Just hours after the Criminal Court released Machangoalhi-South MP Abdullah Sinan, the court also freed Dhangethi MP Ilham Ahmed on Monday.
Speaking to the press immediately after being released, MP Ilham claimed that President Abdulla Yameen wanted to “freeze” him in jail, as he did with Dhiggaru MP Faris Maumoon.
MP Ilham said that it was a “happy day” as he was released after the court had deemed the trial to be politically motivated and without any proper legal backing. It was a sign that that Maldives’ courts are less susceptible to influence, he added.
Criminal Court’s chief judge Ahmed Arif had presided over Ilham’s case as well.
MP Sinan and MP Ilham Ahmed were taken to the court on Monday morning for a remand hearing on state-initiated bribery case against the two MPs.
The Supreme Court’s unprecedented ruling late Thursday ordered the release of nine high-profile political prisoners, including former President Mohamed Nasheed, Jumhoory Party’s leader Qasim Ibrahim and former Vice President Ahmed Adheem, and reinstated the 12 parliamentarians – including Sinan and Ilham – who were expelled after its ruling on parliament floor-crossing, which has since been nullified.
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