case at the High Court, the prosecution team had presented Sub Inspector of Police Ameen Abdul Qayyoom and MNDF Captain Ali Ihsaan as witnesses.
The High Court had, however, refused to reveal the details of the proceedings, as the hearing was held in secret.
According to reliable sources, while Captain Ihsaan was responsible for the preparation of the ‘confidential document’ that was submitted to the High Court by the prosecution team recently, Sub-Inspector Ameen was in charge of the report on the raid on former Defence Minister Nazim’s residence.
Testifying at the Criminal Court earlier this year, Sub Inspector Ameen had admitted that there was no evidence to prove the pen-drive found at Nazim’s residence belonged to him.
In an independent investigation, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) had found that although the Police had acted within legal bounds during the raid, there had been irregularities in police practices. HRCM was particularly concerned that no video footage of the raid was made available by the authorities.
In the hearing held on 27th December 2015, while the High Court granted permission for jailed former Defence Minister Nazim to present witnesses, defense lawyer Husnu Al Suood made several arguments to prove that the firearms were planted in his client’s private residence.
In this regard, Suood highlighted that after entering Nazim’s apartment, the SWAT team had directly walked towards ‘an unlocked drawer’, proving that the team had prior knowledge of the exact location where the firearms were planted.
He further noted that the lower court had denied the defence team the opportunity to present as witnesses the house maid and Nazim’s security officers, and claimed that one of the members belonging to the SWAT team was carrying an ‘unusual black bag’ during the raid.
Responding to Suood, the prosecutor stressed that Nazim’s case had met the full criteria for convicting an individual for the possession of firearms.
Although Nazim's appeal hearing had commenced on the 22nd of June, the trial was halted due to the re-appointment of High Court judges to High Court branches in the North and South.
Speaking to RaajjeMV, Commissioner of Prisons Mohamed Husham said that the Correctional Service had given Nazim 15 days to undergo treatment in Singapore for a heart-related problem.
Nazim has, however, not decided a date for his departure yet.
Former Defence Minister, who is currently serving a 11-year jail sentence “for the possession of firearms”, was last brought to IGMH for medical treatment on December 22, 2015.
A few weeks ago, the Correctional Service had given Nazim permission to travel to Singapore for seven days to treat an eye-condition. However, since 7 days is not sufficient to receive treatment from Singapore, Nazim had declined the Correctional Service’s offer, and requested for permission to travel to India instead.
In the last hearing of Nazim’s appeal case at the High Court, the prosecution team had presented Sub Inspector of Police Ameen Abdul Qayyoom and MNDF Captain Ali Ihsaan as witnesses.
The High Court had, however, refused to reveal the details of the proceedings, as the hearing was held in secret.
According to reliable sources, while Captain Ihsaan was responsible for the preparation of the ‘confidential document’ that was submitted to the High Court by the prosecution team recently, Sub-Inspector Ameen was in charge of the report on the raid on former Defence Minister Nazim’s residence.
Testifying at the Criminal Court earlier this year, Sub Inspector Ameen had admitted that there was no evidence to prove the pen-drive found at Nazim’s residence belonged to him.
In an independent investigation, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) had found that although the Police had acted within legal bounds during the raid, there had been irregularities in police practices. HRCM was particularly concerned that no video footage of the raid was made available by the authorities.
In the hearing held on 27th December 2015, while the High Court granted permission for jailed former Defence Minister Nazim to present witnesses, defense lawyer Husnu Al Suood made several arguments to prove that the firearms were planted in his client’s private residence.
In this regard, Suood highlighted that after entering Nazim’s apartment, the SWAT team had directly walked towards ‘an unlocked drawer’, proving that the team had prior knowledge of the exact location where the firearms were planted.
He further noted that the lower court had denied the defence team the opportunity to present as witnesses the house maid and Nazim’s security officers, and claimed that one of the members belonging to the SWAT team was carrying an ‘unusual black bag’ during the raid.
Responding to Suood, the prosecutor stressed that Nazim’s case had met the full criteria for convicting an individual for the possession of firearms.
Although Nazim's appeal hearing had commenced on the 22nd of June, the trial was halted due to the re-appointment of High Court judges to High Court branches in the North and South.
source- https://raajje.mv/55459
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