Maldives Court jails two Supreme Court justices for 19 months

Male, May 11: In Maldives, a court has sentenced two Supreme Court justices to more than 19 months in prison on charges of influencing lower court decisions.

The Criminal Court today sentenced Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed to one year, seven months and six days each in prison.

Justice Saeed was sentenced to nearly five months in a separate case on Tuesday.

Both judges were arrested in February this year under a state of emergency during a political crisis which followed a Supreme Court decision to release President Yameen Abdul Gayoom's political opponents. The opponents had been jailed after trials criticized for alleged violations of due process.

Both judges also face terrorism charges for allegedly conspiring against the government which carry a longer maximum sentence.

After the arrest of the two judges, the remaining three judges on the Supreme Court nullified the order to release Yameen’s opponents.

The order included the release of the country’s first president elected in a free election 10 years ago, Mohamed Nasheed. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges and now lives in Britain after receiving asylum there while on leave for medical treatment.