PG Office claims court was warned against releasing Ali Waheed’s passport

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office, on Thursday, claimed that the Criminal Court released alleged sexual assaulter and former Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed’s passport against PG Office’s advise.

As per the five paged document publicised by PG Office, explaining the circumstances under which Ali Waheed’s passport was released after being initially withheld on July 10, 2020, the office had warned the court that Ali Waheed had formerly fled the country in the middle of a trial, and therefore, exhibited a high chance of not returning to the country if he was allowed to leave.

Defending against the public criticism levied against PG Office over the sexual offender’s departure to the United Kingdom (UK), PG Office asserted its belief that the court was wrong in releasing the defendant’s passport, further adding that the court had acted against the usual policy for similar cases.

PG Office clarified that Criminal Court’s order had documented that the office had requested for Ali Waheed’s passport to be released due to an administrative error.

“The office is currently working on alerting the relevant authorities to the matter”, the statement read.

Judge Hassan Saeed had released Ali Waheed’s passport for a period of four months, on Ali Waheed’s request to leave the country for medical treatment.

Although the state had maintained that a criminal that may flee, given the opportunity, should only be allowed to leave abroad in case of an emergency medical situation that cannot be treated in Maldives, PG Office stated that the court had produced a document by an Orthopedician from Tree Top Hospital which highlighted that Ali Waheed’s medical condition might result in a fatality if his surgery was conducted in Maldives.

When the state argued that the authenticity of the doctor’s letter could only be verified by an expert, PG Office noted that the court had ordered Ali Waheed to complete a health check up from Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

The now-fugitive ex-tourism minister, who is charged with two counts of sexual abuse, two counts of unlawful sexual contact, a single count of attempted sexual abuse, indecent exposure and a single count of attempted rape.

If found guilty of the charges levied against him, Waheed faces up to 21 years imprisonment, however, he continues to plead not guilty on all counts.