Parliament Committee on Independent Institutions have started to look into a case where sentence was passed without conducting a trial in Halif Dhaalu Fenfushi, after stealing the fingerprints of the heirs of a piece of land.
The issue was decided to be probed after a petition was submitted to the committee signed by three MDP parliamentary group members. It has been nearly a year since the case was originally submitted to the committee. The petition stated that the committee should start look into the matter where a sentence was passed without conducting in a trial in Fenfushi.
The person who submitted the case to the committee, Mohamed Yousuf from Fenfushi spoke at the committee meeting today, said that after his first cousin Ibrahim Ismail passed away, the island court had sentenced that his land (Eggamuge) be divided amongst his heirs. He said that the fingerprints of 3 of the 5 heirs to the land were stolen while they were asleep, and that the court had held a trial and closed the case.
Mohamed Yousuf said that he has also submitted the case to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) but said that they had rejected the case saying that the Fenfushi judge who had presided over the case was too old. He said that he has submitted the case to JSC for a second time and that the case is now stalled in the commission.
Yousuf also said that the ruling by the island court, which was made during Maumoon’s presidency was appealed in High Court. He said that High Court had supported the ruling made by the island court and that the case was reviewed twice again by the High Court after being prompted by the President’s Office upon his request. He said that the High Court had also decided against him.
He said that the current JSC President and Supreme Court Judge Adam Mohamed and Judge Ali Hameed also sat on the bench of High Court judges that presided over the case on the three occasions that it was reviewed.
He said that he has submitted the case to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), Prosecutor General’s Office (PG), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Department of Judicial Administration saying that he has been denied justice. Yousuf accused that the case is not being allowed to be investigated by a few powerful judges.
He said that a proper review of the case will reveal that the ruling was unjust.
In reflection to Yousuf’s statement, the Chairman of the Parliament Committee on Independent Institutions Kulhudhuffushi MP Mohamed Nasheed said that the committee will not make a decision on the manner in which a court of law has passed its sentence, but said that the committee will rather look into the steps taken by the independent institutions who are responsible to look into the case.