MALDIVES EX-PRESIDENT YAMEEN ACQUITTED: CASE AGAINST HIM, CONTEXT OF DOMESTIC POLITICS
The High Court of Maldives, the country’s second highest judicial body, overturned the conviction and 11-year prison sentence of former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Thursday (April 18), and ordered a retrial.
Yameen had been fined $5 million, and sentenced to seven years in jail on money laundering charges, with another four year sentence added after he was found guilty of bribery in connection to the same case. Here is what you need to know about the case, and the domestic context of Maldives, in which this judgement comes.
The corruption case against Yameen
Yameen was indicted in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) scandal, where over $90 million was embezzled from the MMPRC, a government body, to cover election costs and broker deals for votes in the country’s Parliament.
This scandal was uncovered in 2016 during an Al Jazeera investigation, which also found that leases for at least 50 Maldivian islands were obtained by private companies without due process. The investigation implicated Yameen, the Maldives president at the time, several lawmakers, and Maldivian officials linked to Yameen.
In the 2018 presidential election, Yameen was defeated by the joint opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The new government immediately began graft proceedings against Yameen, and in December 2018, three months after the elections, the Maldives High Court ordered the seizure of assets worth $6.5 million belonging to Yameen.
In February 2019, Yameen was charged with theft, money laundering, and giving false statements to police, and in November the same year, the Maldives Criminal Court found him guilty of all charges, sentenced him to five years in prison, and imposed a fine of $5 million. The Maldives High Court further upheld the conviction and jail sentence in January 2021, after which Yameen approached the Supreme Court of Maldives, the country’s apex court.
The Supreme Court ruled in his favour in late November 2021 — and Yameen walked out of prison after two years. But, in December 2022, the Maldives Criminal Court sentenced Yameen to 11 years in prison, and fined him $5 million after finding him guilty of corruption and money laundering for charges related to receiving kickbacks. He began serving his sentence in Maafushi Prison, but moved to home confinement in October 2023.
Now, the High Court has ruled that Yameen’s trial was unfair, and thus acquitted him, while ordering a lower court to restart proceedings against him.
Context of Maldives’ domestic politics
Due to his convictions, Yameen was unable to contest in the 2023 presidential elections in Maldives, among the most contentious in the nation’s recent democratic history. His party Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), however, fielded the eventual winner Mohamed Muizzu as its candidate.
PPM, which was in the principle Opposition during Solih’s reign, won the elections on the back of its massive ‘India Out’ political candidate calling for the exit of Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives, as well as a general distancing from New Delhi. While Yameen was not contesting, this campaign was very much a continuation of his policies from 2013-18, when he openly courted Saudi Arabia and China, and was hostile to New Delhi. ‘India Out’ campaigners even used Yameen’s photos on the ground and on social media, eventually, Yameen himself came out in support of the campaign.
And after taking office, Muizzu immediately acted on the ‘India Out’ campaign, committing to a ‘Maldives First’ policy that prioritises national interests and sovereignty. A number of developments since have greatly strained Maldives’ relations with New Delhi.
On April 21, Maldives will hold its parliamentary elections. Much has changed since the country’s last parliamentary elections in 2019, with several smaller parties — in addition to the established MDP and PPM — emerging. In addition to Muizzu government’s foreign policy goals, housing and economic challenges, corruption, and drug use among the youth are some major issues for Maldivians.
For the latest news from across India, Political updates, Explainers, Sports News, Opinion, Entertainment Updates and more Top News, visit Indian Express. Subscribe to our award-winning Newsletter Download our App here Android & iOS
2024-04-19T11:57:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd