High Court dismisses case against ex-Tourism Minister Ali Waheed

High Court has dismissed the appeal filed over Criminal Court’s decision to release the passport of former Tourism Minister Ali Waheed - allowing him to leave the country as he stands trial for multiple sexual offenses including attempted rape.

High Court said they dismissed the case this Wednesday following failure to establish Ali Waheed’s current address.

The court said the Prosecutor General’s Office has the option of resubmitting the case once they establish Ali Waheed’s current address.

The Prosecutor General’s Office informed the High Court of their failure to identify Ali Waheed’s current address on Tuesday. The court had instructed the Prosecutor General’s Office to identify the address by 14:00 hours on Tuesday.

Ali Waheed was dismissed as Tourism Minister on July 9, 2020, after allegations that he sexually assaulted and harassed multiple female employees at the Tourism Ministry was brought to the attention of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He was initially asked to voluntarily resign, but was dismissed after he refused.

He has been pressed with seven charges; attempted rape, inflicting a sexual, indecent exposure, sexual assault, attempt to cause sexual assault, and two counts of unlawful sexual contact.

He pled not guilty to all seven charges during his arraignment at the Criminal Court on January 24. He faces minimum 21 years in prison if convicted of the charges.