High Court, on Tuesday, has ruled that dismissed Criminal Court judge Hussain Faiz Rashad freed Ali Anwar Mohamed, an alleged drug kingpin, unlawfully.
Anwar’s release was one of the reasons behind Faiz’s dismissal.
The three-judge panel, which reviewed the appeal, found that Faiz released Anwar unlawfully, thereby overturning the decision.
Notably, when the prosecution first appealed the case to the High Court, it was rejected by High Court’s Assistant Registrar, Sahuna Abdul Samad. However, the prosecution later refiled the appeal, which was eventually accepted in a decision rendered by the court’s judges.
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 was suspended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) after it launched an inquiry into his decision to free Anwar 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.
The Parliament dismissed Faiz in a 56-8 majority vote on December 3rd, 2025, after the Judiciary Committee approved his dismissal following review of documents submitted by JSC.