Audio of President Nasheed expressing his decision to withhold the salaries of lower court Judges leaked

An audio of President Mohamed Nasheed in which he expressed his decision to withhold the salaries of the judges of the lower courts has been leaked.

In the alleged audio of President’s meeting with the military, the President states that the judges of the lower courts were not appointed illegally and therefore their salaries will be withheld.

President said that he is the one with the constitutional authority to implement the rulings and verdicts of the judgers. He said that to follow justice in all matters and to uphold the constitution and rule of law are obligations upon him as the President.

“The current judges of the lower courts are not judges appointed in line with the law. With the legal consent I have received, I have decided not to implement the verdicts of these judges,” he said.

In view of the case of Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdullah Mohamed who was arrested by the military and sparked many protests, President Nasheed said that it is not acceptable that he is to be let free of making his rulings on cases when the Judicial Service Commission has decided to take action against him.

Yesteryday evening members of the ruling party held a protest today outside the Supreme Court, calling the Finance Ministry to suspend the salaries of Judges of all courts with the exceptions of High Court and Supreme Court.