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Mega Maldives aims to double number of passengers in 2012

Mega Maldives airlines has today announced plans to more than double the number of passengers it carries this year. The airline flew 31,000 people in its maiden year and plans to hit 70,000 in 2012.

The airline now links the Gan and Ibrahim Nasir airports in the Maldives to four destinations in China. Last year China overtook the United Kingdom to became the biggest tourism market for the Maldives, comprising 15 percent of all arrivals according to Tourism Ministry statistics.

There were fears that the Chinese market had been worried by the political unrest in the country after passenger numbers dropped in February. Some Mega Maldives charter flights were cancelled but a full schedule was resumed earlier this month.

The company held a ceremony welcoming its new cabin crew. Haveeru reports that this brings the total number of staff to 200, of which 60 percent are local. Chief Executive George Weinmann last month told the New York Times that he expected the company’s number of flights between China and the Maldives will have reached 34 by June of this year.

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Committee of National Inquiry cannot wait for international assistance: Shafeeu

Head of President Mohamed Waheed’s Committee of National Inquiry (CNI), Ismail Shafeeu, has said the committee cannot wait for international assistance as they proceed with an inquiry into the controversial transfer of power on February 7.

“Due to the nature and importance of this issue, I do not believe we can wait for assistance from the UN system or Commonwealth system or wait for a consultant to arrive. If Maldivian sources cannot fully answer the legal questions or other issues that arise, then we will discuss with foreign lawyers, pay them any required fees and proceed,” Shafeeu told local media on Thursday.

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan charged the three member presidential commission with assessing the circumstances that led to Nasheed’s resignation and has asked the committee to publish its report by May 31. Nasheed alleged he was deposed in a coup d’état.

The Commonwealth, the EU and foreign governments including India and America have called for an impartial and independent investigation into the transfer of presidential power. The Commonwealth’s Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) has said it “strongly felt that there should be international participation in any investigative mechanism, as may be mutually agreed by political parties in Maldives.”

President Dr Waheed’s Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza told Minivan News the government has now requested UN and Commonwealth assistance. “We believe we will get this assistance,” Riza said.

The CNI would decide on the extent to which international actors would participate in the inquiry, Riza said, but added that the government wants foreign expertise on formulating recommendations based on the CNI’s findings.

The ousted Malidivian Democratic Party (MDP) and local civil society groups have criticised the committee on its failure to solicit cross-party support regarding its composition. CNI head Shafeeu previously served as the Defense Minister under former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Consequently, the MDP has said it does not recognise the CNI.

Speaking to Minivan News, Aiman Rasheed from Transparency Maldives said: “It is imperative that the CNI solicits international aid. When we met with the CNI previously they raised concerns over their capacity, especially in hiring a legal team. This is the first time this has happened in the Maldives, and there is much to learn from international experience.”

Approach Nasheed

According to the CNI’s mandate, the committee will not be conducting a criminal investigation. Speaking to local media on Thursday, the CNI said it had not yet interviewed any senior officials from Nasheed’s administration, but had conducted interviews with police and military officers.

The CNI website says it had spent 35 hours interviewing 37 individuals by April 3, almost two months after the change of government.

MDP lawyer Hisaan Hussein said CNI’s failure to interview former administration officials “raises questions over the kind of work the committee has been doing, especially given the amount of time that has passed now.”

The committee will approach former President Nasheed after conducting background research. “We will send a request [to see Nasheed] and see what happens then. We don’t think there is a reason for him not to give us information,” Shafeeu said.

Coup question

CNI Member Dr Ibrahim Yasir Ahmed said the committee will address whether the Nasheed had been ousted in a coup.

“We will answer everything we can based on the information we gather. We will hold debates on the question of whether it was a coup or not,” Yasir said.

The CNI was in the process of obtaining foreign legal assistance on the question, Yasir added.

Transparency Maldives’ Aiman Rasheed said the inquiry was “a stepping stone for national reconciliation. If this doesn’t work, we may end up in a more chaotic situation.”

MDP concerns

CNI Member Dr Ali Fawaz Shareef reiterated its call for MDP’s support in the inquiry process. Shareef said attempts to hold discussions with MDP were underway.

“MDP has publicly said they do not have confidence in this commission. Before we can proceed, we first have to know the details of their concerns,” Shareef said.

The MDP has released several statements outlining its concerns over the CNI.

“The Investigation team must include Maldivians who enjoy the trust of all parties as well as respected foreign experts. It must also have a mandate to look at events leading up to the resignation of President Nasheed as well as police brutality before and after the resignation,” a February 15 statement read.

Responding to the establishment of the CNI on February 22, the MDP said: “[The CNI] has been conceived and imposed by those parties allied to Dr. Waheed without any consultation with MDP. It does not include any eminent international experts. And the inclusion of individuals who held Cabinet posts during the autocratic government of former President Gayoom, including the appointment of a Chair – Mr Ismail Shafeeu – who had held various ministerial posts under former President Gayoom including the position of Defense Minister at a time of widespread human rights abuses in the country, suggests that no effort has been made to ensure independence and impartiality.”

As MDP and civil society concerns over the CNI remain unadressed, several MPs have now called for the investigation of the transfer of presidential power to be conducted through Majlis.

CMAG and the EU, among other international groups, have backed MDP’s calls for early elections in the Maldives.

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Adhaalath Party requests Education Ministry cancel inter-school singing competition

The Adhaalath Party has requested the Education Ministry cancel the Maldives’ inter-school singing competition due to be held this year for the first time in six years, claiming that singing was haram in Islam.

Vice President of the party’s Scholars Council, Ilyas Abdulatheef, sent letters to Villa TV, the state broadcaster Television Maldives (TVM) and the Education Minister Dr Asim Ahmed.

In the letter to the Education Minister, the Adhaalath Party stated that music and singing were haram in Islam according to trusted Islamic scholars, and that the Adhaalath Party was concerned that some TV stations were planning an Inter-school Singing Competition to be held between school students under the watch of Education Ministry.

The party expressed concern about the competition and urged the ministry “stop such un-Islamic activities.’’

Another letter was sent to TVM Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Asif and VTV Chairman Ameen Ibrahim.

In both letters, the Adhaalath Party stated that the party was concerned about the singing competition and urged them to cancel it.

The Education Minister, VTV and TVM were also sent research on music and singing in Islam attached with the letter.

The Adhaalath Party was one of the coalition partners that in 2008 joined Mohamed Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to defeat former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

The current President of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, was very critical of the MDP and joined a coalition with former opposition parties that led to the ousting of the MDP on February 7.

That followed the breaking of its coalition agreement with the MDP on September 27 last year, after the party’s consultation council voted 32 to 2 to approve a resolution to break the coalition.

The party claimed that the Nasheed’s government had ignored “sincere advice and suggestion”, and that the party was forced to stage street protests “to put a stop to serious matters related to the country’s religion and sovereignty.”

Among the 28 main points noted in the resolution included rising inflation under Nasheed’s administration, refusal to reimburse amounts deducted from civil servants salaries, failure to alleviate the persisting dollar shortage, appointing unqualified “activists” to manage government corporations, and insufficient measures against corruption in the government.

The Adhaalath Party then claimed the former government was “making secret deals with Israel in the name of the people and pursuing relations with Israel to an extent that threatens the nation’s independence and sovereignty.”

Moreover, the Adhaalath party accused the then-government of agreeing to “let Israel influence the country’s educational curriculum.”

Among government decisions strongly contested by the party, the resolution also referred to a proposal to make Dhivehi and Islam optional subjects in higher secondary education and reclaiming a land plot awarded to the Islamic College (Kulliya).

The final eight points included the use of force against protesting parents of Arabiyya school students, senior government diplomats expressing concern with Maldivian students going to Arabic or Islamic countries for studies, publishing regulations allowing sale of alcohol to non-Muslims in inhabited islands, and insufficient cooperation with the Islamic Ministry’s efforts to close down brothels.

Adhaalath Party member Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, now the Islamic Minister, was not responding to calls at time of press.

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Training concerns raised as MBC cuts political content from state broadcasts

The Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) this week announced a temporary halt to all political programming on state media outlets, amidst debate over the need for more independent and informative public broadcasting.

Speaking to local media, MBC Chair Ibrahim Umar Manik claimed that all political programmes on Television Maldives (TVM) and radio broadcaster Voice of Maldives (VOM) would be stopped until both organisations better understood their public service role and could provide “intellectually debatable programs”.

Manik, who was unavailable for comment when contacted by Minivan News at the time of going to press, told Sun Online that “foreign groups” were currently training TVM and VOM staff to overcome challenges in operating as a public service broadcaster. Both broadcasters are reportedly set to instead air dramas and other “social programs” in place of political content, though the “Raajje Miadhu” evening show is still expected to deal with the day’s major headlines.

Local media bodies, as well as politicians, have complained that state broadcasting under both Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed Nasheed and Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s administrations had been traditionally run for political and commercial benefit rather than as a public service.

Legal battles

The MBC has been previously involved in a protracted legal battle against former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration over whether the executive – via the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) – or parliament should have responsibility for overseeing state media.

The MNBC was established by Nasheed to run the state media, removing its employees from the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). In 2010, the then-opposition majority parliament created MBC and demanded the transfer of MNBC’s assets to the new body, which Nasheed’s government refused to do, alleging political partiality on behalf of the MBC board.

Following the controversial transfer of power that saw President Mohamed Waheed Hassan take office in February, MBC was granted control of TVM and VOM.

Informative focus

Despite this politicking over the control of state media, Maldives Media Council (MMC) President Mohamed Nazeef told Minivan News today that he hoped the MBC’s initiative to rethink public service programming would ensure greater informative and education programming on social issues.

“They [the MBC] are trying to do this, but I believe we need a change of mind set,” he said. “The problem they [state media] has is not so much about politicised thinking, but in having a proper knowledge of how public service broadcasting functions,” he said.

Taking the example of commercial broadcasters in the Maldives, Nazeef said that programmes were focused almost entirely on providing entertainment rather than informative and educational content – something he believed was also the case for the country’s state broadcasters as well.

He claimed that as a result of this focus on entertainment, political programs in the country had traditionally focused on bringing together two rival politicians to confront each other rather than on informing the public about issues such as democratic reform, human rights or public health.

From the perspective of the MMC, Nazeef claimed that local public service broadcasters did not presently have sufficient training to operate under a manner expected of non-commercial media organisations, such as providing a greater emphasis on educational content.

He therefore urged caution over the reforms, adding that the MMC hoped to see a greater focus by the MBC on providing training for finding stories and issues concerning social development.

“Democracy came overnight [following the presidential elections of 2008]. People really needed to be educated on what exactly this meant for society,” he said. “ State media should pay much more of a role in informing people.”

“Propaganda machine”

Nazeef said he believed that since its inception, state media, whether in the guise of TVM, or the re-branded MNBC during Nasheed’s presidency, was continuously run more as a “propaganda machine” and commercial outlet than a state broadcaster.

Beyond covering political developments, Nazeef said he hoped that more training and focusses would be provided to cover issues related to health and human rights.

“At present, you do not find awareness programmes in the Maldives media,” he claimed. “Training is definitely needed in how to find these kinds of stories.”

Training calls

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) President Hiriga Ahmed Zahir concurred that training was needed to help both TVM and VOM adapt to becoming more public service-orientated broadcasters, as well as opting for political impartiality.  However, he claimed that deep rooted partisan thinking posed significant challenges in allowing for more independent coverage on the issues affecting the public.

To this end, Hiriga said he understood that the MBC had temporarily suspended political programming in an attempts to try and have more issue based programming on both TVM and VOM, particularly for important national issues like dealing with dengue fever.

He claimed that he was therefore broadly in favour of the proposed move by the MBC to adopt a more public service-orientated broadcast model.

“I believe it’s not bad actually. At the moment there is no choice to see any other kind of programs, so there should be much more of a focus on public issues,” he said. “My point is that public broadcasters should not just have programs about politics.”

Hiriga accepted that in the long-term, public broadcasting needed to deal with political issues affecting the nation, but this needed to be handled in a different way to how he believed the state had informed its citizens in the past.

“Certainly there should be more independent and liberal minded people in state media,” he said.

However, Hiriga claimed that ensuring independent political coverage in the country was extremely difficult for journalists in the Maldives due to the partisan politics that often divides the nation down party lines on many issues.

“Most journalists are strong believers on either side of the country’s political divide. This makes it difficult for them to produce stories independently and more training is needed in this area,” he said.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokespersons Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and Imthiyaz Fahmy could not be contacted by Minivan News at the time of press regarding the party’s view of the proposed changes to state broadcasting.

However, on March 11 this year, the party announced its intentions to lodge a complaint against the current practices of the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation’s (MBC) state media outlets, alleging that it was broadcasting “blatant propaganda”.

In the letter, the MDP accused the MBC of violating the agreements mandated by the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) Act of August 2010 by producing biased content and not giving adequate exposure to all political groups.

Last month, Minivan News reported on some of the challenges said to be hampering independent reporting and free media in the country.

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MDP alleges police intimidation before Thimarafushi poll

The Election Commission has received complaints about police preparations for the Thaa Atoll Thimarafushi Constituency by-election although Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq, who describes the competition as “heavy”, remains confident the poll will be a success.

Mohamed Musthafa, the disqualified Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) member seeking re-election in the Thimarafushi by-election this Saturday, has questioned the actions of the police, alleging attempts to intimidate locals and prevent MDP supporters casting their votes following the arrest of seven people on the island.

“Lots of things are happening, they are arresting our boys. I heard they will hold them for three days so they cannot vote,” said Musthafa.

“Several people who were at the MDP jagaha went to PPM jagaha and created a disturbance and were non-compliant with the police. Seven people were arrested following the incident. One person tested positive for alcohol, while three others refused to provide urine,” said Haneef.

Haneef said police have made their preparations for the poll and have deployed the necessary officers. When asked about the precise numbers he said that it would depend on the intelligence received from the island.

Musthafa warned that the police presence on the island had intimidated locals, particularly after recent arrests, which he argued were without good cause. He alleged that one of the young men arrested on Tuesday received a head wound after a police officer pushed his head into a wall.

The MDP candidate also claimed that the police presence on the island of around 3000 people has gone from less than ten officers to well over one hundred baton-armed riot officers.

“This is the worst election we have ever seen, in 30 years. They are threatening people but they can’t buy our hearts and minds,” said Musthafa.

Muthafa was forced to step down from his constituency seat in February following a High Court ruling stating that his debts disqualified him from holding office. The debt has since been paid and he is confident of success on Saturday: “I will be there in Parliament next week.”

The case was brought by Umar Naseer, Interim Vice-President of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). Musthafa’s opponent on Saturday is Ahmed Shareef of the PPM.

Visiting the island this week, Election Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq met both candidates. He acknowledged the receipt of some complaints relating to police activities and said that the necessary steps would be taken.

Thaufeeq also met with the local head of police who assured him that the police were working only to ensure that the island was safe during the polls.

The Election Commissioner stated that the police presence had been enhanced due to problems with the 2009 parliamentary elections which eventually prompted a second poll to be taken: “We don’t want that to happen again.”

Significant polls

Election Commissioner Thaufeeq reiterated that the Election Commission was fully prepared for the poll, the first of its kind since the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed on February 7.

“The Elections Commission is ready. We are sending teams out to the islands today. They are formed from local personnel and will work with selected officers. The head of the polling station will be from the Election Commission,” said Thaufeeq. “We will have a successful vote on Saturday.”

The capabilities of the Election Commission have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after the government had maintained that free and fair elections cannot be carried out in the country due to institutional weaknesses.

Both the Commonwealth and the European Union have urged the current government to hold fresh presidential elections as soon as possible. In The United States last week pledged US$500,000 dollars in technical assistance aid to begin an elections programme.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) is due to meet next week to discuss the progress that has been made towards resolving the political impasse in the country.

Despite this State Minister for Foreign Affairs, and daughter of former President Maumoon Gayoom, Dunya Maumoon told the BBC recently that due to the weakness of institutions such as the judiciary, the Election Commission, and the Human Rights Commission (HRCM), the elections could not be held in the “in the foreseeable future”.

Speaking last week, Thaufeeq said, “We are confident we can organise any election mandated by law – whether it is a presidential election, referendum, or by-election. We will serve our duty.”

Saturday will also see a parliamentary election for the Kaafu Atoll Kaashidhoo Constituency, as well as elections for the vacant seats in both Thaa Atoll Gaadhiffushi Island council and Haa Dhaal Atoll Kumundhoo island council.

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Record high convictions of child sex offenders in Ugoofaaru court

The magistrate court on the Ungoofaaru island of Raa atoll has sentenced a  man to 15 years imprisonment for sexually abusing his step daughter.

He was also found guilty of possession of pornographic images and sentenced to additional four months in jail.

The man was arrested from Maduvaree island and charged under the Use of Special Procedures in Dealing with Child Abusers Act which stipulates strict punishments for persons found guilty of sexually abusing children.

Ungoofaru magistrate court has a notable record in convicting child sex offenders from Raa Atoll, which has a population of nearly 20,000 on 16 different inhabited islands.

In a press statement released Monday,  the Maldives Police Service noted that last year Ugoofaaru court had convicted eight people in relation to 10 different child abuse cases.

In February 2011, the court sentenced a man from the island of Kinolhas to 10 years in prison for abusing a 12 year-old disabled girl, and another man from Ugoofaaru was sentenced in April to 10 years imprisonment for sexually abusing a 17 year old girl.

A man from Rasmaadhoo was found guilty of sexually abusing his step daughters aged 12 and 14 for several years. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail while in a similar case a man from Alifushi was sentenced to 20 years in jail for sexually abusing his 17  year old daughter on multiple occasions.

Ungoofaaru court had also sentenced a man from capital Male’  to 20 years imprisonment after he was  found guilty of threatening his 15 year old daughter with a knife and sexually abusing her. His wife from Maakurathu was meanwhile sentenced to six months in jail for hiding her husband’s crime, while another man who had given strong medicine to the 15 year old girl was fined up Rf 200 (US$13).

In October, the court sentenced a man from Kandolhudhoo island for sexually abusing a 13 year old boy and later had that month also sentenced a man from Inamaadhoo island for sexually abuing an 11 year old girl.

The police observed that all cases were investigated by the Ungoofaaru police station in partnership with the Family and Children Centre on the island.

According to the Gender Department, a total of between December 2010 and October 2011, 1,138 cases of child abuse were reported to from atoll family and children service centres. A total of 1,005 cases involved minors while 133 cases involved victims aged 18 and above.

Approximately a third of the 81 cases involving children less than one year-old involved neglect. Sexual abuse was reported in a quarter of the 192 cases for age group one to five, and in a fifth of the 230 cases age group five to ten.

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The introduction of unrestricted, universal free healthcare with no agreed regulation or management was an act of folly: Dr Hassan Saeed

The Aasandha health scheme introduced on January 1 this year, “is and will always be completely financially unsustainable in a country such as the Maldives. And in fact would be in any country – however rich- anywhere in the world,” President Waheed’s Special Advisor, Dr Hassan Saeed writes for Haveeru.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could have a sensible and mature debate about the future of social health insurance in the Maldives? And what’s the chance of that? Pretty slim if you read former President Nasheed’s usual mixture of tedious invective and fabrication.

The introduction of unrestricted, universal free healthcare with no agreed regulation or management was an act of folly, recklessness and irresponsible political immaturity that rivals any of the actions of Mr.Nasheed’s administration.

And what’s more he knew this but still went ahead with it. And the consequence is that we now have the IMF breathing down our necks and a budget deficit that threatens to derail all government social programmes.

Read more

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Police acts on February 8 unlawful, Police Integrity Commission tells Majlis Committee

President of the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) Shahindha Ismail has told the Majlis’ Independent Institutions Oversight Committee that police actions on February 8 were unlawful, and that police officers had used undue force to disperse a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) demonstration.

Video footage of the February 8 demonstration show police in riot gear tear gassing and brutally beating unarmed civilians in front of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) building.

The MDP took to the streets after former President Mohamed Nasheed claimed he was had resigned “under duress” following a police and military mutiny the previous day on February 7.

Responding to questions from MDP MP Ahmed Sameer, Shahindha said police had violated clauses 1, 8 and 11 of Article 7 of the Police Act. These clauses stipulate that police must respect and uphold fundamental rights of citizens, uphold and protect individual dignity, humanity and human rights, and must not under any circumstances subject any individual to inhuman, degrading or cruel treatment.

MP of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Mohamed Hussein asked Shahindha which measures the PIC had used to determine whether police had in fact used excessive force.

“There is a specific act regarding the use of batons,” Shahindha said. “While watching live coverage of the protest, I saw a policeman stretch out his arm with a baton and hit a citizen on his head. That is indisputably unlawful.”

Shahindha said the PIC had immediately called police-in-charge at the time Abdulla Phairoosh and had asked that police show restraint.

“Phairoosh said he was not aware [of police brutality]. We also asked for the police to leave the site if they cannot act within the law. Phairoosh agreed. But we did not see that happen,” she claimed.

Moreover, Shahindha said the police had also violated Article 41 of the Police Act which requires the police to inform the PIC if a police officer causes any harm to a citizen due to use of force, or while individual is under custody.

But Shahindha noted police were fully cooperating with the PIC in investigations, and that the PIC was prioritising the investigation of the events of February 6, 7, and 8.

Responding to questions from MP of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Rozaina Adam, Shahindha said while the police had the fundamental right to disobey an unlawful command and the right to ask their commissioner to resign under such circumstances, she could not state whether police actions on February 7 constituted a police mutiny until investigations were complete.

Parties allied with President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan refute allegations of police mutiny, stating that police officers were exercising their right not to obey an unlawful command on February 7.

In addition to the PIC, the Independent Institutions Oversight Committee also met with the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) and the Prosecutor General (PG) to question them about police brutality allegations and the detention of Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.

Human rights violations

The HRCM told the Independent Institutions Oversight Committee that they believed human rights violations had occurred on February 8. HRCM said their monitors were active on the streets and had visited Dhoonidhoo Remand Center and the hospitals that day.

Speaking at a meeting held to mark the 79th anniversary of the Maldives Police Services, Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz said he would not conduct an internal investigation, saying that he had asked the HRCM to look into the matter.

But President of HRCM Mariyam Azra said the police had not asked the HRCM for a formal investigation into police brutality.

“We did not receive a formal request for investigation. However, in a meeting with the police commissioner, after we asked the police to conduct an internal investigation through the police’s professional standards unit, he asked us to look into it as well. We do not believe that is a formal request for investigation,” Azra said.

Speaking to Minivan News after the committee hearing, Shahindha said if the police conducted an internal investigation into brutality allegations it would increase their integrity in the public eye.

CNI not independent: PIC

DRP MP Visam Ali asked if the PIC would collaborate with the presidential Committee of National Inquiry (CNI), which is charged with assessing the facts regarding Nasheed’s resignation.

New President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan instituted the three member committee following international pressure for an independent investigation into the transfer of power. However, the CNI has come under fire from the MDP and local civil society groups for unilateralism and lack of independence.

“The CNI has said it is not carrying out a criminal investigation. All of the PIC’s investigations carry a criminal aspect. I do not see the point of joint-investigations with the CNI,” Shahindha said.

“I do not believe the commission is independent or impartial nor does it have the mandate to investigate the matter,” she added.

The PIC had now completed 90 percent of its February 6, 7, and 8 investigations, Shahindha said.

Although the PIC and HRCM said they would be looking into police brutality and human rights violations during the transfer of power, the commissions had previously told Minivan News they did not have the mandate to look into the legality of the transfer of power.

Footage of the MDP protest and police response on February 8, following the change of government

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Independent Commissions Committee decides against summoning police commissioner

Parliament’s Independent Commissions Committee has reportedly revoked an earlier decision to summon Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz for questioning over allegations of police brutality against anti-government protesters on February 8 this year.

Committee chair Mohamed Nasheed, an independent MP, today told local media that the decision to summon Commissioner Riyaz was deemed no longer necessary after the police chief said he had asked the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) to investigate reports of police violence.  MP Nasheed claimed that representatives of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had requested the commissioner be summoned before Parliament for questioning over the reasons why  police were not investigating the allegations of violence.

“They [the MDP members] wanted to know why the Police decided against investigating the matter,” Nasheed told the Haveeru news agency. “But then the commissioner revealed that the Police had requested the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) to investigate the allegations so it was decided there was no need to summon the commissioner to clear out the reason behind the decision. So the committee did not summon him.”

Earlier this week, the Independent Commissions Committee announced it would be summoning Commissioner Riyaz for questioning over alleged police brutality.

The issue was submitted to the committee last Wednesday by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza.

Hamza told Minivan News on Monday that he had submitted the issue to the committee because the Police Commissioner had said the police would not investigate the alleged brutality committed by its officers against anti-government protesters on February 7 and 8.

Hamza said Riyaz had told him that he had requested the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) investigate the case.

I am interested to know why he has refused to investigate the case,’’ he said. ‘’HRCM and Police Integrity Commission (PIC) are also being summoned to ask about their investigations into police brutality that day.’’

Hamza said the committee furthermore decided to summon Prosecutor General Ahmed Muiz because some MPs were keen to ask him questions about the arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

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