Author: Ahmed Naish

Maldives obtains US$20m from Saudi Arabia to manage cash flow

The Maldives has obtained a US$20 million grant from Saudi Arabia for budget support, despite official figures indicating record levels of income and the economic ministry saying it has authorised US$600 million worth of foreign investment this year.

Finance minister Abdulla Jihad told Minivan News today that the Saudi funds will be used to “manage cash flow” as revenue was lower than expected.

A large portion of forecast revenue is expected later in the year, he said, adding that shortfalls are currently plugged through sale of treasury bills.

The forecast for government income in this year’s record MVR24.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) budget is MVR21.5 billion (US$1.3 billion).

The projected revenue includes MVR3.4 billion (US$220 million) anticipated from new revenue raising measures, including revisions of import duty rates, the introduction of a “green tax”, acquisition fees from investments in special economic zones (SEZs), and leasing 10 islands for resort development.

Import duties hikes came into effect on April 1. However, three weeks later, the government reversed hikes for motorcycles and garments. Jihad said revenue from custom duties will be lower than expected as a result of the policy reversal.

Jihad also said acquisition fees from SEZs are expected during the second half of the year.

Tax revenue

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) said today that the revenue collected in April was 6.5 percent above forecasts and 14.9 percent higher than the same period last year.

Total revenue last month reached MVR940.3 million (US$60.9 million), with goods and services tax accounting for 70 percent of income. Total revenue collected so far this year has reached MVR4.6 billion (US$298 million).

The customs authority also collected MVR574 million (US$37 million) during the first quarter of 2015 as import duties, fees, and fines, representing a 28 percent increase from the previous year.

Further figures by the MIRA show revenue from taxes have been higher than expected in the first quarter of 2015.

The central bank, the Maldives Monetary Authority, meanwhile says business activity in the tourism, construction, wholesale, and retail sectors increased during the first quarter of 2015, and expects further improvements in the second quarter.

Foreign investment

The economic development ministry revealed today that it has authorised foreign investments worth nearly US$600 million this year, and says it is expecting US$1.8 billion worth of foreign investments in the next five years

Registrar of companies Mariyam Wisham told the press that most foreign businesses registered between January and April were investors interested in the tourism, construction, and real estate sectors. The investors were mainly from the Middle East, South Asia, and China, she said.

Economic development minister Mohamed Saeed said the number of foreign businesses registered under the current administration showed investor confidence in the Maldives.

Wisham also revealed that 5,014 new small and medium-sized enterprises have been registered so far this year following the enactment of a new company registration law last year.

But the opposition has criticised the lack of significant foreign investments despite assurances from the government following the passage of its flagship SEZ legislation in August last year.

The government signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March with Dubai Ports World to develop a commercial port and free trade zone near Malé and said a joint venture agreement will be signed in a month.

However, Saeed told the press today that an extension has been agreed upon for negotiations, citing the government’s unwillingness to compromise “national issues” as the reason for the delay.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party has alleged corruption in the deal.

Saudi-Maldives relations

The Saudi Arabian government had pledged the US$20 million during president Abdulla Yameen’s state visit to the kingdom in March.

Contrary to Jihad’s statement that the Saudi funds will be used to manage cash flow, fisheries minister Dr Mohamed Shainee told Haveeru today that the US$20 million in grant aid will be “spent through the budget on various projects the government wants.”

A delegation including officials from the Saudi Fund for Development as well as Saudi contractors meanwhile visited the Maldives last week and gathered information on the various projects for which the government is seeking loan assistance.

The projects included road construction at the airport, an airport hotel, and a road network for Hulhumalé, Shainee said.

Shainee has previously said the Saudi Arabian government also assured loan assistance to develop the international airport.

During the visit, President Yameen held talks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Saudi Arabian ministers for education, defence, petroleum and mineral resources, and finance.

Then-Crown Prince Salman had visited the Maldives in March last year. During the trip, he pledged US$1.2 million to build 10 mosques across the country and donated US$1.5 million and US$1 million, respectively, to the health sector and the Islamic ministry’s waqf fund.

Prince Salman also visited the Maldives in April 2010. He ascended to the Saudi throne in January following the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

A joint communique issued during president Yameen’s visit stated that the two sides agreed to increase “their commercial exchange while expanding and enhancing investment between the two countries and extending invitations to their respective private sectors to explore the available investment opportunities in both countries.”

“The Saudi Fund for Development will continue to finance the development projects in the Republic of Maldives and will consider participating in the expansion of Malé airport and beach preservation in Hulhumalé,” it added.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Business activity increased in first quarter

Business activity in the tourism, construction, wholesale, and retail sectors increased during the first quarter of 2015, according to a regular survey by the central bank.

The Maldives Monetary Authority’s (MMA) conducted its quarterly business survey from March 25 to April 7 with respondents from 77 enterprises.

“Looking ahead, business in all sectors except for the tourism sector, are predicting further improvements in business activity in Q2-2015 when compared to Q1-2015,” the report states.

“With regard to the current level of employment, businesses across all sectors indicated an increase in Q1-2015 compared to Q4-2014.”

Businesses in all sectors, except tourism, anticipated increases in hiring in the next quarter, “reflecting the optimism shown by majority of businesses in this quarter.”

The majority of businesses in the wholesale and retail trade sector and construction sector reported no price changes in the first quarter compared to the last quarter of 2014, while businesses in the tourism sector reported an increase.

“Looking ahead, majority of businesses in all sectors expect prices to remain the same except for the tourism sector, where prices are expected to decline,” the survey found.

“As for business costs, businesses across all sectors experienced an increase in all labour-related costs and other input costs (except for the construction sector which reported a decline) in Q1-2015 when compared to Q4-2014. Looking ahead, all sectors—except for businesses in tourism sector which expects a decline in other input prices—anticipate a further increase in all business costs in Q2-2015 as well.”

Tourism businesses meanwhile expect total revenue, resort bookings, and average room rates to decline in the next quarter with the end of the peak season.

Resorts and hotels reported “insufficient demand, labour market difficulties, such as shortages in both skilled labour and local labour, and the weaknesses in the regulatory framework” as factors that limit growth.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives defers decision on UPR recommendations for judicial reform

The Maldives has deferred accepting or rejecting recommendations put forth at the UN human rights council on judicial reform and protection of human rights defenders, pending “national level consultation”.

Of the 258 recommendations from UN member states, the government accepted 132 and rejected 49 due to constitutional constraints. The Maldives said it will examine the remaining 77 recommendations and “provide responses in due time” before the 30th session of the Human Rights Council in September or October 2015.

The recommendations under review include calls to ensure the impartiality and independence of the judiciary, reform the Judicial Service Commission, and provide training to judges.

The “politicised” judiciary came under fire from countries across the world during last week’s UPR session, which took place amidst heightened international scrutiny and political turbulence triggered by the imprisonment of former president Mohamed Nasheed.

The UK recommended steps to “ensure the administration of justice is fully consistent with international human rights standards and seek international technical assistance.”

“Strengthen the independence of the judiciary by reforming the Judicial Services Commission’s process for selecting and appointing judges,” recommended the US.

Canada advised the formation of an independent bar association while several countries recommended steps to ensure the separation of powers.

Ireland recommended providing “adequate training for judges, including human rights training, to ensure all judicial proceedings conform to international fair trial standards”.

New Zealand recommended accepting “a follow up visit by the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and accept the outstanding request of a visit by the Special Rapporteur on the situations of human rights defenders.”

The Netherlands advised fully implementing the special rapporteurs’ recommendations, including a constitutional review of the composition of the JSC.

Responding to criticism of the judiciary at the working group session, foreign minister Dunya Maumoon said the Maldives is training and building capacity of judges and has formulated a judicial sector strategic action plan to increase effectiveness, efficiency and public confidence.

The 49 recommendations Maldives rejected include allowing freedom of religion, ensuring the rights of homosexuals, banning the death penalty, and decriminalising consensual sexual relations.

The rejected recommendations also included removing a requirement that prevents non-Muslims from being members of the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM).

The Maldives constitutional assembly had declared Islam to be the state religion and the basis of all laws enacted in the country, and requires judges to refer to Islamic law, legal secretary Aishath Bisham said last week.

Other rejected recommendations included calls from Norway and Canada to release ex-president Nasheed and other “political prisoners.”

The US also called for an end to “politically-motivated prosecutions and court proceedings” against HRCM members and Nasheed, who was “convicted and imprisoned without minimum fair trial guarantees”.

Human rights defenders

Several countries also recommended taking steps to ensure the safety of human rights defenders, civil society actors and journalists against attacks and reprisals, calling for investigation and prosecution of individuals behind threats and intimidation.

The independence of the HRCM should also be assured, its members protected from reprisals, and the HRCM law brought in line with Paris Principles, reads the recommendations under review.

During the review, many countries expressed alarm over the Supreme Court’s suo moto case against the human rights watchdog over its UPR submission.

Denmark meanwhile noted that the Maldives’ initial report to the UN Committee against Torture is overdue since 2005.

“Bring an end to arbitrary detentions, particularly on the grounds of political opinion; investigate allegations of torture and ill treatment in prisons and bring those responsible to justice,” recommended France.

Other recommendations included ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the optional protocol of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Germany and Portugal recommended the Maldives accede to Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Other countries recommended signing the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education and the Protocol to the Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Foreign minister ‘misled’ UN on Nasheed trial

The office of former president Mohamed Nasheed has accused foreign minister Dunya Maumoon of “deliberately misleading” the UN Human Rights Council regarding the opposition leader’s terrorism trial.

During the Maldives’ Universal Period Review in Geneva on May 6, Dunya claimed that Nasheed chose not to appeal his 13-year sentence and that due process concerns regarding the trial were procedural and not substantive.

Criticism of Nasheed’s trial had “mainly focused on the process and not the merits,” she said.

But Nasheed’s office contends he was deliberately denied the right to appeal after the criminal court failed to provide necessary documentation within the ten day appeal period specified by the Supreme Court.

“The Maldives’ criminal court refused to release the transcript of the trial — information vital to the launch of an appeal — until 11 days after conviction, thus deliberately preventing Nasheed’s legal team from appealing,” reads a statement released yesterday.

It added that Nasheed’s lawyers informed the court of their intent to appeal four days after the conviction on March 13.

“The lawyers repeatedly asked the criminal court for the trial transcript, but the court refused to release it until the window for appeal had closed. When the transcript was finally released, it had been doctored and was full of irregularities,” the statement continued.

President Abdulla Yameen and other senior government officials have repeatedly advised Nasheed to appeal. Prosecutor general Muhthaz Muhsin told Minivan News last week that the High Court could accept an appeal despite the expiration of the 10-day period.

“I personally think this case has a high possibility of being accepted at the high court since Nasheed is a former president, since it is related to a judge and since it is a terrorism charge,” he said.

But Nasheed’s lawyers say the Supreme Court, in the same ruling that had shortened the 90 day appeal period to ten days, had removed the High Court’s discretionary powers.

The apex court in January had voided Article 42  of the Judicature Act which set out appeal deadlines and gave judges discretionary powers in accepting late appeals. The 90–180 day appeal period obstructed justice, the Supreme Court said. A new 10-day appeal period was set out, but the apex court was silent on procedures for late appeals.

Nasheed’s lawyer, Hisaan Hussain, told the press today there was no “legal basis” for the government’s stance.

She suggested the government was encouraging Nasheed to appeal because it could determine the outcome through its undue influence over the judiciary.

“The government is saying in the same breath that it does not meddle in court cases but that there is still the opportunity to appeal despite the 10-day period elapsing,” she said.

Nasheed wanted to appeal, but was effectively deprived of the right to appeal due to the criminal court’s “deliberate” refusal to release the transcripts until the 11th day after sentencing, she said.

The legal team reiterated calls for president Yameen to exercise powers under clemency laws to pardon and release Nasheed.

Lawyer Hassan Latheef claimed 10 countries had called for Nasheed’s release during the UPR session, warning that the Maldives could face international sanctions if the government does not comply.

Nasheed was found guilty on terrorism charges relating to the detention of criminal court chief judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.

Amnesty called the conviction a “travesty of justice” while the UN human rights chief said Nasheed was sentenced after a “hasty and apparently unfair trial” and noted “flagrant irregularities.”

The special rapporteur noted “serious due process violations” such as denial of the opportunity to present defence witnesses, which led her to believe “the outcome of the trial may have been pre-determined.”

The European parliament meanwhile adopted a resolution condemning the “serious irregularities” of the trial while US secretary of state John Kerry said during a visit to Sri Lanka that Nasheed was “imprisoned without due process”.

“This is an injustice that needs to be addressed soon,” he said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Commonwealth human rights NGO calls for police brutality investigation

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) has called on the government to investigation allegations of police brutality and arbitrary arrest of protesters from Friday’s anti-government demonstration.

The international human rights NGO expressed concern with reports of police using disproportionate force against protesters during a crackdown on the 20,000-strong opposition protest. Nearly 200 protesters were arrested and 175 remain in police custody.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party has also alleged the police severely beat three men arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer at the protest and threatened to kill them.

“The reports once again point to serious concerns regarding police excesses. Freedom of assembly is a fundamental tenet of participatory democracy and it is the duty of the government as well as the police to take measures to ensure people are able to exercise their right in a peaceful and meaningful manner,” said CHRI Director Maja Daruwala.

“Any action of the police in dealing with public gatherings must be strictly according to procedure established by law and must be held accountable. Allegations of excessive use of force must be investigated independently. Only then will Maldives move towards policing that is fair, non- discriminatory, lawful and efficient.”

The CHRI is an NGO with a Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Police have denied the allegations of torture. A police media official told Minivan News yesterday that lawyers for the detainees have not submitted complaints to the police. The human rights watchdog said it is investigating three cases of apparent brutality.

The CHRI also said high number of arrests raises questions over the legality of police action, as freedom of assembly is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution while the 2013 peaceful of assembly law assures protestors will not be detained or prosecuted for taking part in a demonstration.

The law also includes procedural safeguards on the dispersal of unruly or violent public gatherings with the use of force, the CHRI noted, including a requirement for police to issue at least three warnings.

The law states that the use of force must be legitimate, reasonable and proportional to the situation.

The NGO called for independent investigations by the police and human rights watchdog bodies to determine the legality of police action on May 1, including “a review of the grounds on which such large numbers have been arrested and detained”.

If investigations determine that excessive force was used, the CHRI said junior officers in charge of dispersing protesters as well as senior officers with supervisory responsibilities must face civil or criminal charges.

“CHRI calls for an end to police impunity that once again lies at the heart of deepening public distrust and urges the Government to provide accountable and just policing befitting a constitutional democracy,” reads the NGOs statement.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

“You will never walk out of here alive”: MDP reveals details of alleged torture of May Day detainees

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has accused police of torturing and threatening to kill suspects arrested for assaulting a police officer during Friday’s anti-government protest.

Nine suspects have been taken into custody over the assault. Video footage shows protesters tripping and kicking a Specialist Operations (SO) officer and one man hitting the policeman over the head with his baton.

The MDP said Moosa Sharmeel, 35, was arrested from his home in Malé by policemen in plainclothes and severely beaten in front of his wife and children.

“He was taken to police headquarters where he was beaten again. The detainee reports that the policemen inside the building, including those at the reception counter, cheered on while he was being beaten,” the MDP said in a statement yesterday.

Policemen kept saying “we will kill you” as they beat him, Sharmeel told his lawyer.

“He was shoved on the floor and beaten until he lost consciousness. His head smashed open when he was shoved to the floor.”

Police have denied the allegations of torture. A police media official told Minivan News yesterday that lawyers for the detainees have not submitted complaints to the police.

Lawyers and families could also file cases with independent oversight bodies such as the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM), the official suggested.

The human rights watchdog is investigating cases of alleged police brutality and custodial abuse.

Nearly 200 protesters were arrested from the 20,000-strong anti-government demonstration, which was the highest number of arrests made from a single protest in over a decade. Some 175 protesters are being held in remand detention for 15 days.

Sharmeel’s lawyer, Abdulla Haseen, told the press yesterday that a police officer intervened and stopped the beating. He was then taken to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and admitted at the intensive care unit for treatment of injuries.

Police denied his requests for a CT scan after he complained of a “foul smelling discharge from his head,” the MDP said.

Haseen said Sharmeel was suffering from chest pains, had difficulty digesting food, and suspects he has internal injuries due to the beating.

Eyewitnesses told Minivan News they saw policemen in plainclothes beating a man around 3:15am on Saturday near the Henveiru stadium, close to Sharmeel’s residence. Seven men, some wearing jerseys and shorts, repeatedly punched and kicked the man and drove off with him in a police van.

The MDP said Sharmeel was not taken to court within 24 hours “as his injuries from the beatings would have been too visible.”

“Instead, he was released near the Malé detention Centre (Atoll Vehi) and immediately shown another arrest warrant and taken into custody again,” the party said.

Police allegedly told Sharmeel he was “arrested for his own safety” and are now claiming “he was beaten inside his home by members of the public who also allegedly transported him to the Police HQ.”

The MDP also said two other suspects, Abdulla Ibad, 32, and Mohamed Rasheed, 52, were also beaten at the police headquarters.

Both detainees reported police threatening to kill them. Rasheed said police “kept saying ‘you will never walk out of here alive again. We will charge you with terrorism, you do not have that much longer to live anyway.'”

The party said other detainees reported beatings on the police vehicle after their arrest.

Former MDP MP Ahmed Easa was allegedly kicked and beaten on the head with batons after he was hauled on to the police vehicle. Minivan News journalists at the scene heard Easa scream from the vehicle packed with SO officers.

Easa was limping when he was brought to the remand hearing on Saturday.

The MDP noted that video footage shows Easa along with other protesters shove off the violent protesters, help the fallen SO officer to his feet, and take him back behind police lines.

Easa and MDP chairperson Ali Waheed were brought to a clinic in Malé last night. The MDP has said police doctors at Dhoonidhoo recommended the pair consult specialist doctors.

Lawyer Fareesha Abdulla said yesterday that three of her clients among the May Day detainees have alleged beatings by police.

The Dhoonidhoo doctor recommended medication for head injuries for one detainee, who says he has not received medicine so far, she said.

Police officers kicked and beat a second detainee with batons on a police vehicle, she said, while an SO officer kicked him on the groin with his knee at the police headquarters.

He has not been provided medicine prescribed by police doctors, she said.

Another detainee with a chronic illness said police were not providing medication at prescribed times, Fareesha said.

The detainee was having seizures due to the lack of medication, she said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Former police chief questioned over Dr Afrasheem murder, Raajje TV arson

Former police commissioner and opposition MP Abdulla Riyaz was summoned to the police headquarters last night over comments he had made over the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali and the torching of the Raajje TV studios.

Riyaz said he was questioned about remarks made in an appearance on Raajje TV on April 20.

The MP had said he would reveal information on Dr Afrasheem’s murder in October 2012 “when the time comes” and that police had been negligent in the arson attack in October 2013 that had destroyed the opposition-aligned private broadcaster’s offices.

The Jumhooree Party (JP) MP for Thaa Kibidhoo said he was asked if he had any additional information on the two cases.

“I said any information I got at the time will be with the police,” he told reporters outside the police headquarters.

Riyaz was police chief from February 2012 until his resignation in November 2013, shortly after president Abdulla Yameen assumed office.

Police accused him of disclosing state secrets or confidential information, Riyaz said, but the specific information in question was not made clear.

Riyaz stressed that he had not revealed any sensitive information during the Raajje TV interview, adding that he had faced criticism from the public for not doing so.

Explaining what he meant by revealing information “when the time comes,” Riyaz said he will answer truthfully if he is questioned at court or the parliament’s national security committee.

Police did not take his statement as he spoke “off the record” and told interrogators he would remain silent over the allegations against him.

Riyaz said he chose to remain silent because “the government is framing politicians”.

The MP said he was afraid to drive his car without checking to see if anything has been planted, he said, claiming that attempts were being made to frame him with drugs.

Riyaz has maintained that police framed ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim, who was sentenced to 11 years in jail in March over weapons smuggling charges after police found a pistol in his apartment in late January.

He also called on police to provide updates to the public about the investigation of Dr Afrasheem’s murder, the Raajje TV arson, and the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

The police summons for Riyaz came amid heightened political tension in the wake of a crackdown on a mass anti-government rally on Friday. Nearly 200 protesters were arrested after clashes with riot police in the largest anti-government demonstration in a decade.

Opposition leaders involved in organising the May Day protest, including senior members of the JP, have since been arrested. Riyaz is the deputy leader of the JP’s parliamentary group.

In December 2012, Riyaz had said that Dr Afrasheem’s murder was politically motivated with a local gang offered MVR4 million (US$260,000) to carry it out.

The late moderate religious scholar and Progressive Party of Maldives MP was brutally stabbed to death on October 1, 2013 in a murder that shocked the nation.

Hussain Humam, the chief suspect in the murder and the only person convicted of the crime so far, has alleged president Abdulla Yameen and tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb’s involvement in the killing.

However, Adeeb accused the opposition of orchestrating Humam’s remarks in a “character assassination” attempt. Humam had said at the first hearing of his appeal at the High Court last month that president Yameen and Adeeb “will know best” the details of the murder.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom meanwhile told reporters yesterday that president Yameen should sue opposition politicians alleging his involvement in the murder for defamation and strongly condemned the insinuations.

Humam was found guilty and sentenced to death in January 2014 while a second suspect charged with Dr Afrasheem’s murder, Ali Shan, was acquitted in September last year with the court citing insufficient evidence.

Shan was implicated in Humam’s confession, but the judge said several witnesses had testified that the accused was at a restaurant at the time the murder took place.

A third suspect, Azlif Rauf, who Humam said had planned the murder, left to Turkey with six members of Malé’s Kuda Henveiru gang in January.

The Raajje TV studio was meanwhile torched and completely destroyed on October 7, 2013. Suspects arrested in connection with the arson attack have yet to face trial despite CCTV footage of the arsonists.

Reporters Without Borders at the time condemned the police for failure to defend the station despite repeated requests for protection, and the forwarding of a specific threat the previous evening.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Cameraman ‘forced’ to erase footage of PG meeting judge

A cameraman of the opposition aligned Raajje TV was forced to erase footage of a meeting between prosecutor general Muhthaz Muhsin and criminal court judge Abdul Bari Yousuf at a café, the broadcasting commission has found.

The PG allegedly met Bari at the Café Layaali in Malé on March 8 while the latter was presiding over former president Mohamed Nasheed’s terrorism trial.

The pair have denied the meeting took place, and Muhsin has previously said he would resign immediately if the allegations are proven to be true.

Following an inquiry, the commission determined on Monday that the Raajje TV journalists “faced reasons forcing them to delete the footage.”

“As the commission saw that this was a situation that obstructed press freedom, the members who participated in the meeting to conclude this case decided unanimously to appeal to all parties to ensure that broadcasters and the media as a whole do not face such compulsion in order to maintain an environment where journalists can fully exercise the right guaranteed by the constitution and laws without fear,” reads the summary statement of the report prepared the commission.

The commission also investigated a complaint alleging that Raajje TV disseminated false information as PG Muhsin denied meeting the judge. The commission decided that the station did not violate the broadcasting code of content as it had sought comment from both Muhsin and Bari.

The meeting took place days before a three-judge panel sentenced ex-president Nasheed to 13 years in prison on terrorism charges. Judge Bari also presided over ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim’s trial on weapons smuggling charges.

After Raajje TV reported the alleged meeting, the criminal court barred the station’s reporters from attending hearings. The court accused Raajje TV of “spreading lies about judges, meddling in judges personal affairs and engaging in actions that may harm judges.”

Muhsin meanwhile told Minivan News at the time that the judge was already at the café when he went there for a meal with family members.

However, Raajje TV insisted the pair were sitting at the same table and that Muhsin had walked away when the journalist started asking questions.

At the time, a Raajje TV staff told Minivan News that a group of young men led by Progressive Party of the Maldives MP Ahmed Assad forced the cameramen to delete the footage.

In 2013, the watchdog Judicial Service Commission suspended Judge Bari for over a year pending the outcome of a complaint lodged against him for alleged misconduct.

Although the commission did not reveal any details of the complaint, local media reported that a female attorney from the Prosecutor General’s Office had alleged that Bari had sexually assaulted her.

Bari was cleared of the allegations and resumed duty at Criminal Court on July 24, 2014.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Global spotlight poses ‘enormous challenges’ to Maldives democracy

The global spotlight on the Maldives has exacerbated challenges to consolidating democracy following the introduction of a multi-party system of governance, the government has told the UN.

The 2008 constitution established independent state institutions and “diluted” the power of the executive branch, “posing considerable challenges to maintaining political order in the society,” states the government’s submission to the UN human rights council’s Universal Period Review (UPR).

“These challenges have been exacerbated by the realities of having to nurture and cultivate an entirely new system of governance under global spotlight,” reads the national UPR report.

“The level and depth of international scrutiny means that it has been an enormous challenge to ensure that the Maldivian state and its institutions are given the necessary space to make their own decisions, and emerge as an organic set of institutions tailored to provide local solutions to local challenges.”

The UPR process involves a periodic examination of the human rights situation of all member states based on submissions from the state, the human rights body, and NGOs.

Foreign minister Dunya Maumoon is currently in Geneva to attend the Maldives’ review scheduled to take place tomorrow. The country’s first review took place in 2010.

A working group comprised of the human rights council’s 47 member states will conduct the Maldives’ review. Several Western governments have submitted questions on judicial reform, former president Mohamed Nasheed’s trial, the reintroduction of the death penalty, and lack of religious freedom.

The second review comes amid a deepening political crisis and growing international and domestic pressure for the release of imprisoned opposition politicians, including Nasheed, ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim, and leaders of allied opposition parties arrested in a crackdown on a mass anti-government rally on Friday.

The national report went on to say that “prolonged political tensions generated by political opposition, and continuous international scrutiny of the government’s attempts in reducing such tensions meant that the government is required to spend more time in explaining its actions to international partners, instead of focusing on governance, and implementation of its political and international obligations, including those on human rights.”

The scrutiny has also led to “disillusionment in some quarters of the population about the true spirit and gains of democracy, and for others to believe that the ultimate remedy for any local political grievance is to be found at the international level, instead of through local institutions established by an ardours [sic], yet democratic, process.”

The conviction of ex-president Nasheed on terrorism charges after a 19-day trial was widely criticised by foreign governments, the UN, and Amnesty International over the apparent lack of due process. However, the government has remained defiant in the face of international criticism and “meddling” in internal affairs.

In contrast, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party yesterday welcomed statements from the US, UN and Canada as well as a resolution by the European parliament calling for Nasheed’s release.

The government meanwhile stated that despite numerous challenges, the country’s “democratic growth trajectory is continuing in a steady upward momentum”.

The country has made progress with free education, universal health care, and 2,630 social housing units built to date, the report continued, while the Maldives has achieved three millenium development goals with infant and maternal mortality rates on par with developed countries and eradication of polio, malaria, and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

The report also noted the enactment of legislation on anti-torture, prisons and parole, anti-money laundering and terrorism financing, extradition, and the passage of a new penal code.

Legislation on anti-domestic violence, sexual offences, sexual harassment, and disabilities represented “significant gains in protecting the rights of vulnerable groups.”

The persisting challenges include geographic dispersion of the small population, climate change, lack of capacity and technical expertise.

“Emerging challenges such as religious issues posed by differing interpretations of religious teachings, the high prevalence of drug abuse, and closely related issue of gang violence will bring up new issues in realising human rights in the country,” the report stated.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)