President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, on Wednesday, declared that he would refrain from signing any deal to reduce the 5-year jail sentence over the money laundering charges against former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom,
Speaking during a broadcast from the local broadcasting channel Raajje TV on occasion of Maldives' 53rd Republic Day, President Solih highlighted that he himself, as the President, could no longer pardon convicts but rather has the authority to grant leniencies to a person's ongoing jail term.
"President' Yameen's cases are lodged the High Court and the lower courts. The only way I can do something about President Yameen is when Supreme Court makes a decision [over his cases]", said President Solih.
In December 2019, the Criminal Court sentenced Yameen to five years in prison and a fine of USD 5 million over his involvement in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) embezzlement case.
Following his imprisonment, the incarcerated ex-president had appealed his sentence at the High Court. After a series of hearings, the verdict is currently pending.