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Inmates in Maafushi prison allegedly injured after clashes with prison officers

It is alleged that violent clashes between inmates and prison officers have erupted at Maafushi prison over the last few days as inmates reportedly attempted to inform prison officers about the illness of a cell-bound inmate.

”On Monday night an inmate’s medical condition appeared to become serious and the other prisoners tried to call to the prison officers, but they never responded.  So the inmates knocked the prison bars to get the attention of prison officers,” a person familiar with the incident told Minivan News on condition of anonymity.  ”Then a squad of prison officers came to the cell and beat down those who shook the bars.”

He claimed that violence again erupted yesterday afternoon after prison officers armed with metal and wooden batons came inside the cell leading to violent clashes between prison officers and the inmates.

”One inmate got a broken shoulder, another inmate broke his nose and another injured his eyes because prison officers hit and broke the glasses he was wearing,” he alleged. ”Nobody cares for the inmates, only some politicians speak about it, but only for political purposes and not with the intention of correcting anything.”

He also claimed that recently, inmates had demanded to see the prison warden over allegations that prisoners who were kept in isolation for hours were also tortured with batons.

”There has never been any treatment programs held inside the prison, all that the prison officers do is threaten and torture,” claimed the anonymous source.

The source also claimed that fellow prisoners were expected to very soon “stand up for the nation” and reveal the secrets hidden behind the work of the political figures in the country.

”Infamous ‘Chicka’ [Ibrahim Nafiz] will also be out from the prison one day, he will tell the people publicly about the work former Commissioner of Police Brigadier Adam Zahir assigned him to do,” he said. ”It would not be kept as a secret anymore.”

Head of Department and Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services [DPRS] Moosa Azim told Minivan News that clashes between inmates and prison officers take place very often and that it was ”nothing too serious.”

”Everyday there will be a clash between the inmates and prison officers,” said Azim. ”We give the highest priority to the safety of the inmates, then the safety of our staffs.”

He said that he had no information about the clash that occurred yesterday and Monday night.

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Majlis amend laws over Rf600,000 a year retirement package to former judge with fraud record

The Majlis yesterday amended the Judges’ Act (13/2010) to award a Rf 53,250 monthly retirement package to former Interim-Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy, who was found to have embezzled state funds in 1996.

Former Justice Fahmy claimed, by fraudulent means, Rf900 in overtime pay while working as a judge at former Court No.2 in 1996. A development that casts doubt over his moral character and according to the principle of hadd offences, whether he met the constitutionally-stipulated Islamic qualifications required for the bench.

According to a letter seen by Minivan News that was sent to the Justice Ministry by the Anti-Corruption Board in June 2009, former Justice Fahmy and another judge were said to have deliberately omitted their working hours from attendance records to carry out the deception, and to fraudulently obtain pay for work they had not done.

None of the 77 MPs who were present when the retirement package was passed yesterday raised the question of former Justice Fhamy’s fraud record, despite some MPs openly admitting the package was being introduced especially for the former Justice.

Dismissing any objections to the extraordinary circumstance where the nation’s legislative body passes a law designed for a specific person, Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed said, “Even though it may appear today that this is an amendment proposed for one person only, it is something that we have to do for the future.”

MP Rasheed also pointed out that the People’s Majlis passing a law for the benefit of one particular person is not without precedent. He asked members to recall another similar legislation passed with former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in mind.

MP Afraasheem Ali, who had introduced one of the amendments, also made it clear that it was a purpose-built package for former Justice Fahmy.

“I believe that it will enhance the strength of the country’s judiciary immensely if we were to award these benefits, as we have proposed in the amendments, to Mr Mujthaz, the judge who recently left the Supreme Court”, MP Afraasheem Ali said.

MP Afraasheem said judges are awarded high salaries and benefits to ensure their ethical and disciplinary standards, and that it is essential for them to continue to be able to uphold their dignity and impeccable ethical standards even after they leave office.

“If a retired Justice were forced to wheel a cart on the street after leaving the bench, it will not give them the respect and the love that they received in office, and still deserve”. That is why, he said, it was essential for Mujthaz – who was specifically named in the Majlis – to be awarded the package.

Constitutional requirements

Article 149 of the 2008 Constitution requires that only those who possess the stipulated educational qualifications and competence, in addition to a “high moral character”, are eligible for the bench.

It also stipulates that only those who “have not been convicted of an offence for which a hadd is prescribed in Islam, criminal breach of trust, or bribery” should be allowed on the bench.

Theft, big or small, is one of the hadd offences prescribed in Islam.

A judge’s required professional qualifications, as stipulated under the Constitution, requires education in Islamic Shari’ah or law in addition to a minimum of seven years experience.

Former Justice Fahmy’s education qualifications, although a matter of public interest, are not publicly available. Documents seen by Minivan News show that in addition to the “Sentencing Certificate” with which former Justice Fahmy first sat on the bench, he has undergone four other training programmes in the last 29 years.

In 1985, he attended a two-month “Training for Island Court Judges”; a four-month “Training to Upgrade Judges” in 1996 – the same year in which he was found to have made fraudulent claims for overtime; a month long “Computer Course conducted by CPL” in 1998; and a four-day training programme conducted for Maldivian Judges and Court Administrators in Singapore in October 2007.

According to these records, Justice Fahmy spent a combined total of roughly eight months –217 days – spread over a period of 26 years training for his career in the judiciary, which ultimately put him on the Interim-Supreme Court bench and has now provided him with the lifetime retirement package of Rf600,000.

The above total does not include the unspecified number of days it took him to acquire the initial “Sentencing Certificate”, but includes the month in 1998 which he took to learn how to use a computer.

There is no record of whether or not former Justice Fahmy had any formal education before acquiring his sentencing ‘sanadh’ or certificate.

A law degree takes an average of four years to obtain, and has higher entry requirements than most other faculties in the humanities.

Article 285 of the Constitution required that the Judicial Service Commission – established to oversee the professional, ethical and disciplinary standards of the judiciary – remove from the bench by August 2010 any sitting judge who did not fit the criteria stipulated in Article 149.

Former Justice Fahmy himself was the Vice Chair of the Judicial Service Commission from 2008 to 2010. He was removed on 7 August 2010, when the Interim Supreme Court was abolished and the Supreme Court proper established in its place. He also lost his seat in the JSC as a result.

MP Afraasheem, who introduced part of the amendments to reward former Justice Fahmy the retirement package, is also on the Judicial Service Commission and was a colleague of former Justice Fahmy.

MP Afraasheem is on record as having said that Article 285 is “symbolic”, suggesting that he does not regard the Constitutional stipulations concerning a judge’s qualifications and moral character as legally binding.

Fonadhoo MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla, who introduced the amendments at Majlis yesterday, is in the Parliamentary Oversight Committee for Independent Commissions, with oversight of the Judicial Service Commission.

Speaker Abdulla Shahid is also a member of the JSC.

MP Afraasheem also proposed to the Majlis yesterday that the benefits package for retired Supreme Court Judges should begin from 7 August 2010. It was the day on which former Justice Fahmy was ousted from the two positions he held – the Interim-Supreme Court bench and the JSC seat.

Job benefits

Minivan News has also learnt that despite Justice Fahmy not having been a member of the judiciary for the last four months, he has continued to receive full salary and benefits “pending a decision by the Majlis”.

The salary for a Supreme Court Justice is Rf51,000, plus Rf20,000 in living allowances.

A “Special Car”, or “Kaaru Kolhu” as well as medical insurance worth Rf12,000 is also part of the monthly remunerations.

The amendments approved by Majlis yesterday also entitles a Supreme Court Justice who retires after 20-25 years of service to two thirds of a serving Supreme Court Justice’s salary.

If the retirement is after 25 years of service, they are entitled to three fourths of the salary. Benefits and other living expenses as well as state protection, and the status of a dignitary are also included in the package.

It will become law if President Nasheed ratifies the amendments within fifteen days of receiving them from the Majlis.

hadd offences
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Restaurant apologises after police called over “festive” Christmas menu

Management at the Jade Bistro cafe on Boduthakurufaanu Magu have apologised to any Maldivians that may have been offended by a “festive” lunch promotion offered over the Christmas period that has since attracted protests and the attention of police in the capital.

The offer was criticised as a Christmas celebration by religious groups like the Adhaalath Party and the Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM), which have both praised local police for yesterday stopping the promotion at the café.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that officers had been sent to the cafe after complaints were received from a member of the public about the incident.

‘’The place was decorated for Christmas with items related to the celebration, police arrested one person from the cafe to clarify more information about the case. They were also released last night,’’ said Shiyam.

In a statement addressed to the “people of Maldives”, the management at Jade bistro apologised to anyone “offended” by the incident, which it said had been a special promotional lunch for expats living and working in the Maldives.

“Our intention was never to upset anyone,” the statement read. “We offered a promotion to those who were away from their homes and families and wanted to enjoy a traditional meal with friends. This promotion was simply about good food and nothing else.”

Jade Bistro added in the statement that the restaurant appealed to a number of different nationalities and “that it regularly offers different themed menu promotions.”

However, the leader of Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, said that celebrating Christmas was unlawful and that it was a responsibility of the police to stop those events.

‘’In a society there will be different types of persons,’’ said Sheikh Hussein. ‘’It really does not matter whether it is allowed in Islam for non-Muslims to celebrate their religious days, because it is prohibited in the constitution of the Maldives.’’ He also added that everyone including foreigners should respect the laws of the country.

IFM President Ibrahim Fauzy added that it was prohibited in Islam to allow non-Muslims celebrate their holidays in places where Muslims live.
‘’It is unconstitutional and prohibited by many laws at the same time,’’ said Fauzy.

A group of protesters also gathered near the café last night to express disapproval for celebrating Christmas.

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Bill passed on separate administration for National University and Kulliyah

A National University bill was yesterday passed in the Majlis requiring the religious-focused Kulliyah to be run under a separate administration, providing opposition politicians a victory against the government, Miadhu has reported.

The government had argued that running the Kulliyah under a single administration within the university would allow it to reduce costs of a service that had a much smaller number of students, according to the report.

However, MPs said to be opposed to a single university administration that included the Kulliyah claimed that their victory would allow for improved standards and courses in higher education.

“Teaching the Islamic cultivation does not mean it is only teaching the Arabic language. It is to teach in set methodology. It is to cultivate from childhood itself. This is to make them responsible citizens of society,” Faresmathoda MP Ibrahim Muttalib was quoted as saying by Miadhu.

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Adhaalath Party condemns president’s ”dangerous warning” on Gayoom

The Adhaalath party, led by State Islamic Minister Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, has condemned the ”dangerous warning issued” by President Mohamed Nasheed against the return of his predecessor, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, to national politics.

The president was this week reported on the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) website as warning that history might return if Gayoom comes back to the Maldives for political campaigning and that his life could be in danger, despite the state’s attempts to protect him.

”Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and other former presidents of the Maldives are persons honoured and secured by the state according to the laws,” said Adhaalah party in a statement. ”The warning president Mohamed Nasheed issued was against Islamic Sharia, the constitution, human rights and democracy.”

Sheikh Rasheed said the action of Nasheed was very ”uncivilized and low graded” and that his party condemned the action in the strongest possible terms.

”We sincerely appeal to the president not to repeat such words and not to encourage actions that might disrupt the peace of the nation or  lead to terrorism,” the party said.

Sheikh Rasheed said he would not like to add any further comments on the issue.

The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party [DRP] has also condemned the action in the strongest possible terms following the president’s warning.

Nasheed warned Gayoom to stay out of the Maldives claiming that it was for his own safety, referring to the death incidents of former presidents who were killed after their resignations.

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Razee confident budget aims can be met as voting day looms

With voting to finalise the 2011 state budget expected to take place later today, acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee said he remains confident that the government remains on target to meet its financial objectives, though stressed it was too early to say without “seeing amendments” suggested by parliament.

Despite criticisms by some opposition MPs regarding what they see as a lack of detail in the budget over the exact nature of government spending – particularly in areas of decentralisation and broadcaster funding – Razee said this morning that he believed any potential member-submitted amendments would not set back proposed aims of trying to reduce spending.

“We would only be concerned [by the amendments] if the total budget goes over the 12.37bn (US$962.6 million) originally set,” he said.

Razee added that it would also be vital to try and ensure the predicted 2011 budget deficit remained at about 16 per cent, after coming under pressure from financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cut the current figure of around 26.5 per cent.

“We would need to maintain the deficit at that level [16 per cent].  Most of the discussions we have had about the deficit have been in line with this,” he said. “However, I don’t know what will happen until voting.”

The passing of the annual budget is constitutionally required to be completed before the end of the previous calendar year, with the government having claimed to be focused on spending cuts as part of plans to try and reduce the country’s budget deficit.

There has been concern over whether the budget will be passed on time, with debate taking place within parliament over the last few days as members have attempted to add amendments to the annual expenditure before passing it through the Majlis.

Budget criticism has come from both opposition MPs like Ahmed Nazim and independent members like Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed over claims that there is insufficient detail about the exact nature of certain government spending projects.

Nazim has claimed that although opposition members were just as committed to ensuring the country’s budget was completed within the deadline, there remained concerns over issues such as the government supplying about Rf54 million to the Maldives National Broadcasting Corperation (MNBC) without seemingly including it in the budget.

“There are so many problems with the budget, which is lacking details regarding a number of projects and figures,” he said.

Nasheed, an independent MP, also said last week that he had identified some preliminary concerns over spending allocation in the budget, particularly in areas such as decentralisation, despite claiming he was optimistic that the finance document would be passed before the New Year deadline.

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No calls for Sri Lanka travel ban despite “Influenza Pandemic” caution, says CCHDC

The Maldives Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) has said it is not advising people against travelling to Sri Lanka amidst concerns about a recent rise in cases of the H1N1 influenza virus in the country, adding that no cases of the disease have been confirmed in the Maldives of late.

According to the CCHDC, data from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition’s Epidemiology Unit has recorded 342 cases of the disease, which in turn has been linked to 22 deaths in the country. Sri Lankan authorities have said that the country, particularly around the city of Colombo, is undergoing an “epidemic of Pandemic Influenza”, with 65 cases of H1N1 occurring just last week – between December 13 to December 19 – resulting in nine deaths across the country.

An official from the CCHDC told Minivan News that it was not calling for any travel restrictions as a result of the influenza report, but added that the centre did urge any travellers to be cautious when visiting the country.

In terms of caution, the centre urges travellers to maintain basic hygiene measures like washing hands, particularly among those most susceptible to the disease such as pregnant women, children and the elderly.

“The disease is spread by the respiratory routes, so we recommend avoiding crowded areas as much as possible, particularly as measures like wearing masks will not really help,” said a spokesperson for the centre.

Regular washing of the hands with soap was strongly recommended by the CCHCD, which said it had not had any confirmed cases of the virus recently in the Maldives, thought the centre claimed it would continue to keep the public informed.

However, beyond precautionary measures, the CCHCD has said that anyone developing a fever, a cold or a cough upon returning from Sri Lanka or being in contact with other travellers should try and obtain medical advice as soon as possible.

More information for those concerned about the virus is available by calling 3315334.

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Parliament’s General Committee condemns MJA

Parliament’s General Committee has condemned the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) for issuing a statement claiming it had attempted to threaten journalists.

The General Committee of the parliament said that it had summoned journalists from private broadcasting channels VTV and DhiTV recently, but rejected claims it had threatened reporters.

In a statement issued on Monday December 27, the General Committee’s chair, MP Nazim Rashad, said that the journalists in question were summoned regarding a complaint made by an MP over allegations they had edited video footage and broadcast it in a manner that would smear the member in question.

”Obstructing independent media in the country in any way, along with allegations that this committee attempted to make the media back-down is not acceptable by this committee or by the honourable MPs of the parliament,” the statement said. ”But it is the responsibility of the committee members to fulfill their responsibility at their level best under the Parliament rules of regulation.”

The statement added that issuing a claim to obstruct the work of the committee was against the constitution as well as being very irresponsible.

”We call on everyone not to obstruct the work of the parliament and its committees when investigating such cases,” the statement said. ”Parliament is one pillar of the state which enact laws, elects appointees for independent commissions and listens to the complaints of the media and independent [organisations] to protect the rights of its citizens. Therefore, we remind no one to conduct any action that will disregard the sanctity and honour of parliament.”

The MJA said in a statement that it believed the parliamentary General Committee had attempted to narrow press freedom by threatening and pressuring journalists.

The association added that using edited video footage is not against the ethics of journalism and that the full responsibility of what was said in the footage should be taken by the person who said it.

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President urges Gayoom to “stay out” of Maldives politics over safety fears

President Mohamed Nasheed has warned that it would not be wise for Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the nation’s former president, to return to the country for campaigning purposes after publicly announcing that he had given up on his political career.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) website reported that Nasheed had heard that Gayoom was returning to the Maldives for local elections campaigning and warned that ”it might cause history to return”, potentially endangering the former leader’s safety.

The comments have been condemned by some in the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), which was formerly led by Gayoom, as being spoken out of  “fear” over the impact the former president may have on the elections.

Senior figures from the (DRP) last week told Minivan News that Gayoom would be returning to the Maldives to campaign for the party in the upcoming local council elections and had also been invited to stand once again for the presidency.  However,  Gayoom has not officially commented to the media or made a decision regarding these possible plans.

Nasheed said he was concerned over the implications Gayoom’s return may have on the country and those opposed to the former leader, according to the website.

“‘Sometimes when former presidents leave the country and then return back to the Maldives, a very regrettable fate has occurred,” he said.  “I am concerned that something very regrettable is about to happen in Male’.”

Nasheed claimed that some former presidents have had difficulties  when they returned to the Maldives after leaving, while others have had their political lives destroyed.

”If Gayoom is returning to politics then he is messing with the feelings of the citizens that could cause them to confront and return to their history and it is very possible that a regrettable consequence may occur,” he said. ”Do not mess with the feelings of the citizens of the Maldives, because when they are shaken, I can’t even curb the pressure.”

The president said he would nonetheless do everything he could for the safety of the former president.

”But still if you are speaking of returning to politics, again, it is more likely to see the history of the Maldives to return,” he said. ”It is not what any of us would wish to see.”’

Meanwhile, DRP MP Ahmed Nihan condemned the remarks of Nasheed in the ”strongest possible terms.”

”His comments were very inappropriate to be said by a president to a former president,” claimed Nihan. ”We know the hidden interpretation of the words he had said.”

Nihan said that both the MDP and Nasheed were afraid, as they understood that they would not stand a chance against Gayoom.

”They understand without a doubt that it is the DRP who will win the local council elections if Gayoom comes out,” he said.

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