Supreme Court orders prosecutors to resume work “without any further excuse”

Lawyers at the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office have been on strike since acting PG Hussein Shameem’s resignation on May 6, forcing the Criminal Court to cancel all criminal hearings.

However the apex court in a ruling today ordered prosecutors to attend trials, stating “[T]here is no legal basis to allow any actions that violate societal rights and disrupt the peace in a democratic society under sovereign rule, and it is essential that the criminal justice system continues to function, for as long as the Maldivian state continues, to uphold the rule of law and protect state and citizens’ rights.”

The ruling comes a day after prosecutors sent a letter to President Abdulla Yameen expressing concern over lack of accountability mechanisms in the PG’s absence, and disagreeing with the Attorney General’s (AG) opinion that the senior most official in the office must take over the PG’s constitutional obligations.