Criminal court chief judge sues army for MVR5m

The Chief Judge of the criminal court, Abdulla Mohamed, is suing the Maldives army for his detention is January 2012. He is seeking MVR5million (US$324,254) in compensation.

A first hearing took place at the civil court today. Journalists were barred from the trial.

In March, the criminal court found former President Mohamed Nasheed and former defence minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu guilty of ordering the arrest and sentenced the pair to jail. Three high-ranking military officials were acquitted on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Judge Abdulla’s arrest sparked 22 nights of violent anti-government protests, culminating in a police and army mutiny on February 7, 2012. Nasheed resigned on the same day, but later claimed had resigned under duress.

Judge Abdulla was held for three weeks at a military training facility on Girifushi Island. Then-home minister Hassan Afeef had declared him a national security threat, listing 14 cases of obstruction of justice, including shielding officials of the former regime from human rights and corruption cases.

A UN human rights panel has ruled that Nasheed’s detention is arbitrary and politically motivated. The government has said that it does not accept the UN opinion.

The opposition leader’s lawyers have launched a campaign lobbying for targeted sanctions.