The parliament on Monday passed the resolution calling on the Supreme Court and Prosecutor General to overturn the 13-year jail sentence levied on former President Mohamed Nasheed.
Submitted by member of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Galolhu North MP Eva Abdulla, the resolution was passed with the votes of 57 out of 66 parliamentarians present, while nine voted against.
The resolution, which was signed by 49 MPs, states that Nasheed was convicted in violation of the constitution and international pacts that the Maldives is part of. The parliamentary Committee on Independent Institutions, which reviewed the resolution, also called on the apex court and PG to review the cases of other individuals that were convicted in a similar manner, and to ensure justice.
Following the submission of the resolution to the parliament, PG Aishath Bisham had requested the Supreme Court to review Nasheed's case. The top court had subsequently issued a stay order on Nasheed's conviction, following which the former president returned to Maldives on November 1 after three years in self-exile.
The Criminal Court had sentenced Nasheed in February 2015 to 13 years in jail over the arbitrary detention of a judge during his presidency. Nasheed lost both appeals at the High Court and Supreme Court, and later absconded when he was allowed to seek medical treatment abroad while serving his sentence. He had resided in the United Kingdom under political asylum since.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had ruled on September 4, 2015, that Nasheed was convicted in violation of the Constitution and international pacts.
In addition to the resolution to free Nasheed, the parliament also accepted the bill lobbied by Henveiru North MP Abdulla Shahid, to annul the contentious Freedom of Speech and Defamation Act, with 48 out of 65 MPs voting to accept the bill, 17 voting against and two members abstaining from the vote.
The bill has been forwarded to the Committee on Independent Institutions for review.
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