The Supreme Court today quashed a death sentence imposed in a 2013 murder case on a person who was under 18 years of age at the time of the offence.
The case concerned the murder of Hussein Waheed in A. Aishaa in 2013, in which the then-juvenile was involved. A juvenile court had sentenced him to death, and the High Court had upheld the sentence.
The appeal was brought by the Prosecutor General’s Office following amendments to the Children’s Justice Act, which prohibit the imposition of the death penalty on persons under 18.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court held that the death sentence was unlawful under the Children’s Justice Act because the offender was a minor at the time of the crime. A five-judge bench overturned the decisions of the lower courts and ordered the Juvenile Court to impose a fresh sentence consistent with the Children’s Justice Act and criminal procedure rules.
The court also ordered that the individual remain in a suitable facility under the Children’s Justice Act until the Juvenile Court passes a new sentence or makes another determination.
The decision aligns Maldivian sentencing practice with the prohibition on capital punishment for juveniles.
