Leaders do not have the right to pardon murderers: Sheikh Shaheem

Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has said that the leader of a country has no right to pardon or grant clemency for murder convicts who are sentenced to death.

Shaheem said while delivering the Friday sermon, that only the heirs of the deceased have the right to forgive murderers.

“However, the leader can act as a mediator between the parties involved, in accordance with the legal procedures, in forgiving or granting clemency,” he said.

Shaheem referred to the Quran and Prophet Muhammad, and said that Muslims are not allowed to ignore implementation of Qisas rulings stipulated in the Islamic Sharia.

“For example, powerful countries might ask us to think about something. It is not allowed to ignore implementation of Qisas verdicts because we are afraid of what advocates of human rights might say,” he said.

He stressed that laws of Maldives should not contradict Sharia laws.

Referring to the recent upsurge in murders in the Maldivian society, and particularly the killing of Dr Afrasheem Ali, Shaheem called for the establishment of God’s Sharia in the Maldives.

The death penalty is included in the Penal Code of Maldives. While several people have been sentenced to death, execution has never been carried out. Convicts sentenced to death have always been granted clemency by the country’s past leaders. For instance, several people were sentenced to death for killing 19 Maldivians in the coup in 1988, but they were all pardoned by the then-President.