Shareef: Must consider influence of gangs on judges, police when granting powers

North Hulhumale’ MP Hussain Shareef has expressed concern, citing the need to consider the influence criminals, especially gangs, have on judges and the police when granting more powers to the said authorities.

While debating on the new Anti-Gang Crime Bill at Wednesday’s parliamentary sitting, Shareef said while there are few people involved in major crimes, there are top government authorities that are linked with these crimes.

As such, he emphasized the need to consider the situation of the authorities when considering granting “absolute powers” to authorities.

In this regard, when granting these special powers, they should not be formulated in a manner it allows for citizens to be “framed” and “unjustly punished”.

“I am saying this as many people continue to face violence today due to being unjustly jailed for days, three years, four years, because of a bill passed by this honorable parliament that equals sexual harassment to infringement of children’s rights,” he said.

Shareef added that the issue continues to repeat in this society with indefinite remand that has led to many families being destroyed.

He said despite families being destroyed due to being jailed for years at an end, people who actually commit crimes are being released to society due to the influence they have on law enforcement agencies.

“The most crucial institution to protect us from the crimes and protect the public interests is the Maldives Police Service. If we consider the allegations we hear, we know individuals that are engaged in crimes are very much linked to the judiciary and the police,” he said.

“..we know that gang crimes are being encouraged within the judiciary and those spearheading these crimes are very much linked to some judges in the judicial sector,” he added.

Shareef repeatedly stressed negligence by law enforcement agencies in fulfilling their responsibilities.

He expressed concern over the fact that this negligence has resulted in children and youths being exposed to gang crimes.

The government-backed Anti-Gang Crime Bill is sponsored by South Machangolhi MP Mustafa Hussain.

It was accepted into the Parliament with a unanimous vote of 42 on Wednesday morning, and sent to the Judiciary Committee for review.

According to Mustafa, the main goal of the new legislature is to protect the community from gang-related crime and other dangerous and major crimes that create fear within the community, and to create a detailed legislative framework and enhance law enforcement to combat such crimes.