Speaker: Parliament will look into why Yameen’s trial isn’t livestreamed

Parliament Speaker, former President Mohamed Nasheed said on Wednesday that the Parliament would look into the reason for the court to deny former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s request to livestream his money laundering trial. 

Nasheed made the comment in response to concern raised by PNC deputy leader, Maavah MP Mohamed Saeed over the failure to livestream Yameen’s hearings during the parliamentary sitting on Wednesday. 

Saeed said that the opposition coalition wanted Yameen’s trial to be livestreamed as Yameen was a former president. He said that Yameen wished to tell the people the truth and the people wanted to learn the truth. 

“Now look, his hearing yesterday was live. And I heard Nasheed himself say President Yameen’s trial should be livestreamed,” he said. 

Nasheed interrupted Saeed at this point. He said that he did not know the reason for the decision not to livestream Yameen’s trial, but would clarify the information from the court. 

“Honorable MP, I myself will ask the Parliament’s Secretary-General why it isn’t being livestreamed. I don’t know at all,” he said. 

Criminal Court’s Chief Judge Ahmed Shakeel – who is in charge of Yameen’s case – has stated that the court currently did not have the resources needed to livestream hearings.  

Yameen is on trial for money laundering and bribery in connection to the sale of V. Aarah for resort development. While Yameen has asked the court to livestream the hearings in the trial, the second defendant in the case – former MP Yoosuf Naeem – has stated he does not wish for the hearings to be livestreamed.