Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has decided to appeal the decision of the Criminal Court of the Maldives to allow former Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed to face trial on his sexual harassment charges via videoconferencing.
Ali Waheed had requested the hearings on his trial to be conducted online so that he can attend them from abroad, having left the country in February citing a need for urgent medical treatment. Criminal Court accepted the request, and allowed the former minister to attend the first hearing of the trial on June 22 via videoconferencing.
During the hearing, the PGO objected to letting Ali Waheed participate in the hearing from a location which is outside the jurisdiction of the Maldives. The PGO noted this is the first time a criminal trial is carried out with the defendant in a location where the laws of the country do not apply, and stated the trial is being conducted in violation of the Criminal Procedure Act.
However, the judge overseeing the trial stated the court had already made a decision on allowing Ali Waheed to attend the trial via videoconferencing, and that it was not up for a debate. The judge said the trial is being carried out upon advice of Criminal Court Chief Judge Ahmed Shakeel.
The PGO stated it does not believe the chief judge of the Criminal Court could issue an advice that contradicts a law, as well as the verdict of the Supreme Court of the Maldives on the matter. The PGO said the written advice by the chief judge has also not been provided despite it being requested. Therefore, the PGO said it has decided to appeal the decision by the Criminal Court to allow Ali Waheed take part in the trial from abroad.
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 left the country in February this year, citing a need for urgent medical treatment. The Criminal Court had ordered to release Ali Waheed’s passport 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, was allocated as the person responsible for bringing Ali Waheed back to the country for the trial. As Ali Waheed has failed to appear in court by the given deadline, the PGO has requested the Criminal Court to take action against Assad Ali, who claims he does not know the whereabouts of Ali Waheed.