A renowned Islamic scholar has urged the Maldives government to halt the execution of a 22 year old convicted of killing a prominent lawmaker insisting that the question marks surrounding the sentence would make the execution contravene the fundamental principles of Islamic law.
The Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence of Hussain Humam Ahmed convicted of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali’s murder which could make him the first person to be executed in the Maldives for more than 50 years.
Tariq Ramadan, a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford in a letter to president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom expressed grave concern about the safety of the conviction and sentence in Humam’s case.
The Supreme Court verdict came after a request made by Afrasheem’s family to hold off on the death penalty for Humam.
In a letter to the chief justice hours before the ruling, the father and brother of the late MP cited an incomplete murder investigation in retracting their earlier wish for the death penalty for his killer.
The family in the letter had said Humam remains a key witness in identifying those who planned and funded the murder.
Ramadan pointed out that the call to spare Humaam’s life by two members of the victim’s family cannot be ignored according to the principle of qisas.
"If the family of the victim asks for the sentence not to be implemented, at any time before the execution (for the majority of the ‘ulamā’), the latter should be suspended whatever the public authority might think or decide." Ramadan said.
The unanimous ruling by the archipelago's top court had also rejected defence’s claim of mental illness, and upheld the guilty verdict, noting the 22 year old had confessed to the murder at the lower court on two separate occasions.
The chief justice also highlighted the fact that Humam had not sought the final appeal on his own also proved that he had accepted the High Court ruling.
Ramadan in the letter stressed that the authorities risked executing a mentally disabled individual which is prohibited under international law.
"As you know, according to Islamic law and jurisprudence, any doubt about the mental health of a murderer, should play in his favour. The heavy conditions we find in the Islamic legislation have as a raison d’être (‘illah) to avoid any doubt: if there is the slightest doubt, then the punishment (ḥad) should be suspended."
The court had also ignored that two of the victim's heirs were under the age of 18 to make a decision on qisas.
Ramadan lamented clear distortion in the way the Islamic principles have been interpreted and implemented.that some of the victim’s family have not consented to the execution.
"If we are to respect the sharī’ah conditions, to listen to the family’s position is required. I would add that above and beyond all of this, raḥmah (compassion) is an absolute necessity, an essential principle, an imperative duty, even if there is no doubt and all the conditions are gathered."
Afrasheem’s body was discovered brutally stabbed to death in the stairwell of his home on October 2, 2012.
Ramadan joins four UN rights experts, the EU and Amnesty International to urge the government continue to apply the de facto moratorium on executions.
Meanwhile, foreign minister Dhunya Maumoon stepped down Tuesday over what she described as a profound differences of opinion with the government’s bid to enforce the death penalty.
In a statement shared with the media, Dunya said the resignation was “one of the most difficult decisions” she has taken.
“Yet, the decision became inevitable because of the profound differences of opinion on the government’s policy in implementing the death penalty at a time when serious questions are being asked, and concerns being expressed, about the delivery of justice in the Maldives,” she said.
“I remain convinced that the Government’s policy on death penalty, decided on a hasty fashion, would be detrimental to the image and reputation of the Maldives and would be a significant obstacle in achieving the President [Abdulla] Yameen’s foreign policy goals, and building a resilient Maldives,” she added.
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