Author: Ahmed Nazeer

Court releases murder suspect citing lack of cooperation from Health Ministry

The Criminal Court today released Ibrahim Shahum Adam, a 19 year-old who was arrested in August last year for allegedly murdering 17 year-old Mohamed Hussain.

Adam was presented to the Criminal Court with a police request to extend the period of detention, but Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed noted that the Criminal Court had already extended the detention of Shahum by six months for investigation which had not yet been concluded.

Police blamed the Health Ministry, and told the judge that the investigation had not concluded ministry had not responded to a letter police sent in August 2010 requesting the medical report on the death of Mohamed Hussain.

Judge Abdulla told police this was not reasonable grounds to keep a person in detention.

He said he regretted that police and government authorities were not cooperating to make the society peaceful and noted that the court alone could not succeed in this, according to a report in newspaper Haveeru.

The paper also quoted Judge Abdulla as saying that ”keeping a person in detention for not getting a response to one letter sent to the health ministry is too much.”

Judge Abdulla also acknowledged that police were not getting the cooperation from government authorities.

Hussain was stabbed in the leg near the Social Centre in Maafannu, Male’.

He was admitted to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital and treated for more than eight hours in the Intensive Care Unit, but the knife severed a major artery and despite an emergency blood transfusion he died the following morning at 6:15am.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that police had always fully cooperated with the courts to the fullest extent possible.

”We cannot do or say anything regarding something beyond our borders,” said Shiyam. ”It is the responsibility of the police to obey the courts and we will follow the court’s orders.”

State Health mMinister Abdul Baary Yousuf told Minivan News that he  had no information regarding the issue and referred to the Permanent Secretary Geela Ali. Ali is currently outside the country.

Judge Abdulla Mohamed did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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High Court orders EC to delay announcing official results of Kela

The High Court of the Maldives has issued an injunction on the announcement of official results of Haa Alifu Atoll Kela ballot box number A05.06.01, after a case was filed in High Court alleging that the Elections Commission had violated the Elections Act and the Elections Commission Act.

The Court said that if the official results of the H.A Kela Atoll and Island Council were announced, it could violate the rights of several citizens and requested the announcement of ballots be delayed until the court ordered otherwise. The High Court did not reveal who filed the case in the court.

Major disruption to voting occurred on the island of approximately 2200 people, when clashes between islanders, police and election officials forced authorities to evacuate the ballot box to Hanimadhoo.

“Officials were a little slow with the voting and as result of several small hiccups, we heard that there were too many people still waiting to vote (by the 4pm deadline),” Vice President of the Elections Commission Ahmed Fayaz Hassan told Minivan News at the time.

“We said we did not mind if they stayed open until 8pm or even 10pm so that everybody could vote, but [the situation escalated]. I think one of the reasons was that the officials were not experienced in dealing with such situations,” he said.

Reports in Haveeru suggested that over 600 people may have been unable to vote after the polls closed on the island.

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has  alleged that the Elections Commission violated the Elections Act and was  unfair and one sided during the Local Councils Elections.

The party also said it was requesting that the Elections Commission hold elections in Kela for a second time.

Local newspaper Miadhu quoted President of the Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeq saying that the final results of all the Atoll Councils and Island Councils except for H.A Kela Atoll and Island Council will be announced today. Miadhu reported Thaufeeq as saying that the Commission will follow the court’s order and hold elections again anywhere it was asked to do so.

Thaufeeq and Fayaz were not responding to Minivan News at time of press. Staff at the Kela island office said they did not want to comment on the matter.

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DQP and DRP unveils coalition councillors training programmes

The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) led by Dr Hassan Saeed has said that it will work with the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), led by MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to establish an action plan after a coalition agreement was signed between both parties.

The DQP said it hopes to initially target training schemes for both its own and DRP councillors elected during local council elections held earlier this month on how to conduct their roles.

”The objective of these activities is to make councillors capable and talented persons who can be examples in how to serve their fellow citizens,” said the DQP in a statement.

”Activities targeted on training the councillors will commence very soon.”

The party said it will also try to teach councillors on how to make the government more accountable.
“During the activities they [councillors] will be taught the role of Local Councils and Decentralization,” said the DQP. ”They will be trained to learn what citizens needs and how to work according to the pulse of the [public].”

The DQP claimed that experienced politicians from the DRP will also provide lectures during these activities.

On 8 February, the DRP held a council meeting – with party members reportedly belonging to factions supporting dismissed Deputy Leader Umar Naseer allegdly absent – where they decided to sign a coalition agreement with the DQP. The agreement sae both parties pledging cooperation to each other during the 2013 presidential election as well as parliamentary and local council elections scheduled to be held in 2014.

During this month’s local council elections, a majority seats of island seats were won by the DRP, although the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) claimed most of the seats in municipal areas such as Addu and Male’.

MDP has raised concerns that there were serious issues related to polling reports received by the party and has requested the Elections Commission to hold the elections in some areas for a second time. The governing party has also alleged that the Elections Commission were one sided in their conduct and that the council elections were unfair.

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MNDF website hacked by unknown assailant

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has confirmed that its website was hacked last night by an unknown attacker.

Major Abdul Raheem today confirmed that the MNDF was made aware of an attack this morning after checking its website.

”Currently our website is down, and we are trying to fix it,” he said. ”so far, he have not been able to identify any person related to the case but we are investigating.”

Cyber Crime has become a growing concern to Maldivian authorities of late; especially in terms of the number of minors thought to be involved in practices like hacking.

Earlier this year, Dhiraagu become the latest high profile victim of Maldivian cyber crime after facing continued attacks on its servers.

The Maldives Police Service arrested four individuals suspected of involvement with the January attacks after conducting special operations at addresses both in Male’ and Addu Atoll.

Three of the suspects then arrested were confirmed to be under 18 years of age.

Police said at the time that the country has undergone a number of attacks on both its own and government websites in the last twelve months, which has led to specially trained officers focusing on trying to prevent criminal activity online.

“In previous cases [of cyber crime] we have found it is young people and teenagers that have been involved,” Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam recently told Minivan News. “They often do not demand any reward or payment for the crime, but commit them out of their own interest and amusement.

”It is challenging, because we are treating cyber crime very seriously,” he added. “We are hoping that new regulations will be passed to help prosecute in the future.”

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Chika “not a bad person” says DPRS Director Rasheed, following parole announcement

The infamous Ibrahim ‘Chika’ Nafiz has been released from prison under parole.

Nafiz was sentenced to five years imprisonment after he was found guilty of possessing an illegal sword in July 2008.

Director General of the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service (DPRS) Mohamed Rasheed confirmed to Minivan News that Chika was released yesterday afternoon.

”He is released under the same obligations as others who are released on parole,” said Rasheed. ”There are people who have to report to DPRS weekly, and have to give urine samples weekly.”

Rasheed said he regretted that the media was reporting Chika “as a bad person.”

”He is a good person, he was very good during his time in prison,” Rasheed said. ”And nobody should be worrying about it, because it was an opportunity for him to be good. If everyone says he is a bad person he might just not be able to use this opportunity, so just give him a chance.”

”He is not a threat to the society,” he added.

Rasheed referred to the life of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and Abu Sufiyan.

”Abu Sufiyan was a great enemy of the Muslims before he became a Muslim, but later he was one of the heroes and brought victory to the Muslims,” he said.

He added that Nafiz was released because he was eligible for the parole.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said he did not wish to comment on the issue.

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Local councils elections “unfair and one sided”, claims MDP

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Deputy Secretary General Mohamed Imthiyaz has said in a statement that the Local Council Elections were not conducted fairly, and accused the Elections Commission giving more power to a ”specific political party.”

Imthiyaz said that MDP’s complaint bureau had received “more than 1000 complaints” regarding the elections from different areas, which could potentially affect the result of the elections.

”MDP has requested the Elections Commission re-conduct elections in some councils and to recount the votes in some others,” said Imthiyaz.

MDP said it had received information that an under-aged boy had voted in the local council elections and that house that should have been registered in Galolhu South was registered in Mid-Galolhu area.

”And in some vote papers, names of candidates who were dismissed were included, and when people have ticked near the dismissed candidate’s name the vote has been considered void,” said the MDP.

”The irresponsible and unfair actions of the Elections Commission had caused issues that could alter the result of Haa Alifu Atoll Kela, Raa Atoll Ungoofaaru, Noonu Atoll Miladhoo, Manadhoo, Laamu Atoll Gan and Maabidhoo.”

MDP has also said that because the Elections Commission has not yet revealed the preliminary result of some areas, it could cause further confusion.

President of the Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeg and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

The Maldivian Democracy Network declined to comment on the statement.

The Maldivian Democratic Party earlier released a statement claiming it had calculated the popular vote in the local council elections as 44% MDP, 40% DRP, based on current available data.

The popular vote reflects the overall political preference of voters, and has not yet been released by the Elections Commission (EC). The MDP said it produced the figures based on data currently published by the EC on its website.

Both parties declared victory and were celebrating this week after the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) won a decisive seat majority in the local council elections, while the MDP won control of major population hubs.

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License-to-preach regulation contradicts freedom of speech, argues Islamic Foundation

The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives, led by Ibrahim Fauzy, have filed a case with the High Court of the Maldives in a bid to remove two articles of the Religious Unity Act, Act number 6/94.

President of the Foundation Fauzy told Minivan News that the two articles deemed contentious were articles A and B of the Act.

”The two articles state that a permission from the government will be required to preach, contradicting article 27 an 29 of the constitution which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression subject to the tenets of Islam,” said the Islamic Foundation in a statement.

The Islamic Foundation said that Sheikh Fareed’s permission to preach was confiscated in 2003 but later returned in 2008.

During the last hearing of the case conducted in the Criminal Court, the state attorney admitted the case was presented according to the recent constitution while Sheikh Fareed’s lawyer Shaheem Ahmed claimed that the laws under the Religious Unity Act would be voided upon ratification as they were contrary to the constitution.

”The case was accepted by the High Court and it is being processed,” said Fauzy.

After the Islamic Foundation presented the case in the High Court, the Criminal Case has halted thecase against Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed pending the High Court verdict.

Sheikh Fareed was charged with violating the Religious Unity Act four years ago.

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Islamic Foundation alleges black magic performed in Haa Alifu Atoll to foretell election results

The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives has alleged that people on the island of Baarah in Haa Alifu Atoll practiced “black magic” to foretell the results of Local Council Elections held last week.

”A group of clairvoyants or soothsayers are said to have summoned the jinn to predict local council election results in their constituency,” said the IFM in a press statement.

”The black arts practitioners did so by constantly beating a possessed person with a traditional eakle broom while reciting a magic spell, and questioning the evil spirit believed to be speaking through the haunted person.”

The religious NGO referred to sources in the island and said the incident took place two days prior to the Local Council Elections.

”The local superstition states that jinns have the power to foretell the future, and the clairvoyants wanted it to tell the names of the candidates who would win the council vote,” the foundation said.

The Islamic Foundation said another such group of people in the island believed that the ”the party to which the first vote falls into the ballet box will win the election. So, they started queueing up for the vote just after sunset, with the hope of becoming the first person to vote in the next morning.”

The IFM said it had looked into the matter “from a religious perspective” and said the belief that demons or jinns have the power to foresee future, visiting fortunetellers, astrologers and palmists, wearing amulets or charms to ward off evil are forms of Shirk.

“The ignorant among the masses believe that Prophets possessed the power to foretell future and bring good or bad luck. However the Final Revelation, clearly states the Prophets do not have any such power. It is mentioned in the Quran that Allah instructed Prophet Mohamed to say he does not have any such power,” the Foundation said.

“Say! None in the heavens nor the earth knows the unseen except Allah..” (Surah an-Nahl 27:65)” the Islamic Foundation said on its website citing the Quran. ‘

The IFM said that Islam allows exorcism provided the practice does not involve any form of sorcery, Shirk or invocation of false deities. It is mentioned in Sunan Abu Dawud that Allah’s Messenger said, “The Last Hour will not come until some groups of my nation worship idols.”

Belief in black magic remains very common on many islands of the Maldives, despite being strictly forbidden under Islam.

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“We will beat them up and drag them away”: transcript of Mavota’s alleged phone call

In a leaked phone conversation allegedly between Spokesperson and Deputy leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) ‘Mavota’ Ibrahim Shareef and another member of DRP, a voice believed to be Shareef questions Gayoom’s support in Addu and suggested that were Gayoom’s faction to campaign there, “we will beat them up and drag them away [from Addu].”

The source of the leaked phone call, which has been aired on MNBC and DhiFM, has not been identified or its authenticity yet confirmed or denied.

Voice S: Definitely there would not be 99 percent of DRP supporters in Addu behind Maumoon.

Voice A: Just now, Shareef…

Voice S: The support for me would be much higher than that.

Voice A: Yes but just think…

Voice S: What did I say then, the result of all this will be MDP remaining in the administration…

Voice S: Istead of that [if he’s going to Addu] without having any connection with us, but with Umar Naseer and Ilham, he [Gayoom] will have to forget it. I tell you now, it would even be impossible to step on Addu without inviting us.

Voice A: What?

Voice S: We will beat them up and drag them away [from Addu].

Voice A: Zaeem? [Zaeem – literally honorary leader]

Voice S: Yes… will have to forget going to Addu during his visits [to islands].

DRP supporters who had heard the audio clip broadcast of MNBC and DhiFM gathered outside DRP’s headquarters this morning and called for Shareef and party Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali to resign.

Shareef then came out of DRP’s head office to address the protesters, but was attacked escorted to safety by police.

After police took Shareef away, the gathered people called on the resignation of Thasmeen. Minor confrontations between both sides of the party were reported.

Among the spectators of the incident this morning were many Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters.

The Council Meeting

In a meeting of the DRP council meeting this afternoon – with Gayoom’s members noticeably absent –  the party decided to sign a coalition agreement with Hassan Saeed’s Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), pledging cooperation in the 2013 presidential election, and the parliamentary and local council elections to be held in 2014.

Haveeru reported that Dr Hassan Saeed had sided with the current leader of DRP, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.

DRP MP Abdulla Mausoom confirmed the arrangement and said that the party would soon issue a press statement regarding the agreement.

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