The Information Commissioner’s Office of Maldives (ICOM) has sought action against the President’s Office for refusing to comply with orders to disclose information requested under the right to information (RTI) law.

ICOM submitted a case to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office. The decision was made due to the President’s Office's failure to comply with an ICOM order to disclose information, Information Commissioner Ahmed Ahid Rasheed told Adhadhu.

Since ICOM sought criminal charges, the case has been sent to the police, PG office media official Ahmed Shafeeu said.

“It has to be an investigative agency that should carry out a criminal investigation, right. The PG office requested the police to see whether a criminal act was involved in this and then to submit [the case],” Shafeeu said.

The RTI law states that if 45 days pass without either appealing or complying with an ICOM order, the PG office can be asked to file disobedience to order charges at court.

Action has not been taken against any state institution in such a case so far.

Since the current government came to power, the President’s Office has almost entirely stopped replying to RTI requests.

The President’s Office has failed to attend ICOM hearings after refusing to provide information that cannot be legally withheld. After postponements requested by the President’s Office, ICOM was forced to hold the most recent hearings in the absence of President’s Office officials as legally mandated deadlines had been due to pass.

“As the President’s Office is the highest office of the state, seeing the President’s Office pay no attention to this at all is something that could truly entirely weaken this right,” Information Commissioner Ahid previously told Adhadhu.