Prosecutor General's Office has withdrawn case against 12 members of parliament for allegedly breaking police ranks in an attempt to enter the parliament building.
The case has been withdrawn after holding several hearings in connection with the charges against these 12 parliamentarians. However, a long hiatus has passed since the last hearing. The state has not revealed the reason behind its decision to withdraw the case.
The parliamentarians against which the charges were raised include President-Elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, in addition to parliamentarians Abdulla Riyaz, Abdulla Shahid, Mohamed Aslam, Mohamed Abdul Kareem, Mohamed Falah, Ali Hussein, Ibrahim Didi, Hussein Areef, Saud Hussein, Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim and Mohamed Ameeth. The charges were raised in August 2017. The parliamentarians were accused of breaking police ranks and trying to enter the parliament building on July 24, 2017.
However, the defendants maintained they did not break police ranks and as they were members of parliament, police officers allowed them to enter the parliament premises. They also added there were no legal grounds police officers can stop parliament members from entering the parliament chamber for a sitting. Nine of the parliamentarians were charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer.