Prominent lawyer suspended for third time

Hussain Shameem, a prominent lawyer and former deputy prosecutor general, has been suspended for the third time over a tweet.

The “tweet about the judiciary” on September 1 was deemed to be a violation of the regulation governing the conduct of licensed lawyers, according to an announcement made Thursday by the Department of the Judicial Administration.

The DJA, which functions under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court, said Shameem will be barred from representing clients in any Maldivian court or tribunal for three months.

The content of the offending tweet was not specified. Shameem was summoned for questioning on Thursday morning.

“This is sad. I never tweeted a photo of the ‘judiciary’. I’ve endured injustice before and will do again,” he tweeted after the suspension.

“I believe this is exactly why we have no other choice but to reform the judiciary. Judicial reform shall be the legacy of this generation of lawyers, Insha Allah.”

Shameem is part of the legal team of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and his son MP Faris Maumoon.

He was previously suspended by the Supreme Court while representing jailed former vice president Ahmed Adeeb. The suspension was lifted after two years in January this year.

A month later, he was suspended again with the DJA citing a police probe over allegedly false claims made at a press conference. He was allowed to practice again in July.

Photo by Mohamed Sharuhaan