Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and former Managing Director of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations (MMPRC) Abdulla Ziyath have been granted presidential pardons.
Speaking to PSM News, the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) informed that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih exercised his authority to grant amnesty and commutation, enabling the release of both individuals. The president possesses the discretion to pardon or commute an offense, with conditions determined at his discretion, according to the law. The rationale behind the president's decision to pardon Adeeb and Ziyath just three days before the end of his term remains unclear.
Former Vice President was sentenced to 20 years in prison in October 2020, in connection to the MMPRC embezzlement and money laundering scandal. However, he was transferred to house arrest due to his ill health. Meanwhile, Ziyath was sentenced to total 31 years in prison. He was transferred to house arrest in 2019.