High Court undecided on accepting PG’s appeal of Nasheed’s conviction

The High Court has yet to decide whether to accept the prosecutor general’s (PG) appeal of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s conviction on terrorism charges.

PG office spokesperson Hisham Wajeeh told The Maldives Independent that the appeal was filed on August 12.

“It takes up to one month, depending on the case. They review all documents before accepting a case,” Hisham said.

High Court spokesperson Amin Faisal also said the court is reviewing the case documents, adding that he was “unable to say when the process would be completed.”

Nasheed was found guilty of terrorism in March over the military’s detention of criminal court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012. The 19-day trial at the criminal court was widely criticised over apparent lack of due process.

The PG office announced its intention to appeal the 13-year jail sentence on July 23 amid negotiations between the government and Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The main opposition party has since withdrawn from the talks following Nasheed’s transfer back to jail after two months under house arrest.

In early August, Nasheed’s lawyers had requested the PG office to include several points in its appeal, submitting a 40-page document outlining legal arguments.

Ibrahim Riffath, a member of Nasheed’s legal team, said today that the lawyers were unaware of the status of the PG’s appeal.

“We have not received any official confirmation regarding the appeal, so we do not know if the appeal includes the legal arguments requested to be included in PG’s appeal,” Riffath said.

Nasheed was taken back to jail on August 23 amid a dispute over a document from the Maldives Correctional Services (MCS) commuting his jail sentence to permanent house arrest. The police are now investigating the document – which bore the state seal, a reference number, and the signature of a prisons official – after the government dismissed it as a “forgery.”

David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, the United States government and Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussain, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have renewed calls on the Maldives government to release Nasheed.