Supreme Court judge sex tape case reopened

Authorities have reopened the case of Justice Ali Hameed’s misconduct charges relating to his alleged appearance in three sex tapes involving three different women.

Maldives Police Service began investigating the case following his arrest during the state of emergency in February, Raajje.mv reported citing reliable sources. The Judicial Service Commission has also started looking into the case.

Police refused to comment on the reported development.

Videos featuring a man, who appears to be Hameed, having sex in a Colombo hotel room were published online in 2013. The tapes caused a scandal as sex outside marriage is a criminal offence in the Maldives.

The JSC investigated the case twice that year, with recommendations he be suspended pending an investigation.

But the JSC cleared him of misconduct charges because they said there was not enough evidence to prosecute him.

Hameed, who was suspended from the Supreme Court bench by the JSC in connection with an alleged attempt to overthrow the government, has been involved in several controversies.

In 2013, he was accused of corruption over the illegal transfer of credit from his state-funded mobile phone.

In 2014, the criminal court asked prosecutors to resend all files concerning Hameed’s alleged misuse of state funds after case documents were destroyed in a coffee spill.

The case remains on hold.

In 2016, he was accused of identity forgery after copies of documents surfaced on social media suggesting his birthday was revised from 1958 to 1964.