FM Khaleel tells opposition to ‘speak on facts’ as MDP raises alarm over top court judges’ dismissal

Foreign Minister Dr. Abdulla Khaleel sought to reassure the international community that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration remains fully committed to maintaining judicial independence in the Maldives on Saturday, as the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) meets with representatives from the European Union and other international bodies to raise alarm over the recent dismissal of two sitting Supreme Court justices.

Last week, the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) used its supermajority in the Parliament to dismiss Supreme Court justices Dr. Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir, despite serious concerns regarding lack of due process and procedural fairness in the disciplinary proceedings against them by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

A delegation from the MDP, led by president Abdulla Shahid, have been meeting with foreign diplomats to express concern over the situation during their visit to Brussels to attend International Democracy Union (IDU) Summit.

In a post on social media platform X on Saturday morning, Khaleel insisted that President Muizzu’s administration will not interfere with the judiciary, and nor will it undermine due process.

“This is the case with the recent dismissal of the two Supreme Court Justices by the Parliament, following the investigation by the Judicial Services commission,” he said.

Khaleel said the Maldivian administration remains fully committed to maintaining the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.

“One would hope and wish that those in responsible positions in the Opposition, engaging with the international community, speak on facts and the truth,” he said.

The Government of President Dr @MMuizzu will not interfere with the Judiciary. Nor will it undermine due process.

This is the case with the recent dismissal of the two Supreme Court Justices by the Parliament, following the investigation by the Judicial Services commission.…

— Abdulla Khaleel (@abkhaleel) May 17, 2025

The remarks come a day after Shahid and the rest of the MDP delegation met with Paola Pampaloni, Deputy Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS).

During the meeting, Shahid accused President Muizzu’s administration of conducting an “orchestrated assault on the rule of law” in the Maldives.

“Our courts have been gutted, our oversight bodies are under executive control, and our democratic institutions are being reengineered to serve power, not the people,” he told Pampaloni.

MDP President @abdulla_shahid met with Deputy Managing Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the European External Action Service, and briefed her on the democratic backsliding & worsening judicial crisis in the Maldives. pic.twitter.com/TmjQ7iTGIA

— MDP Secretariat (@MDPSecretariat) May 16, 2025

Dismissal of Supreme Court judges

On February 26, the then-Supreme Court justices Dr. Azmiralda Zahir, Mahaz Ali Zahir and Husnu Al-Suood were were suspended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), citing an ongoing investigation by the against them by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Their suspension came less than one hour ahead of a hearing scheduled at the Supreme Court regarding a request for an injunction to suspend the enforcement of controversial anti-defection clauses that were written into the Constitution last year. It also came shortly after the ruling PNC used its supermajority in the Parliament to push through amendments to the Judicature Act to downsize the Supreme Court bench from seven to five justices.

Suood resigned from the top court in protest of JSC’s decision, and the commission later opened misconduct investigations against Azmiralda and Mahaz, accusing them of conspiring to influence a Criminal Court judge.

On May 4, the JSC asked the Parliament to approve their dismissal. The Judiciary Committee, which reviewed the recommendation, decided on May 10 to deny Azmiralda and Mahaz the chance to defend themselves against the allegations against them. The next day, the committee voted in favor of their dismissal in a closed-door meeting that was boycotted by members of the MDP. The decision came despite the Parliament’s Counsel General Fathimath Filza advising the committee that the JSC had failed to follow due process and proper procedure in making the decision.

The Parliament took the floor vote on their dismissal on May 14. Azmiralda and Mahaz - both of whom claim that the allegations against them are baseless and that the investigations by the JSC were tainted by the denial of due process to them - were dismissed with majority votes of 68-11.

The case against the Supreme Court justices stemmed from the allegation that they exerted their influence over the Criminal Court to secure the release of Azmiralda’s husband, Dr. Ismail Latheef, an anesthesiologist, who was arrested during a police raid on a massage parlor in Male’. However, Criminal Court judge Ibrahim Zihunee’s statement to JSC shows Mahaz had called him after Latheef was already released from police custody.

Meanwhile, the then-assistant registrar of High Court, Hussain Mohamed Haneef, who testified against Azmiralda and Mahaz at the JSC, was recently appointed to a senior position at state-run utility company, Fenaka Corporation.

The ACC has declined to provide any information regarding the their criminal investigation against the trio, which had triggered their suspension in the first place.

The JSC had come under fire from both local and international organizations over its decision to push for the dismissal of the Supreme Court justices. Those that have expressed concern over the situation include the Bar Council of Maldives, Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, the Human Rights Watch, the Commonwealth Law Association, the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA), and the Bar Association of India.

President Muizzu, whose administration has been accused of deliberately undermining the country’s judicial independence, denied these claims in a press briefing on May 3, describing the events that fueled the allegations as mere “coincidences.”