Nazim vows death penalty for drug smugglers regardless of health
He was responding to defence minister Mariya Ahmed Didi's recent remarks that many of the drug smugglers suffered from terminal illnesses.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
Maldives National Party (MNP) presidential candidate and president Mohamed Nazim has said that death penalty will be imposed on drug smugglers in his government regardless of their country of origin or health.
Nazim was responding to defence minister Mariya Ahmed Didi's recent remarks that many of the drug smugglers suffered from terminal illnesses.
Nazim, who is also the MP for Dhangethi constituency, said that under his government, he would not give any leeway to drug smugglers.
"We have included in our manifesto that no one should come to Maldives to smuggle drugs. There will be the death penalty for that person," he said.
If the drugs are proven to have been smuggled, Nazim said:
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The death penalty will be imposed regardless of nationality or health
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Whether it is a sick or a disabled person, there will be no exemption from the death penalty
Criticising the current treatment of drug smugglers in Maldives, Nazim, who is also a former defence minister said:
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About once a month, customs authorities arrest a drug smuggler and announce it, but that is a small number
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Even if drugs are known to be smuggled, the smuggler is usually released
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After the drug dealer is released, what happens to the drugs is unknown
Mariya was summoned to parliament last month and questioned over an amendment to the rules that allows foreigners to be deported after seizing the drugs found in their possession. The minister said the rules had been changed to allow such people to be deported to reduce the expenditure of detaining them using public money.
In addition, Prosecutor General (PG) Hussain Shameem has said that there is no point in investigating the case and punishing the foreigner if there is no connection between the foreigner and the Maldivian.
