Supreme Court Allows Jihad to Leave Country for Medical Treatment

The Supreme Court has ruled that former Vice President Abdullah Jihad’s passport had been confiscated, and he had been barred from leaving the country, illegally.

The State has laid corruption charges against Jihad.

Jihad had requested the Court to permit him to leave abroad for medical treatment before the cases’s conclusion. The State had claimed that Jihad was a flight risk, and the Court ruled in favour of the State. The ruling was overruled by an appeal made to the High Court.

The State appealed the case with the Supreme Court, which sustained the High Court’s decision. The Supreme Court said that the only reason to hold a defendant’s passport would be if it could be proven that they were a flight risk. The Supreme Court dismissed the claim made by the State in which they argued that Jihad, who had served a high position in the government, had the means to flee the country and live abroad.

The Supreme Court had said that the State had been unable to demonstrate that Jihad would be a flight risk. The only item of evidence that could be used, said the Supreme Court, would be a flight ticket submitted to the Court by Jihad himself.

The Supreme Court had said that the State had confiscated his passport only after Jihad had requested for permission to leave, which demonstrated that he had the opportunity to leave the country prior to the request.

The presiding judges were Aishath Sujoon, Ali Rasheed, and Dr Mohamed Ibrahim. All three on the judges unanimously ruled against the State.