Reeko Moosa summoned by police for “disrespecting judiciary”

Moosa, who was issued with an official note requesting his presence at 1:30pm Monday afternoon, told local media that he was unaware of any cases involving him.

“This is a tactic to intimidate me and the MDP members. I also believe that this an attempt by some of the parties in the coalition government to impede the current Leaders’ Dialogue,” Moosa told Haveeru.

Moosa was not responding to calls at the time of press.

The summons comes the day after Moosa participated in the first round of party talks following the publication of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) report, which ruled February’s transfer of power to have been constitutional.

At yesterday’s ‘Leaders Dialogue’, Moosa requested clarification of the MDP’s position in the apparently-legitimised government.

Police Spokesman, Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef, told Minivan News today that the cases were lodged on March 21 and April 24 this year.

Haneef said that the cases of disrespecting the judiciary related to comments Moosa had made during political rallies.

Reform of the judiciary was one of the primary concerns of the previous MDP government, eventually culminating in the military’s arrest of Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed in January this year.

This incident lent greater fervour to anti-government demonstrations which peaked on the night of February 6, prompting then-President Mohamed Nasheed’s resignation the next day amid a police and military mutiny.

Home Minister at the time, Hassan Afeef, accused Judge Abdulla of, amongst other things, ordering unlawful investigations, disregarding the rulings of higher courts and releasing dangerous suspects who went on to commit further crimes.

The Judge in court quashed his own summons by police, leading Nasheed’s administration to turn to the military to make the arrest. The CNI report described that arrest of Judge Abdulla as “an unconstitutional and unlawful act.”

Nasheed, former Defence Minister Tholath Ibrahim Kaleyfaan, and three Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers are currently awaiting trial in relation to Judge Abdulla’s arrest.

After the release of the CNI report, Nasheed requested that this trial be expedited and has been reported as being keen to have his day in court.

The CNI also found that acts of brutality had been committed by the police on February 6, 7 and 8 and urged that these instances be investigated.

Moosa himself was left in a critical condition after being brutally beaten by police officers on February 8.

Despite the findings of the report that the police mutiny of February 6 did not amount to a coup, the past week has seen continued discussion of the politicisation of the police force.

“Every citizen would want to shape the Maldives Police Service in a way to make it free from political influence,” Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali reportedly said on Saturday.