Observers from the UN and the Commonwealth have stated that Ahmed “Gahaa” Saeed, former President Mohamed Nasheed-nominated member at the Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI) was “did not always work at the Commission independently”. CoNI, a national inquiry body established with the advice of the Commonwealth, was entrusted with the investigation of the circumstances in which former President Nasheed resigned on the 7th of February this year. The Commission, created by a Presidential resolution by current President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, who took his oath of office immediately after Nasheed’s resignation had one member nominated by the Commonwealth and one nominated by Nasheed. Gahaa was the member nominated by President Nasheed. CoNI’s work was observed by international judicial advisor Bruce Robertson and international legal adviser Professor John Pecker. They were appointed by the UN and Commonwealth to monitor if the CoNI worked with independence and integrity. A Statement issued by the two observers stated that members of the CoNI, except one, worked independently and in a trustworthy way. The Statement then expressly mentioned Gahaa as not having worked independently at all times. About Gahaa’s resignation as member of the CoNI about a day before the final report of the Commission was set to be published, the observers stated that it was something he did in breach of the agreement made to ensure that CoNI’s trust was maintained. “Because of what he (Gahaa) did without any justification, doubts arose among the members of the public as to the credibility of the work of the Commission”, said the Statement of the observers. The observers noted that CoNI worked carefully to complete their mandate with professionalism and gathered information from all persons who wanted to cooperate with it and meticulously researched all the information gathered. “The Commissioners worked for the interests of the nation, independently and without bias. The claims that the Commissioners were biased and one-sided are claims that have no basis. We saw independence and professionalism from the Commissioners”, said the Statement of the observers. The observers also noted with concern that it had become commonplace for some parties to create fear in the hearts of the people and discord in the society in the name of freedom of expression. The observers stated that this is a threat to modern democracy. They also noted that the Maldives needed to create trust and confidence about the judiciary among the people and punish those who break the law. “Measures against these issues cannot wait, they need to be immediately implemented”, the observers stated. The Statement of the observers concluded saying that the Report of CoNI had given answers to many questioned raised about the scenario in the Maldives, and that this is time to go ahead with the nation and try to make things right. When called about the Statement of the observers, Gahaa refused to make any comments, saying that he had spoken what he had to say on the matter.