Abbas Faiz, the Special Envoy to the government of the Maldives, has expressed concern over the delay in the May 6 trial. Faiz was appointed as the Special Envoy to monitor the investigation, prosecution, and trial process of the terrorist attack against the Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed on May 6, 2021.
At a press conference at the President's Office, Faiz said the slow pace of the trial is a serious concern for him and for the country. He said that his inquiries have found that the latest delays were due to logistical issues, as the court building was deemed unsafe for use and the replacement building had limited space with only less than 10 judges being able to hold hearings at a time.
As such, Faiz recommended that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) equip itself with appropriate knowledge and expertise that enable it to skillfully monitor the management of resources of the Criminal Court so that justice is not delayed due to inefficiencies. He also acknowledged that the trial of two of the nine accused has been completed, leading to convictions by the Criminal Court.
Additionally, Faiz said that allegations that the attack might have involved elements within the political opposition or within the government or had links to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations (MMPRC) corruption scandal were taken seriously by investigators. He, however, said that no evidence of any involvement by these elements were found and so the allegations were discounted. He added that the evidence revealed a strong link between the plotters and their extremist ideology.
Furthermore, Faiz said that the investigation has been done so far in a professional manner but recommended that the investigation remain open. He said that a budget and resources should be allocated to the case as it is possible that more clues may be found. He warned that not continuing to allocate sufficient resources to the investigative team would narrow this likelihood.