No government official would obstruct justice for former President Abdulla Yameen, who is serving an 11-year jail sentence on corruption charges, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said last night.
In a meeting with residents of Hithadhoo and Feydhoo during his ongoing visit to Addu city, President Muizzu said the judiciary has been functioning with full independence since the first day of his administration.
"No minister, no company head, no MP, no one from the government would exert influence over any court proceeding. I have that certainty. The courts are functioning without any influence," the President said.
Freedom for Yameen in relation to judicial independence was what Muizzu repeated the most during his election campaign.
Speaking about the judiciary, the President said the nation could not achieve stability with justice delayed for former President Yameen. Justice delayed is justice denied, he said.
"My hope is that he [Yameen] will have justice quite soon through the judicial process. There won't be anyone in this government who would obstruct that. This is a government that serves justice in the fullest measure," the President said.
The remarks came after Deputy Youth Minister Mariyam Shiuna said President Yameen would be freed when he proves his innocence, a statement that Yameen ally Mohamed Maleeh Jamal said reflected President Muizzu's views.
"A person in the inner circle of President Dr. Muizzu using such language proves that this is what President Muizzu thinks. And that he deceived the public during the presidential campaign. It is now clear who is meddling in the case. Tyranny will end," Maleeh said in a post on X.
Yameen was jailed on December 25, 2022, after he was convicted of accepting a bribe to lease Vaavu Aarah and then laundering the money. At the time, the opposition characterized it as a "haram verdict."
Freeing President Yameen was one of President Muizzu's main campaign pledges. However, the government now says that President Muizzu pledged not to influence the judiciary and that the pledge to free Yameen has been fulfilled.
