Saturday
27th Jul 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Criminal Court has dismissed the homosexuality case filed against former journalist Abdulla Naseer Ibrahim.
The former RaajeTV journalist was spotted in a video, having intercourse with an individual of the same sex. The video that went viral on social media in June featured a man who looked like Naseer engaging in homosexual activities with another man.
Naseer was released after being kept under police arrest for a few days in July. The police had filed the charges with the Prosecutor General’s Office.
According to reliable sources, due to the filed case lacking basic requirements, the Criminal Court had dismissed Naseer’s case. PG has now appealed to the Judges’ Panel to review the registrar’s decision. However, since PG’s appeal came later than mandated by the law, it is unlikely to be accepted by the court.
In addition to Naseer, videos of other socially upstanding men engaging in sexual intercourse with a Bangladeshi national, MD Alamgiri, were leaked in June.
The Prosecutor General’s Office chose to prosecute them under the penal code as alternative to the sexual offense law ensuring a lighter punishment. Prosecuting under the penal code brings a maximum of 9 months and 18 days of imprisonment for their offense, while the sexual offenses act would have incarcerated them for a period of five to seven years.
The public have scrutinized the state’s tolerance for homosexuality and expressed displeasure for the leniency received by the perpetrators.