The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has appealed the decision of the Criminal Court to release the passport of former Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed, who is charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and harassment.
PGO said it had only been notified of the decision to release Ali Waheed’s passport at 1130hrs on February 11. PGO said the decision has been appealed at the High Court of the Maldives, within 48 hours of receiving Criminal Court’s decision.
PGO had earlier denied claims that the court order to release Ali Waheed’s passport was issued upon the request of the state. PGO also stated the order to release Ali Waheed’s passport was issued against the standard court procedures in issuing such orders.
The court order to release Ali Waheed’s passport stated the passport was being released after allocating a person to be responsible for Ali Waheed’s absence if he fails to appear before court for the trial. As such, Minister of State for Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Assad Ali, who is a close accomplice of Ali Waheed, has been allocated as the person responsible for bringing Ali Waheed back to the country for the trial. If Ali Waheed fails to appear before court for the trial, action can be taken against Assad Ali.
The PGO said the state had disagreed with issuing an order to release the passport after allocating a person responsible for absence. PGO said the state had requested a travel document to be issued with validity for a certain period of time, instead of releasing the passport.
Ali Waheed’s passport was released on the basis of the statement given by a medical doctor regarding his condition. The doctor had testified in court that some of Ali Waheed’s spinal discs had slipped and needed urgent treatment.
The former tourism minister is facing trial on 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.
Ali Waheed was dismissed from his position as Tourism Minister on July 9 last year, after he failed to resign as instructed by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih the previous day.