High Court has closed-off its hearing today of the case involving a German woman, Tanja Sharuan, who is seeking the custody of their baby from her Maldivian husband Ahmed Sharuan.
Article 42 (c) of the Maldives Constitution states that the presiding judge may exclude the public from all or part of a trial in accordance with certain conditions.
Tanja has accused Ahmed of fleeing to the Maldives with their five-month-old baby, Nooriya Sharuan. The case has recently been gaining public attention, following pleas by Tanja to find Ahmed, who had been in hiding with the baby for some time.
After arriving in the Maldives, Tanja filed the case in Family Court, which issued an order to hand over the child to the mother. The court had also ordered the Maldives police to retrieve the baby from Ahmed. However, following an appeal by the husband, High Court has issued a stay order on Monday to halt execution of the Family Court order, causing the baby to remain with Ahmed.