Former Islamic minister concerned innocents could be framed and sentenced to death in drug cases

Former Islamic Minister Dr. Ahmed Ziyad Bagir expressed concern on Thursday regarding the possibility that people might get framed and get sentenced to death in drug trafficking cases to serve political agendas.

The Parliament on Wednesday passed legislature submitted by the government to introduce the death penalty for trafficking drugs weighing 500 grams or more into the Maldives.

In a Facebook post on Thursday morning, Ziyad there may soon come a time when people are unjustly executed.

He said that such critical decisions must not be made until judges are able to operate with full independence.

“There may soon come a time when those in power frame people in such serious cases and implements the death penalty. It’s not right to make such decisions without leaving the full independence of the country’s justice system in the hands of judges,” he said.

Ziyad said that judges must be free from any and all influence.

Ziyad said that it takes five or six months for major international Fiqh councils to make a decision on new and significant judicial issues.

He questioned whether judges in the Maldives are able to operate with independence.

Ziyad also questioned how extensively this was discussed with the Islamic Ministry and the Fatwa Council before deciding to introduce the death penalty for drug trafficking.

The Drug Act currently prescribed a life sentence of 25 years and fines of MVR 100,000 – MVR 10 million for drug trafficking.