Items found on Hondaidhoo island in Haa Dhaal Atoll during the police raid are MP Abdulla Jabir’s responsibility, the Agriculture Ministry has stated.
Ten people including Jabir were arrested for the alleged consumption of alcohol on Thursday during a police raid on the island. All but two suspects have been released by Kulhudhuhfushi Magistrate Court.
Speaking at a press conference held on Sunday (November 18) Jabir claimed that the island was being run by Hamdhan Zaki, son of Special Envoy to the former President Mohamed Nasheed, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki.
Despite this, Deputy State Agriculture Minister Ali Solih said that Jabir himself had signed on behalf of Yacht Tours – the company Jabir is Managing Director of – to lease the island for agricultural purposes with the Agriculture Ministry on January 30 2003.
“Hence anyone, including us, can only set foot on the island with Jabir’s consent. Jabir must be responsible for anything found on the island. Article 18 of the agreement states that there shall not be any activities which violates the Islamic Shariah and the Maldivian constitution.
“The bearer of the signature must be responsible in such a case. Jabir has said that some tourists from nearby resorts go to the island for picnics, however it is not an island leased for that purpose,” Solih added.
According to Solih, the party who leased the island is entitled to all the powers granted under the agreement, however in case of a violation of the agreement by the party; the article does not prevent the ministry from taking action against them.
“The island was not leased as a picnic island, hence the president or the home minister will not be held responsible for it. No one has to be held liable for something Jabir has to be responsible for,” Solih added.
Jumhoree Party (JP) Deputy Leader and MP Abdulla Jabir has challenged the legitimacy of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and his current government, alleging the country is now run by the police and military.
His wife Dhiyana Saeed, President Waheed’s Minister for Gender and Human Rights, was subsequently sacked.
At a press conference regarding the police raid of arrests of himself, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, former President’s Special Envoy Ibrahim Hussain Zaki and other persons on charges of consuming alcohol, Jabir strongly criticized Waheed and the current government.
“They were so violent at first I thought they were some pirates or terrorists, they didn’t have badges or identification. Only after hours of brutality did they claim to be police and tell us we were arrested under charges of drug abuse,” Jabir said.
“I kept asking why theywere acting in such a violent manner, but no one provided a reply.”
He said that they had been handcuffed for close to 12 hours before they had been transferred to the Kulhudhuhfushi court.
Jabir, who had refused to provide urine samples to the police, explained his stand: “I repeated this to the judge too. I said I’m ready to give urine, or even shave off all the hair on my head and give it to them, or even blood,but that they had to follow laws and procedures when making arrests.”
The MP in the ruling coalition party further alleged that “some persons” in the executive had lately been finding it “hard to digest statements in Majlis which were made in the public interest” and had resorted to tactics such as phone tapping. He also said that since military vehicles were involved, it was “reason enough” to believe that Minister of Defence and National Security Mohamed Nazim were complicit.
Jabir said he had made a phone call to the Minister of Home Affairs Dr Mohamed Jameel right after he was released by the court.
“The Home Minister, Dr Jameel, said he had no knowledge [of the arrests]. So I have to say now that this country does not even have a home minister.”
“I am a JP MP who has supported Waheed and voted with his interests in parliament. I am also a deputy leader of JP, which is a coalition member of this government. Why did they then beat us up like this?” Jabir continued.
“Zaki nearly died. I almost died, too. I must say now the government is trying to kill off MPs.”
Speaking of the ministers, Jabir said: “No one has yet submitted a case on their cabinet posts to the courts, and the courts have not decided whether they are in their posts legitimately.”
“Even though the CNI said that this is not a coup, under what law does that CNI even qualify as a legal court?” Jabir said, questioning the legitimacy of the government – of which his own party is a coalition member.
“I see no reason why the President does not have to take the responsibility for this. That is, if there is a president. I now question whether there even is a president here. I guess the courts will provide us with an answer to that,” Jabir stated.
“I was giving Waheed my full support. But now I have been brutally beaten up for no reason at all. How can I support him after this? I can only describe the people behind this as devils disguised as humans,” he continued.
“I now see that what we have in the Maldives is a military dictatorship. We need to hold early elections as soon as possible. I will do everything I can in my capacity as a parliament member to facilitate early elections.”
“You were not even elected”: former HR Minister to President
Waheed administration’s Human Rights Minister, Dhiyana Saeed, also attended her husband Jabir’s press conference the previous day “as moral support to [her] husband who has been badly brutalised.”
She was subsequently dismissed from cabinet.
“In my career, I have always had to take the side of the police and defend their actions, although I have never found it easy to accept their brutality towards citizens,” Saeed said, adding, “But this time, I have seen too close the violence they dealt out. No one should be beaten up, regardless of what the charges for arrest are.”
Saeed then proceeded to demonstrate through role play the exact manner in which the police had brutalised her husband, acting out how and where the police had hit him.
“Police even hit Jabir on his private organs so hard that he is still bleeding. I would know, I have seen for myself,” Saeed said, sharing the doctor’s reports to support the point.
According to Saeed, she had sent a text message to Waheed upon learning of Jabir’s arrest: “I said to him that he would know very well which of the cabinet ministers have spouses who consume alcohol, and that I knew very well why Jabir was arrested. I was implying that it was politically motivated and had to do with Monday’s vote in parliament. If it honestly is about alcohol consumption, then I believe there’s a huge number of people that need to be arrested.”
“I also told him that I am very shocked to see the levels he is stooping to to hold on to his post, and said that he was not even elected by a public vote. I have quite a lot of things I can say under oath too.”
Saeed then claimed that Waheed had responded stating that he was unaware of the arrests, adding that he himself was questioning who could have done this and for what purpose. According to her, Waheed himself said that he suspected it had been done in connection to Monday’s vote, in order to create more hostility towards him among the MPs.
Dhiyana Saeed was terminated from her post as the Human Rights Minister on Monday, following her public criticism of the current administration.
Abbas quits JP over Jabir’s comments
Meanwhile, government spokesperson and council member of JP Abbas Adil Riza has quit the party today, stating as a reason that judging by the statements made by people in the party leadership, he did not like the direction the party seemed to be moving in.
“Jabir’s statements are not sentiments that I can agree with. I don’t accept that it is within my principles to stay with people who evade taxes and defame police and other people. That is why I am leaving the party,” Abbas said.
We acted professionally during the arrest: police
Police have made public their official video of the arrest on Monday. Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef denied that police had caused any physical harm to any of the arrested persons.
He however said that those who had restricted arrest had been pushed to the ground and handcuffed, adding that any damage caused through showing resistance was the responsibility of the arrested.
Haneef stated that police had followed normal procedures and acted professionally in the operation.
Abdulla Jabir and Dhiyana Saeed’s press conference:
President Mohamed Waheed Hassan told a rally on the island Kinolhas in Raa Atoll over the weekend that the Maldives “does not have a leader now.”
“As some people [say], the Maldives does not have a leader now. Lots of leaders are here, and all are of the same level. And so then everybody runs the state as they please,” Waheed told the rally.
“And the senior leader should not say anything. If he does, then it’s time to take away his post quickly,” Waheed said.
Waheed’s remarks came amid rising tension between parliament and the executive following the arrest of two opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs and an MP from the ruling coalition, Abdulla Jabir, on charges of a consumption of alcohol.
The Civil Court on Sunday also ordered the arrest of two MPs in the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) – another ruling coalition member – in connection with unpaid loans of several million dollars with the Bank of Maldives, through companies with ties to DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.
DRP MP Azim alleged that President Waheed and other senior members of the executive had approached him, offering to cancel the court summons if he agreed during Monday’s vote on secret balloting to vote in the way they preferred.
The court hearing was scheduled at 1:00pm – the same time as the vote. The court order was subsequently cancelled.
“It is difficult to believe that the court order for the arrest of the two MPs, Azim and Nashiz, at the time the vote is scheduled is a coincidence. It proves the allegations made by a huge section of society that the courts are politicised,” said the MDP in a statement.
The wife of Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Jabir, Gender and Human Rights Minister Dhiyana Saeed, said following her husband’s arrest that President Waheed had sent her a text message denying any knowledge of the arrests.
“The leader of the country is saying that he himself is questioning the motivation behind this and who it was that did this. Police made the arrests, right? So this is an allegation against police by the President. And he said in the SMS that there is a possibility that some people might have done this to antagonise people against [the President] with regard to the vote on Monday,” Saeed told an emergency meeting of parliament’s privileges committee.
According to Saeed, President Waheed had alleged that the arrests were “directly connected to Monday’s vote.”
That vote concerned whether to allow a ‘secret vote’ in an as-yet unscheduled no-confidence motion against President Waheed. The MDP-initiated proposition was ultimately defeated during Monday’s parliamentary vote by a narrow margin of 34 to 39 votes.
Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz meanwhile declared that President Waheed had no prior knowledge of the arrests of the MPs.
“Such operations are not carried out by police after informing the President or the Home Minister. This institution does not have any political influence. We have the room to function with professionalism,” Riyaz told local media.
Members of parliament have vote against the proposed amendment to parliamentary regulation that would have otherwise made impeachment votes secret.
The opposition-initiated proposition was defeated in Monday’s parliamentary vote with a narrow margin of 34 to 39 votes.
Members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) who earlier issued a three-line-whip, all voted in favour of the proposed amendment, while government aligned Jumhoree Party (JP) MPs also voted in favour of the proposition.
The government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Azim, whom the Civil Court had initially ordered police to produce in court, also voted with the opposition.
The amendment was proposed to the parliament by MDP MP Mohamed Shifaz and was approved by the parliament’s general affairs committee for the second time, after a previous decision by the committee was declared void by the Counsellor General Fathmath Filza on the grounds that the committee meeting on October 23 where it was voted through took place in violation of the rules.
The amendment was earlier proposed by Independent MP for Dhaalu Atoll Kudahuvadhoo, Ahmed Amir, who later withdrew the amendment claiming that his constituents did not “approve” of his decision.
During the parliamentary debate held prior to the vote, several MPs highlighted that it was important for such critical votes to be made a secret ballot since it directly related to the safety of the MPs themselves. Other MPs claimed that making such votes a secret ballot was “undemocratic” and conflicted with the constitution and its spirit.
Speaking in the debate, government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Shifaq Mufeed stated that there were “devious plans” behind making impeachment votes a secret and claimed that it was against the law.
“To establish a procedure to hide actions of the parliament is a clear violation of the constitution. A parliamentary session can only be held in closed doors only on matters that concerns the national security and public order,” Mufeed argued.
He added that in the case where a parliamentary vote goes to a stalemate the speaker should cast his vote and therefore it would not be a secret vote anyway, so it was “meaningless” to make parliamentary votes a secret ballot.
PPM MP Ali Arif also echoed similar remarks claiming that the current amendment excludes the impeachment votes taken against parliament speaker and deputy speaker so therefore it was very unjust.
He also added that the purpose of the amendment was “very cowardly” and affected the reputation of parliamentarians, and questioned the integrity of those MPs who had proposed such an amendment.
Meanwhile JP MP Alhan Fahmy speaking in the debate, suggested that it was not a wise decision to keep the vote open especially at a time the country was going through severe political turbulence and where there remained doubt over the security of MPs.
All the MDP MPs who spoke during today’s session supported the proposition arguing that members could be subjected to personal vendettas and hatred based on the way he or she voted.
“Threatened”
Today’s parliamentary session had to be called off after the vote as the parliament order was lost. Several MDP MPs took point of orders claiming that the government had influenced the vote by threatening MPs.
Speaking to Minivan News, former MDP Chairperson and MP Mariya Ahmed Didi claimed that she believed today’s vote was influenced and that MPs were “being intimidated”.
“Many MPs who are afraid to say it openly claimed they had received all sorts of threats from the government,” she said.
She added that in the current political environment where the police and the military have “openly brutalised MPs” and no action been taken against them, MPs had hesitated in supporting the amendment.
This she said was particularly reflected in DRP’s stand towards the votes.
“After their MPs were served summons for arrest the DRP, whom many thought would collaborate with [MDP] on this, were scared and didn’t see these as idle threats,” she explained.
Didi added that she and her party would not give up despite their disappointment in parliament today.
Earlier, JP MP Abdulla Jabir and MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor – also the party’s international spokesperson – were arrested along with several opposition figures including former SAARC Secretary General and Special Envoy to the former President, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, former Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiz, while in an uninhabited island.
Police claimed that they found large amounts of “suspected” drugs and alcohol upon searching the island with a court warrant.
The arrests were made “based on information received by police intelligence,” police said. Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef told Haveeru that the suspects were arrested with alcohol and “hash oil”.
Following the arrests around midnight, the suspects were taken to Kulhudhufushi in Haa Dhaal Atoll, and Zaki was hospitalised.
Despite a police attempt to extend the detention periods all suspects including the two MPs have now been released by the Kulhudhufushi Magistrate Court, with the exception of Hamdan Zaki.
The opposition MDP alleged that the arrests were a politically-motivated attempt to disrupt parliament ahead of a no confidence motion against President Mohamed Waheed, and the amendment to voting procedure to make such votes secret. A second no-confidence motion against Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel was withdrawn this week pending the outcome of the secret vote amendment.
Ahead of the vote, Civil Court also issued an order on Sunday to take DRP MPs Mohamed Nashiz and Ali Azim into custody and present them in court.
The order was cancelled later the same day, on the grounds that the judge presiding over the case was out of the country.
Meanwhile, Presidents Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza has earlier said that it would use all threatened legal action “using all the powers of the government” against the People’s Majlis to “bring parliament back to the right path”. He made the remarkin an appearance on government-aligned private broadcaster DhiTV on October 25.
“The constitution and parliamentary rules of procedure clearly state which votes are to be conducted through secret ballot. The rest of the votes should be open,” he said.
Riza heavily criticised the committee decision to approve the amendment, insisting that it violated the parliamentary rules on conducting committees meetings and votes.
Four suspects involved in the attack on the Thinadhoo police station in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll on February 8, 2012 are to have their trial postpone due to one suspect taking his GCE O’level exams.
A Juvenile Court official said that the trial has been postponed until 17 December.
The four suspects – all aged 17 – are accused of causing damage to Thinadhoo police station and attacking police officers between 4:30pm and 8:30pm on February 8. They are also suspected of forcibly entering island’s Council Office on the same day.
They have been charged under article 6 (b), with reference to article 2 (f,g) of the Terrorism Prevention Act.
Article 6 (b) states that any person found guilty of the act of terrorism shall be sentenced between 10 and 15 years imprisonment or banishment.
Eighty-seven people have been charged with terrorism for torching government buildings and vehicles at the police station.
According to Media Official of the Criminal Court Ahmed Mohamed Manik, a trial for this case has not been scheduled.
The Civil Court issued an order on Sunday to take Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs Mohamed Nashiz and Ali Azim into custody and present them in court.
The order was cancelled later the same day, on the grounds that the judge presiding over the case was out of the country.
Police Media Official Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said police had been working to implement the order. He confirmed that the hearing had been scheduled for 1.30pm on Monday.
After the cancellation of the order, Sub-Inspector Haneef said that the reasons stated were that the judge was currently out of the country and other cases the same judge were presiding on had now been scheduled.
Following the initial issuing of the order, the DRP declined from making any comments on the issue. MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom said then that the case involved a personal matter and had no relation to politics or the party.
Dr Mausoom was not available for comment after the cancellation.
Department of Judicial Administration Director Ahmed Majid confirmed that the MPs were being taken to court in relation to a case submitted by the Bank of Maldives Pvt Ltd, asking the court for assistance in seeking due payments from the two persons.
This is in relation to a verdict by the Civil Court ordering Mahandhoo Investments and Kabalifaru Investments – two companies with ties to DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali – to repay millions of dollars worth of loans to the Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML). The verdict was also upheld by the High Court in October 2011.
“This is the normal procedure. The courts have summoned them numerous times, and they have continued to fail to attend, with no acceptable reasons presented. It is then legally at the court’s discretion to have police intercept and present them to court,” Majid said.
He further confirmed that the members would be released from custody after Monday’s hearing.
Meanwhile, the vote to determine if secret ballots can be taken during the taking of no confidence votes have been scheduled for Monday’s parliament session.
Waheed attempting to influence vote: MP Azim
DRP MP Azim has alleged that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and other senior members of the executive had approached him, offering to cancel the court summons if he agreed to vote for the secret balloting in a way they preferred.
Azim alleged that in addition to Waheed, his Political Advisor Ahmed Thaufeeq and Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza had called him and made similar statements.
Azim further said in parliament today that he was “not the least bit surprised” that Waheed had called, adding that he had expected as much. He alleged that Waheed had previously called him with similar intentions, including during the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) elections.
Following the arrest of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and Jumhooree Party MP Abdulla Jabir last Thursday alleging use of alcohol, many opposition politicians claimed that this was a political stunt to jeopardise Monday’s vote.
Both the Maldivian Democratic Party(MDP) and the Human Rights Minister Dhiyana Saeed alleged that there was a “political motivation” behind the arrests.
The Civil Court issued an order on Sunday to keep Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MPs Mohamed Nashiz and Ali Azim in custody and to present them in court. Later in the day, the order was cancelled, claiming the judge presiding over the case was out of the country.
Police Media Official Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said that the police had been working to implement the order. He confirmed that the hearing had been scheduled for 1.30pm on Monday.
After the cancellation of the order, Sub-Inspector Haneef said that the reasons stated were that the judge was currently out of the country and other cases the same judge were presiding on had now been scheduled.
Following the initial issuing of the order, DRP declined from making any comments on the issue. MP Dr. Abdulla Mausoom said then that the case involved a personal matter and had no relation to politics or the party.
Dr. Mausoom was not available for comments after the cancellation until the time of press.
Department of Judicial Administration Director Ahmed Majid confirmed that the MPs were being taken to court in relation to a case submitted by the Bank of Maldives Pvt Ltd asking the court for assistance in seeking due payments from the two persons.
The Supreme Court on Sunday held the first hearing of the case concerning the legitimacy of Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.
The case was filed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and is being heard by the entire seven member bench of the Supreme Court. Respondent in the case was lawyer Ismail Wisham.
Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s legal team also sought to intervene in the court case. Nasheed’s lawyers stated that the case involved the interests of the former president as his case regarding the detention of the Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed is being looked by Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.
At the beginning of the trial, the former Attorney General Husnu al Suood, who was representing the respondent raised procedural points whereby he argued that Supreme Court Judge Adam Mohamed Abdulla could not sit in the bench since he was also the President of the JSC, which therefore amounted to “presumption of bias”.
However, the Supreme Court rejected the procedural points.
“We understand no reasons were given by the Supreme Court as to the why it decided to not hear the case submitted by the MDP,” the party said in a subsequent press statement. “We believe this goes against the principles of Natural Justice. As a party which will be affected by the decision of the Supreme Court, we believe the MDP has locus standi and as such has the right to be heard.”
Speaking on during case, the respondents argued that according to the existing law, there were no legal basis to support the legal existence of Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, which had been formed in contradiction to the constitution and the Judicature Act article 53.
Judicature Act Article 53(e) states that if four divisions of the four superior courts are established in one island, then “the magistrate court of that island will be abolished. And if a division from among the four courts is established in an island, matters that fall within the jurisdiction of the relevant court shall be carried out by the relevant division and not by the magistrate court.”
The respondent’s lawyer claimed that with reference to the constitution and the Decentralisation Act, it was clear that Hulhumale’ and Villimale are now considered as a part of Male’ even though they are geographically two islands, therefore a magistrate court cannot be set up in any of the islands which under the law are now considered wards.
The intervening Nasheed’s lawyers also echoed similar remarks on the case. Nasheed’s lawyers requested a period of three days to research the documents – which they claimed to have only received just a few minutes before the hearing – but were denied the opportunity.
The JSC lawyers who filed the case argued that Hulhumale’ and Villimale were only considered as a part of Male’ for administrative purposes and that this argument did not have any legal basis. Therefore, they stated, Hulhumale’ should be “judicially” considered a separate island.
The lawyers also claimed that the court was set up with the intention of providing easy access to justice for the people of Hulhumale. They also claimed that according to the Judicature Act article 66, each island must have a magistrate court and that prior to the passing of the Act, the court had been functioning as an island court.
The artice 66 states – “A Magistrate Court shall be established in all inhabited islands with the exception of Male’ where there are the four superior courts created in accordance with Article 53(b) of this Act and in an island where four divisions of these four superior courts are established in accordance with Article 53 (c) of this Act.”
Responding to the claims of the JSC, the respondents stated that based on the documents presented to the court, the Hulhumale court was formed to function as a section of Civil Court and Family Court prior to the passing of the Judicature Act.
The added that only island courts were to be declared as magistrate courts according to the judicature act and since Hulhumale Court was a section of the superior courts, it cannot be declared as a magistrate court according to the Judicature Act.
Supreme Court, adjourning today’s sessions did not mention of the next date the hearings would be scheduled.
The case concerning the legitimacy of Hulhumale Magistrate Court was filed by the JSC in earlier this month, asking the Supreme Court to decide on the matter.
Meanwhile, Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have repeatedly challenged the legitimacy of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.
Member of Nasheed’s legal team, lawyer Hisaan Hussain during a press conference held earlier this month, stated that they felt it would be unjust for the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court to be presiding over any case after Nasheed’s case was temporarily halted over allegations of the court being unlawfully established.
The Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court held the first hearing of Nasheed’s case on October 9. The second hearing had been scheduled for November 4, which was cancelled following the injunction granted Sunday morning by the High Court.
Nasheed’s legal team has previously raised concerns about the legality of the Hulhumale’ court, citing Article 141 (a) of the Constitution and Articles 53 (b) and 62 of the Maldives Judicature Act.
Following the hearing, the MDP in its statement argued that the head of the JSC sitting on the bench during a trial concerning the JSC was against natural justice, and grounds for taking the case to the International Court of Justice.
“That no man shall be his own judge and jury is a fundamental principle of Natural Justice. The Supreme Court decides cases on simple majority and the president of a body that is the appellant and as such a party to the litigation and in which one of the issues is the legality of its own acts, should be disqualified from sitting as a judge in this case,” the party said.
“We are thinking of instructing lawyers to take up this case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). After all once such basic principles of justice are ignored in our highest court of appeal, it paves the way for appeal to the ICJ.”
A man who was previously sentenced to 110 years in prison has been arrested in Fuvahmulah over an alcohol-related crime.
Ibrahim Usham, 23, of Greet, Fuvahmulah, was arrested at 11:15pm last night, together with a 15-year-old boy.
In an operation conducted by Fuvahmulah Police, the pair were arrested while producing alcohol in a vacant house in Hoadhandu district in Fuvamulah, police said.
Police found equipment used to produce alcohol at the house, including a 20-litre plastic barrel and a 1.5 litre coke bottle containing a substance suspected to be alcohol.
According to police, Usham had been serving his sentence under DPRS when he was handed over to the National Drug Agency upon the agency’s request in March 2011.
Police said that Usham was previously arrested on September 7 2012 in relation to a sexual misconduct case, at which time he also tested positive for drugs.
Further arrests were made at ‘chaka bin’ in Fuvamulah after four adults and two minors were found to be producing alcohol.
Police said that Usham was serving his sentence under DPRS when he was handed over to the National Drug Agency upon the Agency’s request in March 2011, for further treatment.
Police informed that Usham was also arrested on 7 September 2012 in relation to a sexual misconduct case, at which time he also tested positive for drugs.
Four adults and two minors were also arrested while producing alcohol at ‘chaka bin’ in Fuvahmulah yesterday evening.
The Attorney General’s Office has submitted a case claiming that causing public disturbances in the name of political protest is against the constitution.
The case, submitted in September, requests the Supreme Court to rule that such protests are against some articles of the constitution.
This includes disturbing the public, using foul language, protesting in a manner that instills fear into the hearts of children and the elderly.
Deputy Leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Dr Abdullah Mausoom said that people should have the right to the protest, but argued that Maldivians also “don’t want their daily lives disrupted.”
“We have such polarised parties here that are from one extreme to the other, it is expected that people protest.
“However when it disrupts the lives of people, like how the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) camped in one of the parks for weeks, it’s not right,” Mausoom added.
Earlier this year, the MDP set up a protest camp in the surf point area of the city following former president Mohamed Nasheed’s controversial resignation.
In March, security forces cleared the area in response to the violence that had engulfed the city on the morning of the raid, a police spokesperson told Minivan News at the time.
Police alleged that people had been committing crimes and threatening police before retreating to the MDP camp. The MDP claimed the action was a clamp down on freedom of assembly.
Police completely cleared the tsunami monument camp after Attorney General Azima Shukoor told the press that the area belonged to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), and claimed that Male’ City Council did not have authority to give the area to the MDP.
In May, a second MDP camp at Usfasgandu was raided by police after a search warrant was obtained from the Criminal Court.
Reasons for the search as stated on the warrant included: “suspected criminal activity”, “damage to public property”, and “suspected black magic performed in the area”.
President’s Office Spokesman Masood Imad, told Minivan News that the government fully supports the right to protest, but it needs to be done in such a manner that does not negatively affect the lives of others.
He said: “A protest should be about changing something. A protest conducted in residential areas has nothing to do with parliament. Public protest and public nuisance are two very different things.”
The MDP meanwhile likened the move to Bahrain’s recent efforts to outlaw protesting.
“The MDP strongly condemns efforts to restrict freedom to assembly by the government. One of the most fundamental clauses in the new constitution is the right to protest and we are witnessing democratic gains fast slipping,” said MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.
The AG office details that the activities detailed in their case breached the right to live, the right to privacy, the right to freedom of expression, the right to form political parties, the right to assembly and the right to provide special protection to children and the elderly.
All Supreme Court judges will be on the bench presiding over this case. The hearing has now been scheduled for Monday.
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