Author: Ahmed Nazeer

Former MDP MP Musthafa to ask Supreme Court to declare DRP Leader Thasmeen’s seat vacant

Former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa has said he is filing a case in the Supreme Court requesting the apex court declare the seat of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali vacant, over unpaid debts.

Musthafa contends Thasmeen – recently appointed President Mohamed Waheed’s running mate ahead of September’s election – had not paid loans he took from Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim or those taken from the Bank of Maldives in the name of a company of which he is a shareholder.

Musthafa himself was disqualified from the parliament in 2012 over an unpaid decreed debt, which the court concluded had rendered him constitutionally ineligible to remain in the seat.

As a consequence, Mustafa said that there was precedent for the court to declare Thasmeen’s Kendhoo Constituency seat vacant.

On June 17, the Civil Court ordered all Thasmeen’s bank accounts of frozen, and ordered immigration to withhold his passport following a case filed by Deputy Speaker Nazim to recover a debt of MVR 1.92 million (US$124,513).

Nazim filed the case requesting enforcement of a Civil Court verdict in April 2011 – upheld by the High Court in April 2013 – ordering the vice presidential candidate to pay back the money.

MP Nazim, of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), initially sued Thasmeen in March 2011 to recover the remainder of a loan worth MVR 2.55 million (US$200,000). After the Civil Court ruled in favour of Nazim, Thasmeen appealed the judgment at the High Court in June 2011.

In October 2011, the High Court upheld Civil Court verdicts ordering Mahandhoo Investments and Kabalifaru Investments – two companies with ties to Thasmeen – to repay millions of dollars worth of loans to the Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML).

In the first case involving Mahandhoo Investments, BML issued a US$23.5 million demand loan, a US$103,200 bank guarantee and US$30,090 letter of credit on July 10, 2008.

The second case involved a US$3.3 million loan issued to Kabaalifaru Investment. The appeal of a Civil Court verdict on September 30, 2009 ordered the company to settle the debt within 12 months.

Meanwhile, a third case involving a Civil Court verdict in December 2009 ordered luxury yachting company Sultans of the Seas – with close ties to the DRP leader – to pay over US$50 million in unpaid loans, including incurred interest and fines, was appealed at the High Court.

In September 2009, Maldives Customs filed a case at Civil Court to recover US$8.5 million from Sultans of the Seas in unpaid duties and fines for allegedly defrauding customs to import two luxury yachts, and in February 2010 the court ordered the company to pay MVR 110 million (US$7 million) as fines and unpaid import duties.

Precedent

In July 2009, then-PPM Vice President Umar Naseer filed a case against Musthafa shortly after the MP won the election for Thimarafushi constituency against former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son, Gassan Maumoon.

Umar Naseer contended that Musthafa not repaid a loan of US$31,231.66 (MVR 481,952) borrowed from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) according to the court order and therefore must be removed from parliament for the violation of article 73(c)1.

According to the article 73(c)1 of the constitution, “a person shall be disqualified from election as, a member of the People’s Majlis, or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified, if he has a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgment.”

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Criminal Court acquits six men charged with gang rape of 14 year-old girl

The Criminal Court has acquitted six men charged with the gang rape of a minor, on the grounds that the prosecution was unable to offer sufficient evidence to prove they were guilty.

Abdulla Nazeef of Fuvamulah, Mohamed Shifau of Villimale’, Azim Ali from Dhigurah in Alif Dhaalu, Hoodh Mohamed of Male’ special registry, Inash Abdulla of Gaafu Dhaalu Vaadhoo and Ali Ashraf of Maafannu Athuma were charged with the sexual abuse of a minor by a group.

The Prosecutor General’s Office pressed charges against the six suspects on allegations that on June 5, 2010, they abducted a 14 year-old girl, took her to an abandoned area near the Villimale’ antennae area, and raped the victim.

The Criminal Court stated in its verdict that the state had charged the six men under the Special Provisions for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act of 2009 but had not produced enough evidence as required by the law to declare a person guilty.

According to local media, the court’s verdict stated that the suspects were acquitted as the state had not presented the required number of witnesses to the incident.

The verdict also stated that all the defendants had denied the charges.

According to local media, two of the accused – Abdulla Nazeef and Mohamed Shifau – are among the suspects charged with the murder of Ahmed Mirza Ibrahim.

In April 2011, Mirza Ibrahim was struck in the head with an iron bar while he was sitting inside a park in Villingili, the ward of Male’ where he lived.

Mirza suffered severe head injuries in the attack and was rushed to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), where he was placed on life support but later declared brain-dead.

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PIC requests punishment of officers for unlawful arrest of Thulhaadhoo Council president

The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) has recommended the Home Ministry take action against police officers involved in the arrest of Thulhaadhoo Island Council President Ahmed Rasheed earlier this year, according to media reports.

On January 26, 2013, police arrested Rasheed on charges of creating unrest while participating in a protest against Adhaalath Party Leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla when he arrived on Thulhaadhoo.

Along with Rasheed and island council member Ziyau Rasheed Ibraim, 11 people were arrested over their alleged involvement in confrontations on the island.

The PIC’s recommendation was made after investigating a complaint filed by Rasheed contending that his arrest had been unlawful.

Rasheed claimed in the complaint that he was arrested in his home after the protest was over by police officers with their faces covered.

Channel News Maldives reported at the time that clashes had occurred between supporters of the the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the government-aligned Adhaalath Party during Sheikh Imran’s visit.

The councilors were released the next day after being taken to court for extension of the period of their detention.

Concluding its investigation into Rasheed’s arrest this week, the PIC’s report stated that the police officers had arrested and handcuffed Rasheed in violation of arrest procedures.

The PIC report explained that officers were required to follow regulations specifying the procedure for handcuffing a suspect during an arrest.

In reference to other claims made by Rasheed that police used inappropriate language when they communicated with him, the PIC said that the investigation team was unable to prove whether or not allegations were true.

A police spokesperson today told Minivan News that no instructions had been received from the Home Ministry on the PIC’s recommendations concerning the case at time of press.

“The PIC procedure is they send these recommendations directly to the Home Ministry, and the ministry will then forward the case and have us take action against officers. The Home Ministry may also take action,’’ he said.

PIC Director General Fathimath Sareera Ali Shareef was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Earlier this week, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ali Rasheed revealed that the police disciplinary committee had decided not to take any action against five police officers facing criminal prosecution over police brutality against MDP demonstrators on February 8, 2012.

The decision was made despite a recommendation from the PIC to the home ministry to take administrative action against the six police officers accused of brutality.

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High Court Chief Judge files lawsuit against JSC for second time

High Court Chief Judge Ahmed Shareef has filed a lawsuit at the Civil Court for a second time against the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), challenging his indefinite suspension by the judicial watchdog.

Shareef’s lawyer Husnu Suood – a former Attorney General under the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed – told local media that the second case was filed this week with the same request to issue an injunction halting Shareef’s suspension.

On Monday (June 17), the previous case submitted by Shareef was dismissed by Civil Court Judge Hathif Hilmy after the claimant did not attend a hearing scheduled for that day and failed to provide the court with a valid reason for his absence.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Husnu Suood said that Shareef’s lawyers were unable to attend the hearing scheduled due to a mistake made by his office staff.

“We filed the same lawsuit the same day the [first] case was dismissed,” he said.

Suood said that lawyers would argue that the JSC did not follow due process in suspending Shareef.

“They have a procedure of establishing a committee to investigate cases and then the committee will recommend the action to be taken after investigating the case,” he explained.

“We don’t know if Shareef’s case was tabled or not,” he added.

Suood also referred to the issue of Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chair Mohamed Fahmy Hassan’s contested legal status and his attendance at the JSC meeting where the decision to suspend Shareef was made.

Suood questioned the legitimacy of a decision made in a meeting held with an “illegitimate” member.

Judge Ahmed Shareef was suspended on the same day that the High Court cancelled a hearing of a case involving former President Nasheed.

The hearing was scheduled to decide on procedural issues raised by the JSC contending that the High Court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case, which involved the legitimacy of a panel of judges appointed by the commission to preside over the former president’s trial at the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.

Shortly after the cancellation, the JSC declared that the commission had indefinitely suspended Shareef.

He was the presiding judge in former President Nasheed’s case against the JSC.

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Police request prosecution of 27 year-old male over traffic collision death

Police have concluded an investigation into a collision that left a woman dead in Male’ last month, requesting the state prosecute a 27 year-old male accused of driving the motorcycle that had struck the vehicle on which she had been riding.

In a statement issued today, police said they had requested the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) charge 27 year-old Ahmed Gassam from Naifaru in Lahviyani Atoll over his role in the collision that led to the death of Aishath Anwar, also 27.

On May 6, 2013,  police alleged that the bike which Gassam was riding collided with another bike near Coffee Corner on Buruzu Magu.

Police said that incident occurred at 12:38am.

The Maldives Motor Vehicle Act states that in the case of traffic collisions resulting in death, a suspect accused of carelessness while in control of a vehicle should face criminal charges.  In such a case, the suspect is required to face the punishment outlined under the Islamic Sharia, while also  having their driving license withheld for 10 years if found guilty.

Police previously identified the woman who died in the collision on May 6 as Aishath Anwar, 27, from Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

Aishath Anwar died in a hospital in Sri Lanka on 11 May 2012, five days after the collision.  She had been receiving treatment for severe injuries sustained to her head at the time of her death.

Local media at the time quoted Anwar’s family of accusing Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’ of being unable to provide her with prompt and proper treatment.

Anwar was admitted to IGMH after the accident, before being transferred to Sri Lanka for further medical treatment.

Her family were quoted in media as claiming doctors at the Sri Lankan hospital had said that the chances of saving Anwar’s life would have been high has she been brought to the country earlier.

The family alleged at the time of there being a delay in transferring Anwar from the Maldives to Sri Lanka as a result of the unspecified actions of IGMH hospital.

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Maalhos islanders shut down school, health post in protest

Residents on Maalhos in Alif Alif Atoll have today closed down the island’s school and health centre and staged a sit down protest to demand the government send a doctor and solve an issue concerning “lazy” teachers.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Maalhos Island Council President Ahmed Rashid said that the islanders had been demonstrating since 6:00am this morning.

“They are angry because the school does not have a principal and the teachers are not coming out for work,” he said. “If the school is run by teachers they would not have anyone to oversee their work, so they are not coming to work.”

Rashid said that the school principal was previously transferred to another island because someone complained at the ministry that he had been watching Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)-aligned private broadcaster Raajje TV since he came to the island.

women of Maalhos Island protesting outside island school

“We have tried to solve this issue through the education ministry, but they haven’t responded to us and we have also tried calling the health ministry’s person in charge of sending doctors to the island and he is not answering to calls,” he said.

He alleged that the island health centre and school were both dysfunctional.

Rashid also said that protesters had warned that if there was no response from the government by tomorrow, they would also look to close down the island council.

According to Rashid, there are currently 74 students in the island school.

“We can only get things like panadol from the health center,” he added.

An islander who spoke to Minivan News alleged that the local teachers on the island had not been regularly attending work. The source added that in cases when teachers did turn up, they did were always angry at students and used inappropriate language when interacting with their pupils.

“The school and health centre in this island haven’t been functioning properly and today all the parents and senior islanders came out to protest,” he said. “It’s been three months without a doctor and we can only get treatment for minor injuries and common fevers.”

The islander claimed almost all the parents and islanders had joined the protest.

Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health Geela Ali told Minivan News that she had not personally received any information today of protests on the island and could not therefore comment on the matter.

Geela added that she could not say whether the Education Ministry may have been notified of the matter.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Dr Asim Ahmed was not responding to calls at time of press.

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Civil Court dismisses case submitted by High Court chief judge against the JSC

The Civil Court has today dismissed a case submitted by Chief Judge of the High Court Ahmed Shareef to overturn his indefinite suspension by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

The case was dismissed by Civil Court Judge Hathif Hilmy after the claimant did not attend a hearing scheduled for today, while also failing to provide any reasonable grounds for his absence.

The Civil Court said that the hearing was scheduled for 1:00pm.

Judge Ahmed Shareef was suspended on the same day that the High Court cancelled a hearing of a case involving former President Mohamed Nasheed.

The hearing was scheduled to decide on procedural issues raised by the JSC contending that the High Court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case, which involved the legitimacy of a panel of judges appointed by the commission to preside over the former president’s trial at the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.

Shortly after the cancellation, the JSC declared that the commission had indefinitely suspended Shareef.

He was the presiding judge in former President Nasheed’s case against the JSC.

JSC Chair and Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla insisted at a press conference later that day that the disciplinary action had no relation to the former president’s case.

The JSC then announced it had appointed Judge Abdul Rauoof Ibrahim as acting Chief Judge of High Court until the conclusion of its inquiry into complaints filed against the suspended chief judge.

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High Court concludes hearings of Deputy Speaker Nazim’s case ahead of final verdict

The High Court today concluded hearing witness statements in the state’s appeal of Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim acquittal by the Criminal Court on charges of corruption, ahead of delivering a final verdict at a later date.

Nazim stands accused of receiving more than US$400,000 through fraudulent transactions made by a company he was found to own.

At today’s hearing, the prosecution lawyer noted that the Criminal Court had previously dismissed the testimonies of witnesses submitted by the state against Nazim. The High Court would now decide on whether to take the witness statements into account before a final verdict on the case is delivered.

The Criminal Court ruled in February last year that the witnesses submitted to the court were all staffs at a company called NAMIRA, which is owned by Nazim and at the centre of the alleged corruption.  The court concluded at the time that staff involved in the alleged fraud could not be presented as witnesses and dismissed their statements.

At today’s hearing, the prosecution lawyer was reported as stating to the court that it was apparent that staff at NAMIRA had not benefited at all from the alleged corruption. The lawyer argued that they therefore would not have had any involvement in the case had they not been asked by Nazim himself.

Before concluding today’s hearing, the presiding judge announced that unless the court required clarification on any further details of the trial, a verdict on the case would be delivered during the next hearing.

Deputy Speaker Nazim was not responding to calls at time of press.

In late 2009, Nazim was charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud the former Atolls Ministry.

However, in February 2012, the Criminal Court dismissed the case against Nazim and ruled that there were no grounds to prosecute him.

The alleged corruption at the centre of the trial – first flagged in an audit report released in early 2009 – involved paper companies allegedly set up by the defendant to win bids for projects worth several hundred thousands dollars.

The case began in late 2009, after police uncovered evidence that implicated Nazim in a number of fraudulent transactions.

At a press conference in August 2009, Chief Inspector Ismail Atheef said police had uncovered evidence that implicated Nazim in fraudulent transactions worth over US$260,000 (Mrf 3,446,950).

Police exhibited numerous quotations, agreements, tender documents, receipts, bank statements and forged cheques proving that Nazim received over US$400,000 in the case.

A hard disk seized during a raid of Nazim’s office in May 2009, allegedly contained copies of forged documents and bogus letter heads.

Police further alleged that MP ‘Red Wave’ Saleem actively assisted from the atoll ministry. Meanwhile, Nazim’s wife, Zeenath Abdullah, was accused of abusing her position as a manager of the Bank of Maldives’ Villingili branch to deposit proceeds from the scheme.

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Police forward Disaster Management Centre case to PG

Police have forwarded a MVR 24 million (US$1.55 million) corruption case involving the National Disaster Management Centre to the Prosecutor General, calling for charges against nine people including former head of the centre, Abdulla Shahid.

In a statement issued today police confirmed the case was forwarded to the PG and called for the prosecution of Abdulla Shahid, 50, Mohamed Shahid, 53 (the brother of parliament speaker Abdulla Shahid), Ahmed Najah, 24, of Maradhoo in Addu City, Ahmed Arif, 49, of Henveiru Everglow, Mohamed Waheed, 53, of Eydhafushi in Baa Atoll, Abdulla Saeed, 49, of Hoadedhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, Abdulla Hassan, 56, of Henveiru Sosunmead, Moosa Ali Kaleyfaanu, 49, of Kandholhudhoo in Raa Atoll, Ahmed Shammoon Zahir, 23, of Mahchangolhi Blackpool.

The case was first forwarded to police by the Auditor General on April 19, 2012, while the Anti-Corruption Commission forward the matter on January 18, 2013.

Police thanked the Anti-Corruption Commission and Auditor General’s Office for assistance in investigating the case.

The case involving the Disaster Management Centre concerns an audit report produced by the Auditor General. In the report, the Auditor General alleged that MVR 24 million (US$1.5 million) was fraudulently obtained from the budget allocated for the centre for the year 2009 and 2010.

The Auditor General’s special report into the case alleged that the Disaster Management Centre had photocopied, edited and reused ‘Credit Purchase Order Forms’ in 2005, to withdraw the MVR 24 million from the centre’s budget at the Finance Ministry.

The ‘Credit Purchase Order Forms’ were originally given to the Disaster Management Centre in 2005 to withdraw cash from the Tsunami Recovery Fund.

The Auditor General’s report also suggested that the Finance Ministry was complicit in the alleged fraud.

In March 2012, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sent a corruption case to the Prosecutor General’s Office concerning the Disaster Management Centre and a housing project carried out on Gan in Laamu Atoll, following damage suffered in the 2004 tsunami.

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