Gasim meets Ali Waheed; encourages him to go forward in politics
Ali Waheed returned to the Maldives on Tuesday, a month after the Prosecutor General's office dropped the sexual offence charges against him.
By
Aminath Shifleen
Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim met former tourism minister Ali Waheed on Friday and encouraged him to go forward in his political career.
Ali Waheed returned to the Maldives on Tuesday, a month after the Prosecutor General's office dropped the sexual offence charges against him.
Ali Waheed was charged on 18 November 2020 with sexually assaulting and sexually harassing employees of the ministry on various occasions. He left the country in February 2021 after the court released his passport.
The charges against him were:
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Attempted rape
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Sexual abuse
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Sexual harassment
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Indecent exposure
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Illegal sexual relations
Gasim personally greeted Ali Waheed, who previously served in the now-dissolved JP president's post and still remains a party member, at the airport on the JP leader's native island of ADh. Maamigili.
In a video released by JP, Gasim praised Ali Waheed and gave him much advice as well.
“I have to tell Ali Waheed that such things will happen at a young age. That it will also happen later on," he said.
Referring to Ali Waheed's experiences, Gasim said it is not right to be disappointed and depressed in what happens.
"If you do something wrong, repent and ask forgiveness. You should always move forward in doing good," he said.
Praising Ali Waheed's work, he said:
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One of the hardest working ministers during the Covid-19 pandemic
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He is very intelligent, does things right, very active and diligent, which are not qualities that many people have
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There will be many jealous people around such people and Ali Waheed too faced an "attack" by jealous people
Standing with Gasim, Ali Waheed said that Gasim is his biggest political supporter. He won a seat in parliament as the youngest member of parliament and became a minister before the age of 40, he said.
"We have always been very close friends... He was the first to welcome me," he said.
The prosecutor's office said in a statement on June 14 that the decision not to proceed with the charges followed letters from victims and witnesses to the prosecutor's office and police saying they did not want to pursue the case further and wanted to withdraw statements.
In the statement in June, PG office said:
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Repeated letters have been received from key witnesses and victims since the case was returned to the police for refiling
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The police asked for a review of the case in connection with these letters
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When prosecutors examined the possibility of proceeding without their testimony, there was no way to prove the case without the testimony of the witnesses
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The case was filed on June 6
Case Summary
While the trial was ongoing, Ali Waheed was allowed to leave for medical treatment. After placing his friend Ashad Ali in his stead, he left the country on an illegally released passport on the same day, ostensibly for medical treatment. He has since remained in the UK without appearing in court.
After that:
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Police say iInterpol had issued a red notice and efforts were on to bring him back
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He was also arrested by the UK after his visa expired while he was on the run despite being asked twice to appear before the court for the hearing of the charges against him
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On September 22, 2022, the court sent the case back to the PG office after attempts to present him to court failed
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The case was sent back to the police on October 6, 2022, to be re-submitted after Ali Waheed could be summoned to the court
