Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has suspended Criminal Court Judge Ismail Rasheed, who rejected the charges pressed by the state against former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb.
In a statement released on July 19, JSC revealed a disciplinary case involving Judge Ismail Rasheed is currently under investigation. JSC stated a 60-day suspension has been imposed on Rasheed as the investigation could be disrupted if he continues to work amid the investigation. JSC revealed the details of the investigation will be publicised upon completion.
The suspension has come just five days after Rasheed rejected the charges pressed by the state against former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb in relation to the corruption scandal of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), freeing him from detention. At the preliminary hearing of the trial, the judge rejected the charges citing the lack of sufficient credible evidence against Adeeb, as the charges are largely dependent on confession agreements signed between the defendant and the PG Office, which holds no validity in court.
Speaking at a press conference held Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem claimed Criminal Court rejected the charges pressed against Adeeb unlawfully, noting sufficient evidence has been collected for over 150 charges against Adeeb for his role in the embezzlement of state funds through MMPRC. Noting none of the charges would require a confession statement from Adeeb for it to be proved in court, Shameem said the evidence collected against the former vice president is enough to hand him a prison sentence of 806 years. However, Shameem said the PG Office will only press all charges if Adeeb refuses to go ahead as per the agreement made between him and the PG Office to cooperate with the investigation and plead guilty for 7 charges.