It has been revealed that President Mohamed Muizzu's nominee for the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) was previously accused of domestic violence.
Mohamed Faris Thoha is a former military officer. The domestic violence allegations surfaced during his interview with the parliament's Human Rights and Gender Committee on Saturday.
During the committee meeting, Dhaandhoo MP Mohamed Fazeel from the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) said there were complaints against the two nominees forwarded by Muizzu.
He questioned Thoha whether he had previously faced domestic violence allegations.
Thoha responded that he had never been summoned to any agency in connection with a domestic violence case.
"No. I have not heard of this yet. I have not been involved in any domestic violence cases. I have not been summoned to any agency. I am not aware of any such cases," he stated.
But Maafannu South MP Abdulla Rifau from PNC said a member of the public had requested him to question Thoha about domestic violence related to his previous marriage, which ended in a divorce.
Rifau added that a member of the public further informed him that Thoha's resignation from the military was also connected to allegations of committing an inhumane act.
In response, Thoha maintained that there were no domestic violence issues in his previous marriage. But he said rumours began to spread after the divorce and insisted they were baseless.
"I heard from some people at the time. I'm talking about many years ago. It has been around eight years since I divorced. About four years after the divorce, I heard some people spread these rumours of domestic violence," he said.
Thoha did not get more than 75 marks during the committee review stage. This means his name cannot be sent to the parliament floor for approval.
But Muizzu's second nominee, Mohamed Shafeeq Mahmood, got more than 75 marks and his name was approved by the committee. His name will then be forwarded to the parliament floor.
HRCM Vice President Moomina Waheed and member Amintha Shifaath Abdul Razzaq's term ends on September 8. The President's Office opened for applications for the HRCM on two occasions.
