Court frees man suspected of forcibly taking a woman into woods and sexually assaulting her

High Court has overturned a lower court’s decision to remand a man accused of forcibly taking a woman into the woods and sexually assaulting her.

The incident reportedly occurred in early February on an island south of Malé. According to the case report, the suspect is accused of forcing a local woman onto his motorcycle, taking her to a secluded wooded area, and sexually assaulting her.

The report states that the incident took place on the night of February 4. The man was arrested the following day under a court order.

During his initial remand hearing on February 6, the lower court determined that there was sufficient evidence to support the allegations and ordered that the suspect be detained for 30 days. The individual, who has no prior criminal record, later appealed the remand order to the High Court.

In his appeal, the suspect argued that under the Criminal Procedure Act, a person cannot be remanded for more than 15 days at a time. The prosecution agreed with the argument, acknowledging the legal discrepancy and requesting the court to invalidate the lower court’s order.

A three-judge bench of the High Court, comprising Ibrahim Mahir, Ismail Shafeeu, and Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, unanimously ruled to overturn the remand order issued by the lower court. The bench was presided over by Judge Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, and the ruling was delivered on Thursday.