Must Go ahead with Nasheed;s Criminal Case Fast: UN

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabrielle Knaul has said that no one can be exempted from law and all people are equal under the law.

UN Special Rapporteur, Knaul said that many people have been calling to delay the trial held in court against the former President Mohamed Nasheed. She said that the Maldives has a constitution and it contains firm fundamentals to secure human rights.

 Knaul noted that the it is important to hold trials against those who break the law. She said that this needs to be done for the strengthening of the implementation of the constitution. She said this in reply to a question raised by a journalist regarding the calls to delay the court case against Nasheed.

When asked whether it is better to delay or to continue the trial against Nasheed, Knaul said that all trials should be held. She said that delaying a trial is the delaying of justice.

"In my opinion justice delay is justice deny," she said.

In her remarks, the Special Rapporteur raised several issues including the lack of mechanisms that would hold prosecutors, court staff and judges accountable and the lack of basic pieces of legislation including the Penal Code, the Criminal procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Code that was essential to strengthen the justice system. Commenting on the legal profession, Ms Knaul noted the absence of a Bar association in the Maldives that would self-regulate the profession and remarked on the small number of women in the justice system.  She also identified training of judges, lawyers and prosecutors as an urgent area that required utmost attention.