The parliament's Judiciary Committee has decided to hold closed-door meetings, without offering a valid reason, to review the dismissal of Supreme Court Justices Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir.
Hulhudhoo MP Mohamed Shahid proposed to hold closed-door meetings in connection with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) report on the dismissal of the justices.
All ruling party lawmakers, except Kurendhoo MP Mohamed Shamin, voted in favour of the proposal. Shamin abstained from the vote.
Two opposition lawmakers, Hithadhoo South MP Ibrahim Nazil and Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir, opposed the proposal. They left the committee meeting after it was decided to be held behind closed doors.
Shahid claimed that the meeting must be held behind closed doors because the case involves personal information.
“I would like to propose that the committee be kept secret first of all because it involves personal issues and some people's personal interests. So rather than disclosing to the media, I propose a closed-door meeting," he said.
Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) lawmakers began raising objections when the committee's chairperson Husni Mubarak decided to take a vote on the proposal.
This caused heated exchanges but the chairperson went ahead with the vote despite objections. MDP MPs said they would boycott the committee if it takes place behind closed doors.
Before the committee was made secret, Nazil pointed out some inconsistencies in the JSC report.
He noted that the JSC report stated that Azmiralda’s husband was nude when he was arrested during a police raid at a spa. But he stressed that the police investigation did not prove this claim.
But the chairperson said he did not think the rules of parliament allowed the committee to go into the depths of the investigation.
Shahid also said he believed the JSC report was prepared in accordance with procedures. He said he did not see any procedural issues in the report.
"Our committee does not have to decide whether the police investigation has a problem; it is our committee's job to assess whether the JSC decision was taken correctly. In that regard, everything has been done very well, and there is no issue in the report," Shahid stated.
The ruling People's National Congress (PNC) lawmakers who spoke after Shahid supported his remarks.
