Minister of Home Affairs Imran Abdulla has stated the administration will uphold the moratorium on the death penalty. He made the remarks while responding to a question at the Parliament of the Maldives on the administration’s policy on implementing the death penalty for individuals who meet the criteria under Islamic law after they are convicted by the Supreme Court of the Maldives.
Speaking at the Parliament, Minister Imran said the administration will abide by the moratorium on the death penalty as previous governments had in the past half-century. He noted that implementing the death penalty has been debated by previous governments at different levels for political purposes but that the moratorium continues to stay in place.
Currently, three convicts meet the criteria for the death penalty. They are Hussain Humaam Ali who was convicted in the murder of former Parliamentarian Dr. Afrasheem Ali, Ahmed Murrath who was convicted in the murder of lawyer Ahmed Najeeb, and Mohamed Nabeel who was convicted in the murder of Abdulla Farhad.
The death penalty was last implemented in the Maldives in 1952. However, the six-decade moratorium on capital punishment was lifted by former President Abdulla Yameen in 2014, but he concluded his five-year term without implementing the death penalty, despite his pledge. Since then, the current administration has reiterated its commitment to uphold the informal moratorium set on the death penalty.