Judge Hussain Faiz Rashad of the Criminal Court has been suspended.

According to available information, Faiz was suspended yesterday in connection with two cases being investigated by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

The suspension is reportedly related to two incidents: the release of Ali Anwar Mohamed (41) from S. Hithadhoo, Cozy Corner, a major drug trafficker, and the handling of the detention of Haleemath Lamha, who was in custody pending trial in the Mary Grace murder case.

Anwar, suspected of being the mastermind behind a case involving 70 kg of drugs imported to the Maldives on an Iranian boat, was arrested last week in another case and remanded for five days. When brought to court on Saturday for an extension, Judge Faiz released him without conditions, citing procedural errors by the police in executing the arrest warrant.

After Anwar's release, he fled to Sri Lanka before a new arrest warrant could be executed. However, he was deported from Sri Lanka and subsequently re-arrested by the police.

Lamha, who was in custody pending trial, had been released twice before. When asked to decide on Lamha's detention, Judge Faiz stated that a decision could only be made after an assessment of the threat Lamha poses to society, which the state had not provided despite being instructed to do so.

Previously, in November 2021, Faiz was also suspended by the JSC. That suspension was due to a leaked audio where he allegedly claimed that the judge who sentenced former President Abdulla Yameen to prison did so under "hostage" conditions.

This suspension highlights ongoing concerns about judicial conduct and decision-making in high-profile cases in the Maldives.