Opposition Coalition To Take Action, Calls For Yameen's Freedom

The opposition Progressive Congress Coalition has passed a motion to take direct action to free the former President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayyoom.

The motion was passed by Abdur Raheem Abdullah, the interim preisdent of the joint Council of the two constituent parties of the Progressive Congress Coalition; being the People's Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), and the People's National Congress (PNC).

According to the passed motion, the guilty verdict passed against the former President by the Criminal Court in his money-laundering case had been passed for a political agenda, in contravention to the Islamic Shariah. The motion also alleged that the High Court's verdict, which was not unanimously decided, was also in contravention to the law.

The motion also claims that the opinion Justice Hussain Shaheed, who had sat on the panel at the High Court, demonstrates that the State's case against the former President was hollow, and the case had been built on hollow testimony.

Similarly, the motion read that the testimony of the former Vice President of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Muavviz Rasheed, could not be accepted in court as he had committed perjury. It also read that two judges on the panel accepted that the testimonies of neither former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, nor the MMPRC Managing Director Abdulla Ziyath, could be accepted as they were criminals.

The opposition Coalition had decided to disregard the verdict of the High Court. They claim that the verdict contravenes the Shariah. They also have decided to take direct action to call for the former President's freedom.