Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz has said police have received reports that people are being solicited for cybersex over social media and blackmailed with compromising pictures and videos.
Commissioner Riyaz confirmed the investigation to local newspaper Haveeru but declined to provide details. A police media official likewise declined to provide any information beyond confirming the investigation was underway, or whether any arrests had been made.
Police investigated a similar case in February 2011, leading to the arrest of 14 people. Police concluded the investigation and sent it to the Prosecutor General’s Office, but the case was never sent to court.
At the time, police revealed the 14 individuals, including a minor, had been arrested on suspicion of obtaining hundreds of nude pictures and videos stored on computers and external hard drives. It was alleged that these images had been obtained through inviting Maldivians to befriend fake Facebook profiles with the image of a young blond woman, and soliciting them for cybersex.
Police said at the time that two profiles with the names of ‘Lyshiaa Limanom’ and ‘Angelic Sharrown’ were used by the suspects to gather compromising pictures and videos of victims performing explicit acts, in some cases in the presence of minors. Investigators stated that they would also be investigating these people people for committing crimes.
The Adhaalath Party has sent a letter to Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid requesting he clarify the educational qualifications of MPs in Penal Code committee before 10:00am tomorrow (14 May).
The letter was sent following the Penal Code Committee’s decision to summon Chair of Adhaalath Party’s Scholars Council, Sheikh Ilyas Hussain, after alleging he had made misleading comments about provisions of Penal Code bill during a religious sermon.
In a statement issued today, the Adhaalath Party confirmed the letter was sent because the Penal Code Committee had “invited” Sheikh Ilyas before the committee.
This is the second time the parliament has sent summons to Sheikh Ilyas over his comments, after he failed to show up the first time.
According to local media, on March 22 Sheikh Ilyas held a religious sermon dubbed the ‘Purpose of Islamic Sharia’ at the Furuqan Mosque after Isha Prayers, where he swore to God that the new Penal Code was “made to destroy the religion of Islam”.
Local media reported that during the sermon Ilyas declared the Penal Code did not have penalties for fornication, theft, corruption, forgery or robbery, and that if a person committed a crime while intoxicated, they were not to be subjected to punishment. He also claimed that according to the new penal code, it was not a crime for two people to have consensual sex.
Ilyas declared that the Penal Code was “a trap made by the West” to erase Islam in the name of Muslims, and vowed that he was ready to argue the point even if all the country’s lawyers came out against him.
After being summoned to parliament for the second time, Sheikh Ilyas told local media the committee continued to summon him only because they were ignorant of the Islamic way regarding the matters he had raised.
Ilyas stated that the parliament members who sat in the committee had insisted that the Penal Code did not have any clauses against Islamic principles, but only because none of them possessed sufficient religious education to understand the reality. He added that he will would explain the matter to the MPs through verses of the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet when he attended the committee meeting.
Ilyas further stated that the bill had a number of clauses which contradicted the penalties defined in Islamic Sharia, and that it had many “deceptive clauses”.
The Juvenile Court has sentenced a minor arrested in connection with Dr Afrasheem Ali’s murder to eight months imprisonment after the court found him guilty of misleading the police investigation.
According to local newspapers, the court ruling was based on witness statement and the minor’s confession.
However no media outlet has yet been able to get details regarding the hearings inside the Juvenile Court, which were closed to the public and media. The court ruling was issued yesterday.
The trial of Hussain Humam and Ali Shan, two other men charged with the murder of Dr Afrasheem Ali, continues in the Criminal Court.
MP Afrasheem was stabbed to death on the night of October 1 2012, by the staircase of his home. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the case including Humam and a suspect identified as Ali Shan of Henveiru Hikost.
A Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) officer and Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid – son-in-law of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik – were also detained by police over alleged involvement in the case. Both were later released by the courts.
Javid spent 45 days in detention in connection to the Afrasheem murder, after which time at the time his lawyer argued his continued detention was unconstitutional given there was no evidence to support keeping him in custody.
In December last year the MDP accused the police of attempting to pin Afrasheem’s murder on its members, instead of going after those guilty of the crime.
Police Commissioner Abdullah Riyaz has previously stated the child “deliberately misled” police by providing false information during their investigation into Afrasheem’s murder. The minor was the “lookout” during the stabbing and subsequent murder of the moderate Islamic scholar.
In accordance with the Penal Code, any person who gives false testimony can be given a jail sentence of up to a year, face two years of banishment, or receive a maximum fine of MVR 1,000 (US$65).
Minors can be given only two-thirds of any given sentence, according to juvenile crime regulations.
Police have arrested a 17 year-old boy and a man in connection with the discovery of a five month-old foetus on Foakaidhoo in Shaviyani Atoll.
a case where a 17 year-old girl gave birth to a 5 month fetus on the island of Foakaidhoo in Shaviyani Atoll, according to Fokaidhoo Island Council Secretariat.
A Fokaidhoo island council member told Minivan News the father of a 17 year-old girl had called the council to inform them his daughter’s pregnancy had been terminated and she had miscarried while at home, and requested police be called to investigate the matter.
“Police arrived at the scene at 1:47am, I was among the first to go there. The baby was inside a bucket,’’ the councillor said.
Photos of the five-month old foetus in the bucket were being circulated on Maldivian social media this morning, with the head blurred.
‘’An under-age boy was arrested in connection with the case after the girl told police that he was the father of the baby,’’ the councillor said. ‘’Another man [around] 27 years of age was arrested for allegedly giving abortion pills to the girl.’’
He said the mother and daughter were placed under police custody but were later released as the girl needed to see a gynecologist.
The councilor claimed nobody on the island had noticed the girl was pregnant.
Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed police were investigating a case involving a 17 year-old girl who gave birth on the island of Foakaidhoo, but did not give further information.
Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH)’s orthopedic department has stopped work after a group of people threatened an orthopedist, seeking a doctor’s note for treatment overseas through the Maldives’ nationwide health insurance scheme ‘Aasandha’.
The person who asked for the doctor’s recommendation to receive medical treatment abroad was first told by IGMH that such a recommendation could not be made because his injury could be treated in the hospital, according to a statement issued by IGMH.
The hospital claimed the man then refused treatment from IGMH.
IGMH said the same person later came into the hospital with a group of 10 men and threatened to attack the doctor, stating that he too would have to seek medical treatment through ‘Aasandha’ if he did not write the recommendation note.
The doctor then filled in the form for the man to receive treatment abroad, according to IGMH.
Aasandha’s free medical treatment is provided only when a doctor completes the special designated form.
The person sought out the doctor during a departmental staff meeting, according to IGMH.
Head of the Orthopedic Department Dr Ali Muznee told newspaper ‘Haveeru’ that in the past doctors have been subjected to such threats individually, but today the group threatened all the doctors working in the Orthopedic Department.
IGMH also said today that they are considering having police officers maintain security in the hospital after the incident.
Minivan News reported in September 2012 the widespread intimidation, fraud and “substandard” treatment by patients, health authorities, local staff and the country’s courts faced by expatriate medical professionals in the Maldives.
One foreign doctor who spoke to Minivan News sat the time said there was a lack of public understanding concerning the scheme and what they were entitled to.
“They become very angry when we tell them that this or that medical condition is not covered by Aasandha. A lot of times they force the management to force us to fabricate a medical condition just to get Aasandha approval,” he said.
The Criminal Court has asked the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office to revise charges pressed against Ismail Abdul Latheef, the owner of Maleesha Hajj Group, claiming the charges filed against him were incorrect.
The PG has alleged that Latheef had fraudulently obtained MVR 8 million (US$519,000 ) from many people after they made payments to the Maleesha Hajj Group to travel to Mecca to perform Hajj.
Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed told the PG’s lawyers that the case related to the rights of many people and that the result of the lawsuit might be different if the trial was carried out in its current state, according to local media present at the court today.
The Court has given a three day period for the PG to revise the charges against Latheef.
Attending the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Clients of the company were not able to go to Mecca this year to perform the religious obligation.
Latheef was arrested in Colombo, Sri Lanka in November 2012, a month after police issued an Interpol red notice to locate and apprehend him. Authorities were reported to have arrested Latheef while he was in the Mount Lavinia Hotel in Colombo.
Hajj groups are authorised by the government to provide transport and accommodation for pilgrims in Mecca, as well as offering guidance in helping them complete the religious rituals.
Latheef’s father is the head of the Athama Hajj Group.
Police have been unable to determine the whereabouts of Godzine Sargsyan and two other Maldivians they have been searching for in regard to the ongoing Artur brothers case, police told local media today.
Police began looking for the individuals on April 23 and asked the public to provide assistance in locating Godzine Sargsyan. They separately issued a statement identifying the two Maldivians also sought by police.
At the time police did not state that the two Maldlvians were being searched for in connection with the Artur brothers case.
The two Maldivians were identified by the police as Ahmed Visham, 28 of H. Ever Chance in Male’ and Ahmed Nishan, 31 of Hulhumale’ flat number 5-2-04.
Earlier in April, pictures of the Artur brothers with Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb and Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim emerged on social media. The photos of the two Maldivian ministers in the company of the Arturs were apparently taken during the Piston Motor Racing Challenge held on Hulhumale’ between January 25 and 26.
However, the ministers denied involvement with the infamous brothers, who are linked to drug trafficking, money laundering, raids on media outlets and other serious crimes in Kenya.
A letter from the Tourism Ministry to immigration authorities requesting a residency visa for Margaryan and Sargayan Artur, dated January 27 and signed by Adheeb, was subsequently leaked on social media.
A company named ‘Artur Brothers World Connections’ was registered in the Maldives on October 2012, with the Artur brothers holding an 80 percent share in the 61-19 percent split company.
The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has pressed charges against two police officers for allegedly assaulting Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and Mariya Ahmed Didi on February 8, 2012 during a brutal police crackdown.
Local media identified the accused as Mohamed Waheed from the island of Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll and Ibrahim Faisal from Machangolhi Rausha of Male’.
Mohamed Waheed was charged with hitting ‘Reeko’ Moosa in the head with a metal canister while Ibrahim Faisal was accused of assaulting MP Mariya Didi while she was inside a shop in Male’.
Faisal is also accused of hitting Mariya Didi in the face while police officers dragged her from the shop.
On February 8, thousands of MDP supporters took to the streets after former President Mohamed Nasheed declared that his resignation the previous day was made “under duress” in a “coup d’etat” instigated by mutinying Special Operations (SO) police officers.
On August 22, 2012, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) released an investigative report (Dhivehi) which concluded that the police crackdown on the MDP march, which left dozens of demonstrators injured, was “brutal” and “without prior warning.”
Thirty-two people filed complaints with the HRCM concerning the varying degrees of injuries they sustained in the crackdown, while 20 people also submitted medical documents pertaining to the treatment of those wounds.
Among the injuries caused by the police baton charge, the HRCM report noted that several people were bruised and battered, one person had a fractured leg bone, another person’s arm was broken, and six people sustained head wounds.
Meanwhile, the former ruling party informed the HRCM that their march across Male’ was spontaneous and that the party had not planned to stage any protests on February 8.
The crackdown
While riot police baton-charged the front line of protestors on February 8, Minivan News observed riot police also charging the crowd from a narrow alley leading to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) area.
The SO police officers used obscene language, pointed to and chased after individual MDP activists and severely beat unarmed civilians.
Al Jazeera news filmed parts of the attack from the rear and reported that on February 8 “police and military charged, beating demonstrators as they ran – women, the elderly, [with] dozens left nursing their wounds.”
Amid the clashes, a group of opposition demonstrators infiltrated the crowds, attacking MDP supporters, according to witnesses.
Former President Nasheed was reported among the injured, having received head injuries during the clashes. He was briefly taken under police custody before being released back into the crowd.
Minivan News also observed several youth with head injuries queuing up for x-rays in the waiting area outside the reception area of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
One young woman who went IGMH with her sister was being treated for a head wound. The gauze wrapped around her head was spotted with blood, and she claimed the wound was still bleeding as she went in for an X-ray.
“The police were just standing there and suddenly we were being beaten with batons and pepper spray was thrown in our face. They threw us to the ground and kept beating us,” she said.
The BBC meanwhile reported “a baton charge by police on crowds gathered outside one of the main hospitals.”
“People scattered as officers sprinted towards them silhouetted against the lights of passing traffic,” the BBC’s Andrew North reported from Male’.
An injured protester
“Inside the hospital, dozens of Mr Nasheed’s supporters are still being treated for injuries, following earlier scuffles in the main square. Among them is Reeko Moosa Maniku, chairman of Mr Nasheed’s Maldives Democratic Party – who was with the former president when the clashes broke out. With a large head bandage and his shirt bloodied, he regained consciousness as we arrived. The police said they would kill me, he told us, as they beat me. Another MP was still unconscious in another ward.”
The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has pressed charges against seven people in a case involving MVR 18 million (US$1.2 million) that went missing from the State Bank of India (SBI) account of the owners of local motorcycle retailer Sheesha.
On November 24, 2011, the Sheesha owners discovered that several unauthorised transfers had been made from their joint personal savings account to an unidentified recipient.
The PGO pressed charges today against Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Retired Colonel Shaukath Ibrahim and two female staff from SBI, Sulthana Hussain of H Miureksand Aishath Hussain from Kelaa Island in Haa Alif Atoll. Additionally, Ibrahim Shaheed from Thulhaadhoo Island in Baa Atoll, Mohamed Musthafa and Mohamed Musthaumid from Lhaimagu Island in Lhaviyani Atoll, and Ali Ashraf of Rasmaadhoo Island in Raa Atoll were also charged.
Retired Colonel Shaukath Ibrahim’s bank account was used to transfer the money and withdraw it, according to local newspaper Haveeru.
Following the Sheesha brothers’ – Ahmed Hassan Manik, Hussain Husham and Ibrahim Husham – discovery, they told local media the SBI transfer had been made to a Bank of Maldives account with a forged document faxed to SBI with Manik’s name and signature. The brothers said they would sue SBI and requested the bank take full responsibility for the theft.
In November 2011, Hussain Husham told local media that the total amount of MVR 18 million was taken in two transactions.
The first transaction was made on November 9, 2011, with the amount of MVR 8.5 million (US$551,000) withdrawn. On December 20, the culprits withdrew an additional MVR 9.5 million (US$616,000) from the Sheesha brothers’ account.
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