Corrections rejects request to transfer Adeeb to house arrest

Imprisoned former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor is not sick enough to warrant a transfer to house arrest, says Maldives Correctional Service.

Adeeb’s lawyers had written a letter to MCS citing advise by his doctor that Adeeb live in a place which is dust-proof and that he refrain from lifting any heavy weights. They requested his immediate transfer to house arrest.

Deputy Superintendent of Prisons, Ibrahim Nashid wrote to Adeeb’s lawyers this Tuesday that Adeeb being required to live in a dust-proof place and him being advised not to lift any heavy objects did not make for enough grounds to transfer him to house arrest.

Nashid cited Article 75 of Prisons and Parole Act which states three circumstances where a prisoner may be transferred to house arrest due to ill health; the prisoner having a disability or illness which makes it impossible for him/her to serve a prison sentence, the prisoner having a mental illness with no hope of recovery, or the prisoner having a communicable disease.

Adeeb’s lawyers wrote in their letter that the current cell Adeeb was being kept in provided no protection against dust, and that he had to lift water buckets multiple times a day to flush the toilet at the cell and to bathe.

Adeeb has been sentenced to total 33 years in prison after being found guilty of multiple offenses – including conspiracy to murder the President as well as involvement in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) embezzlement scandal. He is currently being kept at the Dhoonidhoo Prison under police custody.