Criminal Court dismisses Ali Waheed's sexual offence charges
Ali Waheed's passport was withheld in July 2020 after he was accused of sexually abusing and harassing female employees at the tourism ministry.
By
Aman Haleem
Criminal Court has sent the sexual offence charges against former tourism minister Ali Waheed to the Prosecutor General's (PG) Office.
Waheed is accused of sexually abusing and harassing female employees of the tourism ministry. It remains unclear what caused the charges to be expelled.
Charges made against Waheed include:
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Sexual abuse
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Sexual harassment
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Attempted sexual harassment
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Attempted rape
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Indecent exposure
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Two charges for requesting illegal sexual relations
Waheed has denied the charges saying that politicians were behind the allegations and that he was being"framed".
While the court confirmed that the case had been sent back, Waheed's lawyer Abdulla Haseen said that he had received no such indication yet.
Waheed's passport was withheld in July 2020 after he was accused of sexually abusing and harassing female employees.
However, the Criminal Court released Ali Waheed's passport, granting him permission to travel abroad for medical treatment after his prosecution began in November 2020. Waheed travelled to UK and did not return to Maldives after the court awarded four-month reprieve expired.
Although the court has since tried to conduct his trial online, the Supreme Court has issued an order upon the Criminal Court to stop the case.
Now police have issued a red notice through Interpol for him.
