Parole Board members dismissed after release of convicted drug trafficker

Members of the Parole Board have been dismissed following its decision to release Abdulla Ibrahim, known as Abucha, who was serving a 25-year prison sentence in a major drug trafficking case, Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusaan said on Tuesday.

Ibrahim was arrested in 2020 in connection with the trafficking of more than 80 kilograms of drugs into the Maldives. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison last year after being convicted in the case.

The Parole Board released Ibrahim last week, but the decision was later overturned and he was returned to custody after questions were raised over whether he met the legal requirements for parole.

Speaking at a press conference at the President’s Office on Tuesday, Ihusaan said the decision to release Ibrahim had been made without adequately considering some of the legal requirements governing parole.

He said the members of the Parole Board had consequently been dismissed on the instruction of President Mohamed Muizzu.

However, Ihusaan said the government’s review had so far found no indication that the board members had deliberately acted improperly. He said their dismissal was not intended as punishment for misconduct.

“The board consists of individuals nominated by different government institutions,” Ihusaan said. “From what we have reviewed, they did not deliberately make a mistake. But this happened because a matter of major national importance was not examined to the extent that it should have been.”

Ihusaan said he did not wish to disclose the names of the members because there was no indication that they had intentionally acted improperly.

Under the Prisons and Parole Act, the Parole Board comprises nine members drawn from different sectors. They include senior civil servants from the education and health ministries, a lawyer from the Attorney General’s Office, a representative nominated by relevant civil society organisations, a senior police officer, an Islamic scholar appointed by the President from nominees put forward by the Islamic ministry, a senior corrections officer, a medical doctor and a mental health professional.

Ihusaan also explained how the board had reached its decision to release Ibrahim.

According to the minister, eligibility for parole is generally determined after a prisoner has served the required proportion of a sentence. In considering one of Ibrahim’s cases, the board looked at a sentence of 12 years and six months imposed in 2024.

It counted approximately four years between the offence in 2020 and the sentence in 2024 as time served. The board then calculated the parole requirement based on the remaining eight years and concluded that Ibrahim met the threshold for release, Ihusaan said.

However, he said the board had since been informed that this was not the correct legal interpretation.

Ihusaan said decisions involving major cases required greater scrutiny and that any questions arising from such decisions had to be addressed.

He also said the incident had exposed issues in the existing parole framework.

The Prisons and Parole Act was enacted in 2013, while other legislation, including laws relating to drugs and serious offences, had subsequently been amended. Ihusaan said the government believed the parole law should be revised to reflect those changes.

He said amendments to the law would be pursued.

According to Ihusaan, the Parole Board operates under procedures established by law and includes representatives from several professional fields. Until now, there had not been a need to review a decision taken by the board in this manner.

However, he said Ibrahim’s case had shown that parts of the parole system needed to be reviewed to prevent similar incidents.

The Maldives Correctional Service has been instructed to review the system and make the necessary changes, he said.

The operation of the parole system has meanwhile been suspended until the review is completed.

“We hope to work on these issues over the coming week, resolve them and then resume the system,” Ihusaan said.