Nazim evades life sentence

Former MP for Dhiggaru consitituency, Ahmed Nazim at a parliament sitting.

Supreme Court has overruled a possible life sentence against the former MP for Dhiggaru constituency, Ahmed Nazim. He was convicted on charges of deception.

Overruling their initial sentence, the Supreme Court today said that the state requested an appeal on the case after the appeal period had expired. And so, the five judges presiding over the case has unanimously decided to overturn the sentence.

The government had previously admitted that their appeal was submitted after the appeal period had expired.

A close individual to President Abdulla Yameen, former MP Nazim was sentenced to prison after he used an employee of Nareema Engineering, a company he holds shares at, to deceptively win a bid by then Atolls Ministry to buy 15,000 national flags by submitting estimates on behalf of four non-existent companies.