Former top court justices have appealed their jail sentence of a year and seven months over obstruction charges.
Former chief justice Abdulla Saeed and former judge Ali Hameed were charged with obstructing justice over refusing to comply with an order to hand their mobile phones to the police, after they were arrested on February 5 under the state of emergency.
The former justices were also recently convicted for undue influence on the judiciary after the Supreme Court rejected their verdict appeal, and sentenced them to jail time of one year, seven months and six days.
In addition to the duo’s sentences, Former Chief Justice Saeed was also recently found guilty of ordering to shut down the Supreme Court's Government E-letter Management System (GEMS) in the wake of the February 1 ruling. He has thus been convicted of obstructing state functioning, and sentenced to four months and 24 days in jail. He and former Judge Hameed are also ongoing trial over terrorism charges.
Following the recently ratified amendment to the Judicature Act, both top court justices have been stripped of their posts at the top court. The amendment states that if an appellate court finds a judge guilty of a criminal offence, the procedures declared in Article 154 of the Constitution will not applicable and the judge will be removed from office.
Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was arrested along with the justices on February 5, has also been charged with obstruction of justice over refusing to comply with an order to hand in his mobile phone to the police. However, the former president has not submitted an appeal case.
Sign In