No discussions with government before the release of Chief Judge: PPM

PPM has said today that no discussions will be held with the government before the release of the Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed (Judge Abdulla) by the Security Forces.

Speaking at a meeting held at PPM office, Council Member of PPM Mohamed Nimal said that there is no possibility of discussions with the government as long as they are holding Judge Abdulla in detention.

“PPM will not discuss anything with the government as long as Judge Abdulla is under arrest. If they wish to hold discussions, they should release Judge Abdulla and request for a discussion,” said Nimal, who is also the Chairperson of PPM’s by-election committee.

In response to the Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s speech yesterday, Nimal said that the government is “holding a gun to his head” and forcing him to make those statements. He said that every time Dr Waheed speaks in the name of justice, President Nasheed shows him his “wickedness”.

“We saw how much he was pressured after he spoke truthfully on VTV’s Hot Seat program some time ago. It is obvious that his speech yesterday was forced, especially since he condemned the arrest of Judge Abdulla earlier,” Nimal said.

He also said he condemns the disrespectful comments aimed at Dr Waheed by the government subsequent to him expressing his views on Judge Abdulla’s case on his blog.

“We believe that Dr Waheed is a well-educated person who advocates justice and fairness. We admire him for expressing his views on this issue while being aware of the pressures that will follow,” Nimal said.