High Court rules in favor of Fazeel over his May detention

High Court has overturned a warrant issued by the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court to remand Ibrahim Fazeel to jail back in May.

Fazeel was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and extortion. He, along with two others, were accused of extorting over MVR 100,000 from an elderly man after threatening him with a machete, binding his hands, blindfolding him, forcing him into the forest, and threatening to set him on fire. The incident took place at L. Gan on May 2 and the warrant for his arrest was issued by L. Gan Magistrate Court.

He was arrested while on the run, from Hulhumale’, on May 6, and was taken to the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court for his remand.

 The court, at the remand hearing on May 7, deemed Fazeel to be a menace to society and remanded him to jail for 10 days – which he served in its entirety.

Fazeel later filed an appeal with the High Court over his detention, contesting that the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court’s warrant was issued in violation of due legal and trial process.

He filed the appeal on July 11, and the court issued its ruling in the matter on Tuesday, September 17.

The court found that while Fazeel’s arrest in Hulhumale’ despite the arrest warrant being issued from L. Gan was legal, the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court did not have the jurisdiction to issue the remand warrant.

It noted that the Supreme Court, in a circular dated July 7, 2016, established that suspects arrested from Male’ City and its suburbs must be taken to the Criminal Court for their remand hearing. It noted that Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court did not have the jurisdiction for such remand hearings until the Supreme Court made its first amendment to the trial and criminal procedure regulations on July 7, 2019.

The High Court therefore found that the remand warrant against Fazeel was issued at a time when Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court did not have any jurisdiction to issue such a warrant, and established the remand warrant issued on May 7 to be null and void.

Fazeel gained infamy after getting implicated in the disappearance of Aminath Shima Nafiz, 19. Shima disappeared at sea while travelling on a dinghy boat to L. Maamendhoo with Fazeel on February 22. He claimed the boat capsized, and has denied allegations of foul play. No sign of either Shima or the dinghy boat has been found to date.

 Fazeel was later arrested less than a month later, on March 10, for kidnapping Shima’s underage sister.

Though the police report there is insufficient evidence to press criminal charges for Shima’s disappearance, charges have been pressed against him and two others for kidnapping her underage sister.