Speaker Nasheed's statement regarding Yameen results in ethics complaint

A private individual has submitted a complaint to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) against the Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed regarding a statement made by him.

The statement in question was regarding a handwritten note by the Speaker shared in a Whatsapp group of his political party MDP.

The statement read that he was not a supporter of the ideology or actions of former President Abdulla Yameen but that he did not believe it was justice for only Yameen to be imprisoned in the MMPRC scandal. 

Former President Yameen was found guilty of money laundering last year by the Criminal Court in a trial described as a sham. The case is now on appeal. Yameen is the only figure to be handed a prison sentence for the MMPRC scandal.

Nasheed is a member of the JSC as the Speaker of the Parliament.

The complaint regarding Nasheed read that such a statement caused a loss of integrity in the judiciary and investigative bodies of the country. It was also a violation of the ethics of JSC, that a member of the Commission would make such a statement, read the complaint.

Moreover, it requested the JSC president Hisaan Hussain to send the matter to the relevant Parliament Committees and institutions to reprimand Speaker Nasheed.

As long as Nasheed remains as the Speaker of the Parliament, he will remain on the JSC. 

Nasheed’s statement regarding Yameen was quickly followed by MPs in the Parliament inquiring about the developments of the MMPRC investigation. Two separate Parliamentary Committees are currently investigating the matter while a third Committee is also reviewing an audit report related to the scandal.