MP Abdulla Riyaz pictured outside the Criminal Court.
Opposition Jumhoory Party (JP)’s deputy leader and Kinbidhoo MP Abdullah Riyaz has claimed that the government is defying the Criminal Court’s verdict by barring the party’s leader Qasim Ibrahim from seeking proper medical treatment.
Speaking to Mihaaru on Sunday, JP’s deputy leader highlighted how the court had ordered the state to make necessary arrangements to send Qasim, who is suffering from a heart ailment, abroad for treatment.
Despite the court order, the government has refused to extend his medical leave, and refused to renew his travel documents, MP Riyaz noted, adding that it is a direct violation of the Criminal Court’s order.
The former police commissioner also said that state authorities are obliged to follow court orders instead of prioritising politically motivated commands from superiors.
Qasim is currently in Germany seeking further treatment for his cardiac condition, after the German government granted the opposition leader special permission to enter the country despite his current fugitive status.
He was declared a fugitive of the state after he failed to return to the Maldives from Singapore, where he initially sought treatment, within the given period.
Former deputy prosecutor general Hussain Shameem of Qasim’s legal team last Tuesday said that Qasim was accompanied by a team of lawyers and that he has regularly sought medical attention for his ailments in Germany in the past.
Regarding the former Maamigili MP’s leave from Singapore, MP Riyaz explained that Singapore does not allow individuals to remain in the country without a valid travel document. Since Qasim’s travel document expired and the government refused to renew the document, he risked being imprisoned in Singapore, MP Riyaz revealed.
MP Riyaz also said that even though he did not agree with the Criminal Court’s verdict, he respected the court’s ruling and that the state institutions must do the same thing.
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