High Court of Maldives PHOTO:Nishan Ali/Mihaaru
The High Court on Tuesday upheld the 10-year jail sentence of the former defence minister, Tholhath Ibrahim, for the arbitrary detention of a judge during the administration of former president Mohamed Nasheed.
The Criminal Court had sentenced Tholhath to ten years in jail for deploying the army to arrest Abdulla Mohamed, the then chief judge of the Criminal Court, and detaining him in Kaafu atoll Girifushi island in January 2012.
In Tholhath’s appeal, his main point of argument was that he had acted on the orders of the then president Nasheed, which he proclaimed was part of his duties as the defence minister. He also maintained that since Nasheed has been convicted of ordering the arrest, Tholhath’s guilty verdict for obeying Nasheed’s orders was in violation of the Constitution.
However, the High Court declared that obedience to any and all unlawful orders, regardless of the authority that issued the order, is a criminal offence unless in a coerced situation. The court also refuted Tholhath’s claim that the lower court’s guilty verdict was unlawful.
The High Court further highlighted that Tholhath was found guilty of participating in the plot to arrest judge Abdulla, and that Tholhath had played a large role in his detention which was carried out with his full knowledge.
The verdict stated that Tholhath’s involvement was proven by witness testimonies, which include Tholhath speaking of arresting the judge at a meeting with senior army officials, and at another meeting with ministers.
The case was presided over by the judges Abdulla Hameed, Abdul Rauf Ibrahim and Ali Sameer.
Despite the jail sentence, Tholhath has been under house arrest since last year.
Meanwhile, former president Nasheed has been sentenced to 13 year in jail under terrorism charges for judge Abdulla’s arrest. The sentence was upheld by both the High Court and Supreme Court. However, he had fled the Maldives after authorities granted him medical leave to seek treatment, and he has been living in the United Kingdom under political asylum.