“I said it only because I was hopeful”: Umar Naseer responds to Supreme Court allegations of sub judice

In his press release, Umar said that his comments were “only made because I was hopeful of winning” a suit filed against Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa.

Umar made his remarks about the suit against Musthafa last weekend during an oppistion rally led by main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)’s Z-faction, led by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Speaking at the rally, Umar said that he was confident that the MDP would lose two seats in parliament very soon – one was to be MP Musthafa’s seat following the ruling, and the second was to be MP Hassan Adil’s seat. Adil is currently on trial in the Criminal Court for allegedly molesting a minor.

‘’One will be Musthafa. You will remember there is a suit filed against him in Supreme Court, a suit I filed. The suit has almost reached a verdict, and all statements have been signed. I’m sure Musthafa will lose his seat. The next one is [alleged] child molester Ahil [MDP MP Hassan Adil],’’ Umar said during the rally.

The day after Umar Naseer’s announcement, the Supreme Court said that ‘’predicting how the court may rule on a certain case obstructs the administration of justice, and added that the court had “authority to stop anything that might influence the judiciary.”

The court also warned that commenting on cases on sub judice was an offence under the Contempt of Court Act, the constitution and other relevant laws.