Parliament, on Wednesday, has voted to dismiss Criminal Court Judge Hussain Faiz Rashad.
Faiz was suspended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) after it launched an inquiry into his decision to free an alleged drug kingpin from police custody. In November, the commission reported that the investigation found Faiz had breached the Constitution and relevant laws when he ordered the suspect’s release. The JSC then moved to dismiss him and submitted its request to Parliament for approval.
Faiz was dismissed on Wednesday with in a 56-8 majority vote.
He remained on a 60-day suspension at the time of this decision.
The Judiciary Committee approved Faiz’s dismissal on Tuesday after deciding the review of the documents submitted by the JSC show no procedural irregularities by the JSC in reaching the decision. The Committee also noted that there is no evidence Faiz has submitted any complaint regarding the JSC’s decision with any relevant state institution.
The suspect whose release Faiz authorized, Ali Anwar Mohamed, a native of S. Hithadhoo, was arrested in 2019 in connection with the smuggling of 70 kilos of drugs into Maldives aboard the Iranian vessel Al-Shaban. The ship was intercepted 172 nautical miles northwest of HA. Thuraakunu, leading to the arrest of five Maldivians, six Iranians, and two Bangladeshis. Police named Anwar as one of the three ringleaders of the drug trafficking racket.
Faiz released Anwar after his initial five-day remand expired. He subsequently fled to Sri Lanka, but was re-arrested after being denied entry and deported back to the Maldives.
Faiz had cited procedural violations by the police in ordering Anwar’s release, including the execution of a search warrant after his arrest. The judge also cited that the police failed to recover any evidence from the search.
Faiz had also been suspended back in November 2021, over leaked audios in which he was allegedly recorded speaking about former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s 2019 money laundering trial.
The suspension was lifted in December 2021, after the JSC ruled that the audio did not match with Faiz’s voice.
Faiz was transferred from the Civil Court to the Criminal Court in February 2019, prior to which he served as president of the Employment Tribunal.