Friday
22nd Nov 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Ali Waheed and Ibrahim Mohammed Solih the President of Maldives. Photo: President's Office.
The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has appealed the Criminal Court ruling which permitted former Minister of Tourism, Ali Waheed, to leave the country.
Ali Waheed is being charged with various sexual crimes such as attempted rape, indecent exposure, and sexual assault.
Ali Waheed had informed the Court that he needed to go abroad to have an operation performed on his spine. He had provided a physician’s written testimony that he had a slipped disc in his spine and therefore required spinal surgery abroad.
The Court had had a medical check-up performed on Waheed at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Malé City. The hospital’s recently-appointed Medical Director, Dr Shan Yoosuf, testified to the Court that he recommended that Waheed go abroad for surgery.
The PGO claimed that the State had requested that Waheed be permitted to leave with a travel document issued for the purpose; without returning his passport. The PGO stated that Waheed was released on the recognisance of his friend Assad Ali, State Minister at the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment.
Even if the High Court overrules the Criminal Court’s order, there would be no way to enforce the overruling.
Many are accusing the government of facilitating Ali Waheed's departure. It should be noted that Ali Waheed and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih are close associates and Waheed was his right-hand man for a long time.
At the moment Ali Waheed is under quarantine at a hotel close to the Heathrow Airport of London.