High Court schedules Ismail Abdul Hameed

The High Court of the Maldives has scheduled a hearing of the appeal case filed at the Court by Ismail Abdul Hameed, member of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party and MP for Kaashidhoo Constituency, against a conviction against him by the Criminal Court.

The case has been scheduled for 15:30 tomorrow.

The last time a hearing of the case was held was Thursday, last week, and the presiding Justice announced in that hearing that a verdict would soon be arrived at.

The Criminal Court of the Maldives decided on a conviction against Ismail Abdul Hameed, upon charges that he had used his influence unduly to obtain inappropriate benefits for a close friend. He was sentenced to be sent into exile for a period of 18 months.

Ismail has claimed in his appeal that the prosecution had deliberately not submitted a number of necessary documents that would show that he had committed no criminal actions during the transactions in question, when the case was being heard at the Criminal Court.

If the conviction is upheld, Ismail would lose his seat at the People’s Majlis. It has been said often that this case is one of the many reasons why his party, the ruling MDP, has recently started a constant campaign of intimidation against the Maldivian Judiciary, through threats of violence, legal and illegal criticism and protests.