Former President Abdulla Yameen has said he no longer supports implementing the death penalty because of lack of confidence in the judiciary.
Speaking at a gathering by the People's National Front (PNF), Yameen raised questions about some decision from the Supreme Court.
The former President pushed to lift the moratorium on the death penalty in the Maldives when he was in power from 2013 to 2018. He also built the facilities needed for it.
The current administration of President Mohamed Muizzu had also vowed to implement the death penalty in accordance with Islamic principles.
"I used to advocate for that. But today I will not do that. Because I don't trust the judges," Yameen said on Sunday night.
"We are talking about qisas. But what president would dare to enforce [the sentence] based on the existing judicial system?" he questioned.
Yameen noted that the lack of confidence in the judicial system makes it difficult to implement such matters decided for Muslims in Islam.
The former President said the Supreme Court's decisions should not be political, allowing the people to have confidence in the final decision.
There should also be a mechanism to hold the Supreme Court accountable for its decisions, he added.
At a press conference in August 2022, Yameen maintained that his views on implementing the death penalty had not changed.
But, even at the time, he acknowledged the poor quality of investigations and lack of confidence in the judicial system were an obstacle to do it.
