Maldives Attorney General Husnu Sood culpable of willfully presenting false evidence to court
On June 4th, the Maldives High Court ruled that documents submitted by Maakun Mohamed Falah (cousin of Auditor General Maakun Naeem) in his case against the Maldives Elections Commission had been doctored, and therefore dismissed the case. Maakun Falah’s attorney, Maldivian Democratic Party senior lawyer Husnu Sood, presented the falsified documents at the High Court hearing of the case. Husnu Sood is the incumbent Attorney General, appointed by President Mohamed Nasheed on June 3rd.
Maakun Falah, MDP candidate for Maafannu Dhekunu Constituency, had lodged a case against the EC, demanding that the May 9th parliamentary vote in his constituency be declared void, and a fresh vote be ordered. In the High Court hearing on the case, Falah’s attorney Husnu Sood claimed that the official report of elections officials on the day’s proceedings contained false information. Sood also deposited as evidence of this charge, a copy of what he claimed was the said official report. The High Court found that the document deposited by Sood was a fake. Judge Ali Hameed ruled that Sood’s fake document contained obvious and substantial differences from the original official report of the Elections Commission. It threw the case out of court since Sood had not presented any supporting evidence to justify the charge. With the High Court ruling that the document submitted by Sood had been doctored, both Sood and his client Maakun Falah have committed crimes under Sections 62, 66 and 67 of the Maldives Penal Code, that is, the crime of willfully presenting false evidence. Section 62 defines the meaning of presenting false evidence under the Penal Code. Section 66 defines the submission of any false certificate or document to a court or legal venue of justice as also presenting false evidence. It prescribes a penalty for the crime as either two years in jail or exile, or a fine of not more than 1,000 Maldivian Rufiyaa. Section 67 deals with willful submission of false certification or documentation. This section defines the submission of a certificate or document to court without verifying its truth as willful presentation of false evidence. Hence, both Sood and Falah have committed crimes under each one of these three sections.
Sources report that Prosecutor General Ahmed Muiz has privately warned Husnu Sood that he stands on the brink of being sentenced for contempt of court should the courts so choose to move against him. It is disturbing that PG Muiz has limited himself to a mere private warning. The PG is in actual fact required by law to charge Sood for willfully presenting false evidence, under Sections 62, 66, and 67 of the Penal Code.
By not charging Sood, PG Muiz himself is guilty of aiding and abetting a criminal to evade justice under Section 76 of the Penal Code. Strictly speaking, in the light of their above actions in relation to this case, both Muiz and Sood are liable under Section 80 of the Penal Code for misfeasance in public office by abetting a criminal to escape due punishment. Section 79 states that aiding and abetting a perpetrator of a crime to avoid penalty for the crime is a crime in itself. The only exceptions provided under this section are aiding parents, children and or spouse. PG Muiz is Husnu Sood’s partner in their joint law firm Sood Muiz and Co. PG Muiz and Husnu Sood are both classmates and close cronies of President Mohamed Nasheed.
Last year, PG Muiz has also refrained from pursuing criminal charges against the then President-elect Mohamed Nasheed in the case where Nasheed had violated elections law by campaigning in the voting area while voting was ongoing. In that instance, PG Muiz withdrew the criminal charges against Nasheed.
Unverified sources report that the Falah case lodged by President Nasheed’s party MDP in order for it to create an excuse for public disorder and to intimidate the Judiciary. This was in anticipation of the court ruling in favor of DRP candidate Ghassan Maumoon in his case against the EC. Maakun Falah, infamous for his street gang and criminal activities, is a high profile organizer and gang leader of MDP street riots and intimidation activities targeting political opponents.
Weeks prior to Maakun Falah lodging his case, Ghassan Maumoon, the DRP candidate for Thaa Thimarafushi, had appealed to the High Court to invalidate the May 9th parliamentary vote in his constituency and order a fresh vote. It is reported that, in the even that Ghassan won his case, MDP had planned demonstrations outside the High Court to demand the same ruling for Maakun Falah. The similarity of the High Court appeal in both the Maakun Falah case and Ghassan Maumoon case lends credibility to these reports. However, in contrast to the Maakun Falah case which was pinned on the doctored document, compelling evidence was provided by Ghassan Maumoon to justify his claim that voting in his constituency had proceeded under fear and intimidation, and in violation of election laws and regulations. The High Court on June 11th ruled in his favour and ordered the EC to hold a fresh vote within 30 days of the court order. Following the dismissal of Maakun Falah’s case by the High Court, the MDP did try and organize riots outside the High Court, notably on days of court hearings in the Ghassan Maumoon case. However, these did not get much support.
Husnu Sood has also been indirectly warned of possible contempt of court charges because of his attempts to influence the Judiciary immediately after taking office as Attorney General. In Sood’s first public interview as Attorney General, he accused the Judiciary of purposefully delaying cases and thereby being negligent of its duty to deliver justice. Speaking volubly about the “long arm of the law”, Sood said in a press conference that the Herethere case had been delayed by the Judiciary without any adequate reason, resulting in the loss of rights and justice by several parties. He had promised to ensure that the Judiciary made a ruling on the case soon.
The very next day (June 4th), the Civil Court issued a public statement, warning that it would take action against any person interfering in the jurisdiction of the court. It appealed to all Maldivians to respect the Judiciary, stating that “Every individual should work to diligently discharge his/her responsibilities within his/her mandate, and should see this as the correct course of action, and should, out of respect, not willfully do anything that may diminish the standing of the Judiciary”.
This battle between the courts and Attorney General Sood continued last week, when the state television station Television Maldives broadcast a heavily biased program that repeated the Attorney General’s accusations of the Judiciary. The program “Q & A with Migdhaadh” was broadcast on June 9th. In addition to lambasting the Judiciary, it posed a Yes or No phone-in statement for viewer response. The statement, “Herethere case has been delayed because the Judiciary is drooping in its work”, was a repeat of Sood’s press statement on this issue. In reprisal, on June 10th, the Criminal Court ordered the Maldives Police Service to investigate the broadcast in order to determine whether the program had been broadcast with malicious intent to expressly create public mistrust of the Judiciary. The following day, the TVM repeated this program in defiance of the Court Order. It is not known how far the police have carried out its investigation.
Sood, a former judge, has been dogged by corruption charges since his days as a State Attorney. The most notable report is of a case in which he made a ruling in favor of Ibrahim Waheed of Medhuziyaaraiydhoshuge in return for him signing over half of his property to Sood’s wife.
With Prosecutor General Muiz continue to show his extreme partiality to his cronies and his former party the MDP, and acting in collusion with his partner Husnu Sood, the rights of Maldivians to justice and to equality before the law are likely to be just dreams under the Nasheed Administration.
Members of parliament have been called upon by the public to hold Prosecutor General accountable Muiz for neglecting his legal responsibilities by not pressing criminal charges against Sood. MPs have been requested by several members of the public to question PG Muiz on the issue while in session. The question is whether parliament will show the courage, daily demonstrated by the Judiciary now in protecting citizen rights.
June 13, 2009 10:10 PM
Muiz Suood and Co. was once a famous law firm in Maldives. So need i say more about how the PG will protect the AG. They both know too much rubbish about each other to do anything.
June 13, 2009 10:45 PM
The big question is, WILL the majlis have enough ball-power in them to stand up for the people and summon PG Muiz to the floor to answer them. The Majlis must be held equally responsible in this crime, if they don't. Again; where's DRP and the so-called Independents?
June 13, 2009 11:29 PM
Dear RN,
Even though PG Muiz refused to charge his close friend Anni with elections offences, he was more than happy to proceed with the same charges against Ali Waheed MP even though Ali Waheed did not commit as egregious a crime as Anni did. So this is justice under the "New Democracy" in Maldives; oddly enough, it bears more striking resemblances to Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Democracy rather than liberal democracy. One law for the Fuhrer, and a different one for the Untermensch (underclass). Good one, Herr Muiz. Heil Hitleranni!
June 13, 2009 11:34 PM
Are these people playing a "spot the nepotism" game? Auditor General Naeem's cousin Falah presents fraudulent evidence in court. PG Muiz's partner AG Suood abets Falah to pervert the course of justice. ANd of course, Anni who is beholden to Auditor General Naeem, PG Muiz, and AG Suood for his current presidency, turns a blind eye to everything. Good luck Maldives. With these crooks in power, you're surely going to need divine intervention to escape their clutches!
June 13, 2009 11:36 PM
For goodness' sake, isn't there even one person among this Maakun clan who doesn't have to turn to criminal activities? What is it with these people? Something in their well water?
June 13, 2009 11:41 PM
yesss anon@11;34. divine intervention is what we need n Insha Allah it will happen. this country will hopefully be freed from Anni's clutches before VP Waheed returns from US concluding new deals to save our environment from sinking. VP waheed, the pawn in this game does not know that the country is sinking because of decivilisation by mdp thugs! RN, please fwd these articles to the diplomatic missions...! foreign minister would then call tvmdp and say no foreign parties will question the nasheed administration whatsoever...!these people are jokes on themselves.
June 13, 2009 11:42 PM
Raajje News Team,
Once again a very well-researched report! You guys are simply amazing. Keep up the great reporting. Haveeru and other media outlets would do well if they wrote reports at least half as factual as your reports.
June 13, 2009 11:45 PM
btw TVMdp is not above the Law. let's see the judiciary take action against them if defiance continues. it is another 'spot the nepotism' game. theyobo thoyyib waheed related to anni is in charge of tvmdp and maldives broadcast corp chief khaleel is thoyyib's best man!
June 13, 2009 11:48 PM
true true anon@11;42. not just haveeru, i wonder if anyone logs onto nasheed's blog these days. he must be having hiccups right now. his articles are not factually accurate as RN articles. even the debate he runs kind of bores readers becos of th central "I' in all his articles. RN team, keep up the great effort. You guys are fantastic! Maldives media should take lessons from you.
June 13, 2009 11:49 PM
Speaking of our little Foreign Minister: he apparently is going around telling everyone that since Maldives was given a Vice Chair post in the UN General Assembly, this shows that we are seen as being a democratic country... Well, maybe he was too little to remember it at the time, but during HE Hussain Shihab's tenure as Permanent Representative to the UN, not only was Maldives granted a Vice Chair seat, but HE Shihab actually even presided over a session of the UN General Assembly!! So if Doc Shaheed's words are to be believed, Maldives was therefore democratic even in the early Nineties. Enough said.
June 13, 2009 11:52 PM
exactly anon@11:49. kudey shaheed will never be too late to hijack fame. he has this knack to rip off fame and honour from others. little he may be, but he is puffed up. heard that some days he cannot even touch his nose tip... so much for shaheedchio..!
June 13, 2009 11:56 PM
aw no worries RN...we'l soon see shaheed come shaheed go... just as we saw hassan come hassan go, and jameel come jameel go.. they are the Qawmee Resignation Party!
June 14, 2009 12:00 AM
Great idea, Anonymous 11.41,
RN should forward these articles to all DPL missions to show them just what kind of a regime we are now living under. Better yet, why don't each one of us forward these articles to as many people as possible? That should help spread the word...
June 14, 2009 12:03 AM
also send hard copies to the infamous HR comm of the Maldives!
June 14, 2009 12:08 AM
Dear Attorney General,
Since you spoke of the "long arm of the law" as being equally blind to position in catching criminals, I wonder if you could see that by rights you should be the first one to be apprehended by it? Go on, tell us if you have the courage to protect the integrity of that office of state and allow the law to treat everyone equally. Will you resign, sir?
June 14, 2009 12:10 AM
resign? o dear, i havnt been paid even once yet. diyana was AG for 6 mnths, please RN readers, giv me more than Diyana...! AG SOd
June 14, 2009 12:10 AM
Absolutely! Such acts are outrageous, and will only bring disrepute on the Bandaara Naib's Office. Sood should resign immediately!
June 14, 2009 12:12 AM
For your information, Dhiyana Saeedh stood up to President Nasheed's persecution of political ooponents and his attempts at wholesale corruption of the Civil Service. She deserved much more than 6 months in that high office; in fact she was pushed because Anni knew she was going to expose his corruption and alcoholism!
June 14, 2009 12:32 AM
well Done RN team! Excellent article again. I like to read your articles because you always show the proof. keep up your great work to save our country from these dishonest people. Thank you!
June 14, 2009 1:05 AM
People, Stand upand join the fight.Forward the RN address to your friends & family, with request to read and contribute. Pressure the Majlis to act on your behalf.
June 14, 2009 7:43 AM
anon@12:12, for your info, Diyana saeed deserves nothing. o yeah, she could not work with a person more evil than herself. just take a deep breath and look at the rubbish she threw on president gayyoom. diyana deserved the boot from anni and she got it. also for your info, she is not capable to be given AG post in the first place. when things are so bad, anyone who is a little bit above the rest in edu qualifications will shine like anything. diyana is crap compared to the lawyers of calibre we have in the maldives. diyana rose to fame through jabir who has a way of turning resort deals upside down every time he steps in!
June 14, 2009 9:29 AM
anon@7:43. You are just jealous cause you didn't get t where Diyana was. Look at yourself in a mirror.
June 14, 2009 10:29 AM
Good blog. But unfortunately your readers miss the point. Which is, that AG Suoodh is a criminal. He is guilty. When the courts rule he is guilty, he will be ineligible to be AG as he does not meet the criteria for the post. This is why Muizzu is protecting him. Same thing when Anni committed a crime during his presidential campaign. Only Majlis can make Muiz accountable. But looking at the shows they put on, Majlis is all talk and no action. So all you can do is just keep yelling.
June 14, 2009 11:18 AM
Good work once again RN team. Yes, readers please make everyone aware of the work RN is doing to keep us informed. Good research on the law as well, RN. It's heartening that you haven't fallen victim to the yellow journalism that all our more established media have caught. Never compromise; President Nasheed is taking advantage of these first months in power to become a tyrant second to none. Umar Naseer called it exactly right when he coined the term "Asia's Mugabe" to apply to President Nasheed.
June 14, 2009 11:53 AM
All the talk by Suoodh about the long arm of the law is just that: talk, and worthless talk at that. Look at what they've gone and done now... Sarangu Adam Manik's son was serving a life sentence in Sri Lanka for drug trafficking when the government moved heaven and earth to bring him back to Maldives. Now Haveeru reports that the guy has been changed to house arrest! Also, DPRS are saying that they have no documents to say that he was even convicted in the first place. This is way beyond corruption. What is the Attorney General going to do about this blatant abuse of power on behalf of an MDP financier?
June 14, 2009 11:57 AM
Dear Anonymous @ 11.53,
I think you missed the point: Sarangu Adam Manik is not only President of the Male' Municipality, nor is he just an MDP financier; he's also an MDP member, and what does our esteemed President have to say about requests from MDP members? Yep, you guessed it: the President will fulfil that request as he has so coolly done right under the noses of the international community! He has brought Adam Manik's son home and taken him beyond the reach of justice. So this is how Nasheed's regime is going to close the doors to drug trafficking in the Maldives?
June 14, 2009 12:09 PM
One thing about President Nasheed, you can't say he didn't warn you about his true nature.
June 14, 2009 12:26 PM
There's nothing Sood can do. President Mohamed Nasheed has never listened to his Attorney Generals, and he's not going to start now...even if he was minded to, which I don't think from his comments about his own evilness. Sood will not say or do anything for fear of losing his job.
June 14, 2009 12:46 PM
maldivians have to find someway to jump-start our parliament. This case of "AG Sod" cannot be ignored.
June 14, 2009 12:57 PM
Our President & his Foreign Minister are too busy these days, collecting the awards they bartered for accepting Cosovo's claim for independence (white-washed corruption). Little Bo-peep becomes the Muslim Democrat Of The Year and Bombi Makunu collects the Anna Lindh Award. What a joke!
June 14, 2009 12:59 PM
Anon@12:57. The criteria for these awards is height. hehheh
June 14, 2009 4:12 PM
All very true, but the fact of the matter is that Anni IS getting an international award. Face it, this guy is making his presence felt on the international scene while the opposition squabble amongst themselves, and pick petty fights with him. Tell me, what exactly have the opposition done to stop the abuses and atrocities of Anni's government? Nothing. Big fat zero. So, let's not talk about relying on Majlis. Or on the Judiciary. Now is the time for Civil Society (the Fourth Power) to mobilize. It can work to support the courageous stands by the Judiciary. Civil Society is more powerful than any of these idealistic "independent" commissions you keep talking about. Stop talking about asking the foreign countries to save you. Start action now to save yourselves.
June 14, 2009 6:01 PM
See?Told you this would happen. Look at the names Anni proposed for the elections comm, prosecutor general and anti corruption commission.
June 14, 2009 7:06 PM
Yes, Think First. You are correct. But as Anonymous @ 4.12 said, civil society could prevent this. But, guess it needs proper leadership, as the opposition parties are not providing it. Why don't we all appeal to Umar to help us again? Look at how Umar Naseer got DB Shahid shifted from Defence Ministry.
June 14, 2009 8:06 PM
Umar Naseer is one of the very few politicians willing to openly challenge the Nasheed regime. We should all support him. Umar Naseer for President!
June 14, 2009 8:37 PM
RN, why don't you do an expose' on how the son of MDP biggest financier came to be saved from life in prison in Sri Lanka and is now enjoying all the comforts of home at... home! The government says they will stop all avenues of drug trafficking into the Maldives but when it comes to action, the convicted drug trafficker is given precedence over anything else!
June 15, 2009 10:22 PM
Cannot blame just Annie for the list sent as independent commissions. Think the blame lies equally with drp and pa, with their selfish deals done with the current dictatorship.
June 15, 2009 10:34 PM
People should have a muzaaharaa in front of that Sarangu guy's house. Someone please organise this.
June 16, 2009 9:50 AM
Won't that make it too easy for Sarangey's son to sell his drugs?
June 17, 2009 10:30 PM
Anonymous 10:22.
What nonsense are you talking. Who in their right senses will make a deal with MDP. They can't even keep their promises to the people who brought him to this post - Ithihaad. People who voted for a change are fretting now and regretting what they have done to our beloved country. These are all lessons from Allah. Learn something from this.
July 17, 2009 1:43 AM
This husnu sood is a man proven very unreliable in every case and have no public in non biasness. but yet anni has made him AG. how on earth this guy can compete against dhiyaana.
http://www.maldivedigest.com/dhivs/appointment.php