President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified the amendment bill to allow the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to keep suspects in major criminal cases in remand for three months without filing charges.
The amendment bill to the Criminal Procedure Act, submitted by Parliamentarian Mohamed Shifau, was passed with 56 votes in favour. The bill was approved by the Parliamentary Judiciary Committee after holding discussions with the MPS, Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), Judicial Service Commission (JSC), and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).
The most important amendment was to allow the authorities to keep suspects in major criminal cases remanded for 90 days instead of the current 75 days. The bill also allows the MPS to extend its investigation to 60 days for major criminal cases, instead of the currently allowed 45 days. Other amendments include allowing one High Court judge to preside over some types of cases.
The government has designated 11 types of crimes as major criminal offenses. They include murder, rape, child sexual abuse, terrorism, money laundering and financing terrorism, human trafficking, drug trafficking, theft of over USD6,500, tax evasion, bribery, and corruption.