Incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Tuesday reiterated his government's commitment to enforcing the death penalty in the Maldives.
Since taking office in 2013, president Yameen has been pushing to enforce the death penalty after ending the de facto moratorium that has been in place in the country for over 6 decades.
In June 2016, capital punishment regulations were amended to allow for hanging in addition to lethal injections as methods of execution.
President Yameen has since been giving several dates to begin capital punishment, last of which was nearly a year ago.
Speaking after inaugurating a shore protection project Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Madaveli island on Tuesday, president Yameen said his government would begin capital punishment after the 'procedural requirements' are completed.
President Yameen said his government's foreign policy has come under criticism only because of efforts to protect the country's sovereignty and Islamic principles and values.
"Some people are finding it difficult to accept my foreign policy because my government has striven to stand up for itself. Because my government is trying to protect our sovereignty and Islamic principles and values. Don't challenge me. My government will enforce the death penalty. Do not doubt it," he stressed.
There are currently 3 convicts on death row in the Maldives. They are Hussain Humam convicted of murdering Dr Afrasheem Ali, Ahmed Murrath convicted of murdering Ahmed Najeeb and Mohamed Nabeel convicted of murdering Abdulla Farhad.
Source: avas.mv, August 7, 2018
Bobby's murder: State requests Supreme Court to uphold death sentence on minor
The State has requested the Supreme Court to uphold the death sentence on a minor who was found guilty in the murder of Abdul Muheeth (Bobby).
Bobby died in a brutal assault in an alley in front the finance ministry in 2012.
6 suspects were charged, out of which 3 were minors. While 2 of the minors were found guilty, 1 was exonerated. The other suspects are still being tried at the Criminal Court.
The Supreme Court on Monday began appeal hearings on the death penalty imposed on one of the convicts, who was a minor at the time of committing the crime but is now above 18 years of age.
The verdict was appealed due to reasonable doubt in his guilt, but the State requested that the Supreme Court uphold the death penalty imposed by the lower court and upheld by the High Court. The State also requested that if the court finds him not guilty of murder, to find him guilty of being an accomplice and sentence him to 25 years in prison.
At Monday's appeal hearing, the defense said that an unreliable witness who was convicted over a drug-related crime, was one of the three witnesses who testified in the trial. The defense said that drug users are Fasiqs (people who violate Islamic law) and so their testimonies cannot be legitimate in court.
The trial documents also show that after the witness give his secret testimony at the Civil Court, he later retracted it in a letter. In response, the state prosecutor said that the police confirmed at the High Court appeal hearings that he was threatened into sending the letter and so his testimony still stands.
Testimonies of the other 2 witnesses and the other evidences show that the 2 minors were involved in the assault. The State had provided CCTV footage and phone call recordings of the suspects at the initial trial, as well as evidence showing that some of the accused injured in the assault sought treatment at ADK Hospital.
The minor, who is under the custody of the correctional service, was questioned after being summoned to Monday's hearing. After the judge asked him if he has a criminal record, he said that he has been found guilty of assault but that he has never met the victim, Bobby.
10 assailants were allegedly involved in Bobby's assault on 18 February 2012. He was stabbed 20 times and the brutality of the attack had also split the victim's skull.
Source: raajje.mv, August 7, 2018
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
