The High Court has upheld the Criminal Court's authorization of medical travel for Ahmed Moosa Mohamed (Ammaty), who is facing fraud charges over the Sealife apartment scam.
The High Court judgment was made by a majority of two judges out of the three who heard the appeal. Judges Fathmath Faruheeza and Mohamed Shaneez Abdulla ruled in favor of the lower court decision. The dissenting opinion came from Judge Hassan Mazeed.
In her opinion, Judge Faruheeza noted the state's failure to previously raise arguments submitted in the High Court appeal about issuing a temporary travel document instead of releasing the defendant's passport. Decisions cannot be made during the appeal stage on arguments that were not made at the lower court. The opinion of Judge Faruheeza, who presided in the bench, was backed by Judge Shaneez.
The possibility of Ammaty fleeing or absconding from trial existed when the circumstances surrounding the case as well as previous court decisions were taken into consideration, Judge Mazeed said in his dissenting opinion. He should not be allowed to depart without harsh conditions, the judge suggested.
The High Court previously granted a stay order to bar Ammaty from leaving before a judgment was reached on the appeal.
Ammaty sought permission to fly overseas to undergo a spinal surgery. After considering the request, the Criminal Court authorized him to travel out of the country for a 20-day period, which had been from December 6 to 20.
Ammaty was previously arrested in Sri Lanka, where his family resides, after a red notice was issued to search for him over fraud allegations.
He was charged with 42 counts of fraud and embezzlement. Separate trials are ongoing for each of the charges involving different victims of the apartment scam.
