Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb walked free on Tuesday after the Criminal Court dropped all seven charges against him by the state.

The seven charges against him are two counts of embezzlement, unlawful influence to obtain an unfair advantage, and misuse of official capacity.

Police had previously claimed that Adeeb pleads guilty to the charges under a plea deal with the state. However, during a hearing last Sunday, state noted that the plea deal was made after a request by Adeeb.

During the same hearing, Adeeb refuted the state's claims and said that he was forced to sign the plea deal proposed by the former Prosecutor General Aishath Bisham and Assistant Commissioner of Police Ahmed Riyaaz in exchange for medical care. He added that his medical trip abroad was only possible because he signed the plea deal.

During the hearing, judge Ismail Rasheed posed a variety of questions regarding the plea deal to establish the validity of said plea deal.

Today's hearing saw Judge Rasheed declare that such an act can be perceived as an act of “torture”. He added that medical care in exchange for the admittance of guilt was not something that the PG office can do, highlighting that the plea deal was not backed by the criminal procedure code.

With the charges being dropped, there are no more cases against Adeeb in the courts. PG has not commented on how things will move forward from here on.