Former Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed has been summoned to the Supreme Court of the Maldives for an appeal hearing on the decision by the Criminal Court to allow him to attend his sexual assault and harassment trial online.
The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) had appealed the Criminal Court decision at the Supreme Court, after the appeal at the High Court of the Maldives was rejected. Following appeal at the Supreme Court, Ali Waheed has been summoned to a hearing at the apex court on August 2.
Ali Waheed had requested that he attend the court hearings via videoconferencing, since he is currently residing abroad, having left the country in February citing a need for urgent medical treatment. Criminal Court accepted the request, and allowed the former minister to attend the first hearing of the trial on June 22 via videoconferencing. PGO objected to the arrangement, stating that conducting a criminal trial with the defendant in a location where the laws of the country do not apply violates the Criminal Procedure Act.
The former minister is facing charges of sexually assaulting and harassing some of the female employees in the tourism ministry. He has been charged with two counts of sexual abuse, two counts of unlawful sexual contact, a single count of attempted sexual abuse, indecent exposure, and a single count of attempted rape.