Parliament has decided to summon the members of the Parole Board over the release of Abdullah Ibrahim (Abucha), whom police suspect of being a major drug importer and dealer in Addu, amid allegations that he was granted parole in violation of the law.
The matter of conducting an investigation into the release of Ibrahim was submitted to Parliament by Galolhu North constituency MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu).
During the meeting held today by the Parliament's Judiciary Committee to review the issue, Hulhudhoo constituency MP Mohamed Shahid stated that this is a matter of concern and that merely dismissing the board members is not enough. He stated that how it happened should be looked into, and if action needs to be taken regarding it, that should be done as well.
Kurendhoo constituency MP Mohamed Shamin Habeeb stated that it should be examined how the members of the Parole Board acted and that action should be taken against them as well. The member stated that looking into how this transpired is also important to ensure that it does not recur.
MP Shahid proposed summoning the Parole Board to the committee. All members present in the committee agreed and supported the proposal to pass this.
However, since there are currently no members on the board, a proposal submitted by Faresmathoda constituency MP Ashraf Rasheed to first clarify information in writing was also passed.
Since the Parole Board did not act in accordance with the law in the matter of releasing Ibrahim, the government ordered the decision to be reversed. Having reversed the decision and taken Ibrahim back to prison, the government dismissed the members of the Parole Board. However, Home Minister Ali Ihusan stated that the Parole Board members were not dismissed because they were found guilty.
According to what Ihusan stated, while three sentences of 12 years and six months have been handed down against Ibrahim, he is eligible to apply for parole upon completing six years and three months. The Minister stated that in counting that period, the Parole Board did not act in accordance with what is stated in the law.
When Ibrahim was sentenced, about four years he spent in detention during the trial of that case were deducted from his prison sentence. Therefore, in counting the period eligible for parole, the Parole Board looked at eight years, which is the period of the sentence he has to execute after deducting that time. The total time he has spent in prison throughout the case is five years and 11 months.
The Minister stated that granting parole to drug traffickers is also contrary to government policy.
However, the Minister stated that he does not believe this decision was made by the Parole Board members with malicious intent or deliberately, and that those officials were not dismissed because they were found guilty.
