SC mandates travel ban upon serious criminal charges
There are many cases of people charged and detained for serious crimes leaving the country ostensibly for medical treatment and not returning.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
Supreme Court on Sunday issued a rule to tighten the conditions in allowing a person of interest or one that has been charged with serious criminal cases to leave the country for medical treatment.
Such rules were imposed after the prosecution appealed in the Supreme Court against the Criminal Court's decision to allow Sea Life Global Managing Director Ahmed Moosa Mohammed to leave Maldives for medical treatment. The court made the ruling on Sunday.
The Supreme Court set aside the Criminal Court order for Ahmed Moosa, who was arrested twice in the past while on the run, saying he was allowed to leave, and his passport released wrongfully.
Presiding Justice Aisha Shujoon Mohamed set out the factors and conditions to be considered in releasing those who are suspect to escaping in the name of medical treatment. Justice Husnu Al Suood, who upheld the opinion, also set out the measures to be taken to prevent the escape of accused in serious criminal cases.
When deciding whether to release the passport of a suspect who requested medical treatment abroad to potentially flee, courts should consider:
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If the concerned circumstances and surrounding circumstances have either removed or mitigated the fear of his escape
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If the person wishing to go for medical treatment is referring to a treatment that is not available in the Maldives
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If the person attempting to go abroad is seeking a treatment available in the Maldives, a doctor should recommend that the treatment received by going abroad is going to be better than the treatment received in the Maldives or is likely to be cured by that treatment; that advice should be given by a doctor or health expert before the court.
Additional conditions specified in Husnu Al Suood's opinion are:
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Once the court orders Immigration to prohibit the accused from leaving Maldives upon the filing of a criminal charge under Article 22 of the Penal Code, it is the responsibility of Immigration to blacklist such persons and prevent them from leaving Maldives
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Maintain the person's travel ban until a serious criminal case is resolved on appeal
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A person accused of a serious criminal offence shall be allowed to leave for medical treatment on the basis of the opinion of a doctor appearing in court to testify that the treatment is not available in Maldives; currently, permission is given on the basis of a doctor's letter
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Permission to fly abroad should be made clear by the PG office on the doctor's opinion and a condition to ensure that the person returns to the country
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The court has the power to condition that an amount equal to the amount of money involved in the charge sheet should be maintained or a bank guarantee or a bond
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The conditions must be acceptable to the prosecutor general's office
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Permission to leave for non-medical purposes shall be in accordance with the rules of criminal proceedings, unless the prosecutor general objects
"It is a serious matter to file a chargesheet in a court of law for a crime. If an accused in a criminal case goes abroad and flees, the criminal justice system can interfere with the administration of justice. Therefore, the state should take steps to prevent this from happening again," Husnu Al Suood said in his opinion.
The opinion of Husnu Al Suood and Shujoon was seconded by Justice Mahaz Ali Zahir.
There are many cases of people charged and detained for serious crimes leaving the country ostensibly for medical treatment and then not coming back.
Former Tourism Minister Ali Waheed had been charged with sexual offences but did not returned to Maldives despite repeated court orders to appear before the court. He returned to Maldives after the charges against him were dropped.
Less than a month after the arrest of a man who has been detained and charged in a drug case, the trial court had recently granted him bail on a plea seeking medical release.
