Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem has said today that the Criminal Court has been unable to administer Hadd sentences due to lack of a flogger, or a person to administer the flogging sentences.
Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem has said today that the Criminal Court has been unable to administer Hadd sentences due to lack of a flogger, or a person to administer the flogging sentences.
On June 26, the Criminal Court announced that it is seeking a for a person to administer Hadd penalties. Salary and allowances for the post are quoted as MVR 8000, with the deadline being set for tomorrow.
Speaking in the Judiciary Committee of Parliament today, Shameem said that even if Hadd sentences are passed, for some time now they have not been implemented as there is no one at the court to administer the flogging.
It is unclear when the post became vacant, nor is the amount of pending hadd sentences known. Hadd sentences are implemented after the appeal process is completed, or in the instance that there is no appeal, once the State ensures that it is a final sentence.
Shameem spoke about Hadd in response to a question posed by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ibrahim Nazil. He asked how the Court could be proceeding with implementing sentences when it has announced for a flogger.
Shameem responded that implementation of sentences is under the purview of Maldives Correctional Services. He said that he is unaware why the court itself implements Hadd penalties alone. He said that with the practice being traditionally accepted, no one has raised questions about it so far.
Over the last 10 years, 33 cases of fornication were presided over by the Supreme Court. However, none of these cases were proven. High Court looked into 51 cases, with one remaining not proven. Criminal Court, up to March last year, has concluded 150 such cases.
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