Author: Ahmed Nazeer

Laamu drug kingpin sentenced to 25 years imprisonment

The Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced a man identified by the police as one of the top drug dealers in the Maldives to 25 year imprisonment for illegal trade of narcotics, with an additional five years for possessing an illegal narcotic without a prescription.

The Criminal Court identified the person as Hassan Yousuf, Mathimaradhoo ward of Gan in Laamu Atoll.

The court saidthat  according to police officers that attended the scene to arrest Yousuf, he was holding a cigarette pack in his hand when he saw the officers and he threw the pack away.

When police picked up the cigarette pack and searched it, they found two grams of heroin inside.

Yousuf was arrested last year September in a special operation conducted by police, after they were informed that he was in possession of illegal narcotics.

“Police and society have recognised him as the top dealer in Laamu Atoll, and he has now been caught for the second time,’’ said Head of Drug Enforcement Department Superintendent Ahmed Jinah, at the time. “A recent case involving him is in trial, and he was again caught with suspected narcotics.”

Jinah said Yousuf was in police custody and the court had granted an extension of his detention to 10 days.

“The atolls have lately been used by drug traffickers for transportation and establishing hideouts,’’ Jinah said. ‘’We have conducted special operations in the islands to curb the number of users and dealers, which is hard and challenging due to the low numbers of police officers in the atolls and the large areas [to cover].’’

Jinah in September said police had observed that Addu Atoll, Laamu Atoll and Noonu Atoll were being used by dealers and users for transportation of drugs and the construction of hideouts.

Another drug related case against Yousuf is still ongoing in the court.

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Islamic Minister asks government to remove idolatrous SAARC monuments

Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has requested government authorities remove SAARC monuments that contradict Islam, placed in different areas around Addu City.

Dr Bari did not give further information about the matter to Minivan News, but confirmed that the media reports about the request he made were correct.

Local media have reported that Dr Bari has asked the President’s Office, the Foreign Ministry and Addu City Council to take down the offending SAARC monuments, although he did not specify which.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that the government will respect Dr Bari’s decision.

‘’All concerned authorities will respect the word of Dr Bari,” Zuhair said, but added that it was “very difficult for the government to return a monument gifted to the government, especially when it is handed to us by another Islamic country,’’ he said.‘’If you think of it diplomatically, it is very difficult.’’

Zuhair said the Islamic Minister’s request will be forwarded to the President, who will decide whether or not to remove the monuments as soon as he comes back to office after his post-SAARC vacation.

Former President of Adhaalath Party and current State Islamic Minister, Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, today told Minivan News that he was not informed of the decision of the Islamic Minister.

‘’I do not know anything about it, nor did the Minister discuss anything like that with me,’’ Sheikh Rasheed said.

He said that the monuments “do not contradict the religion of Islam.”

‘’They were all given to us by member countries of SAARC, and represent their countries. The Pakistan monument showed how Pakistan became an Islamic country from its Buddhist origins,’’ he said. ‘’Although the monument does not contradict Islam, it should not be kept there if Maldivian citizens do not want it to be there.’’

The Pakistani monument was toppled during the SAARC Summit and subsequently set ablaze, and eventually stolen outright. The Sri Lankan monument, a statue of lion, was reported yesterday to have been coated in crude oil.

However Deputy Sri Lankan High Commissioner Shaanthi Sudusinghe told Minivan News today that she had been informed by the Addu City Mayor that the reports were a domestic political issue,  and that the Sri Lankan monument had not been vandalised.

“He said the monument was made of carved stone and had black characteristics,” Sudusinghe said, “and that the monuments were being afforded full protection.”

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s political party, the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), this week hailed the vandals of the Pakistani monument to be “national heroes”, and vowed to fight for their release from police custody in court.

Yesterday, PPM filed a case with police against the Maldives Customs Department for allowing the monuments to be imported to the Maldives.

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Sri Lankan SAARC monument vandalised as PPM file case over import of ‘idols’

The SAARC monument designed and gifted to the Maldives by the Sri Lankan government, has been doused with crude oil.

The lion statue, representing the national symbol of Sri Lanka, was vandalised last night following the toppling, burning and theft of the Pakistani monument, which protesters had claimed was idolatrous.

Council Member of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Ahmed ‘Marz’ Saleem, meanwhile today filed a case with police against the Maldives Customs Department for allowing  ‘idols’ to be imported to the Maldives for the SAARC Summit.

The PPM is the party founded by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, following its acrimonious split with the major opposition party, the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP).

Speaking to Minivan News today, Saleem said that four acts in the Maldives banned the importation of idols, and that the Customs Department should be held responsible for letting the statues be imported into the country.

”It violates the Police Act, Customs Act, Contraband Act and the Religious Unity Act,” he contested.

“I reported the case to the police because it is a criminal offence which has to be investigated by police and sent to the Prosecutor General, to be taken to court according to Maldivian law,” Saleem said. ”We looked into the matter of these idols and found out that these things were not made here, which means they much have been imported from somewhere else.”

He said that displaying the items in public “is another offence. Citizens who love the religion of Islam will not allow such items to kept in public, and will seek to destroy them.”

”Police will have no lawful authority to stop citizens from destroying the idols, because they are illegal and against Islam,” he said, adding that the PPM has filed a second case in the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) demanding investigation of whoever gave orders for police to defend the monuments when citizens went out to destroy them.

”We requested the PIC investigate and find out who exactly gave the orders, who implemented the orders, and to take action against them,” he said.

He also alleged that the current government was attempting “to erase Islam from the country.”

”The current government dissolved the Quran Department, Arabiyya School and women’s mosques, all to erase the religion of Islam,” Saleem alleged.

Spokesperson for the Customs Department, Mohamed Ibrahim, did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam meanwhile confirmed that a case against the Customs Department was filed with police.

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Supreme Court concludes hearing concerning MP Abdul Hameed’s disqualification from public office

The Supreme Court has concluded hearings of a suit filed by Presidential Commission member Abdulla Haseen, to determine whether independent MP Abdul Hameed’s seat in the parliament is vacant.

The Criminal Court has previously ruled that MP Abdul Hameed was guilty of corruption, a verdict that disqualifies him from holding public office as an MP.

According to the constitution, any MP sentenced to a term longer than one year will be disqualified and his seat will be vacant. Hameed was sentenced to 18 months banishment.

Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) MP Ilham Ahmed, Jumhoory Party (JP) Youth Wing Leader Moosa Anwar, Adam Asif of Laamu Atoll Gan, and Hameed requested the court authorise them to speak in the hearing and were granted permission.

Speaking in the court, Hameed’s lawyer said that he still had a right to appeal any decision, and requested the Supreme Court declare that such a suit could be conducted.

Ilham’s lawyer said that following the ruling of Criminal Court, Hameed’s seat was vacant, and claimed that the parliament was deadlocked because of Hameed’s attempt to sit and take part in the parliament sessions.

He also requested the Supreme Court declare that Hameed could not attend parliament sittings prior to the conclusion of the case.

Asif’s lawyer also contested  that Hameed’s seat was now vacant, adding that after the Criminal Court’s ruling, Hameed did not qualify to be an MP.

Concluding the hearing, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz said that there will no more hearings of the suit and that the court will now conclude the case.

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MP beaten and handed to police semi-naked after alleged extra-marital affair

Independent MP Ahmed Amir was assaulted by a group of people around 3:00am in the morning last Thursday, following allegations that the MP for Kudahuvadhoo was caught with a married woman in a residence in the Maafanu ward of Male’.

The MP was reportedly severely beaten and handed over to police semi-naked before dawn on Thursday, and has now flown to Sri Lanka for treatment.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News that MP Amir insisted that the allegations against him were completely false.

“The [attackers] called police at the time, so officers went there and brought MP Amir in for questioning,” Shiyam explained. “Both parties have reported the same case differently, MP Amir said he was stopped and attacked while he was passing by, while the group claims that he slept with the wife of another man.”

Amir had bruises on his face and suffered other injuries, he added, stating that police were investigating the case.

A ruling party MP told Minivan News today on condition of anonymity that the incident occurred when MP Amir was caught with the woman by her family.

“Then they attacked him and this really happened, according to what I know,” he said.

MP Amir was meanwhile was unavailable for comment as both his mobile numbers were temporarily disconnected.

Amir however told local media that he was grabbed by a group of men while passing by a road near Indira Gandi Memorial Hsopital (IGMH), taken inside a room, stripped and beaten up.

Amir claimed the attackers robbed him of his mobile phone and wallet before turning him in to police.

Secretary General of Parliament Ahmed Mohamed told Minivan News that Amir was not arrested and police therefore did not inform the secretariat about the incident.

According to parliamentary rules of procedure, police have to inform the parliament if they intended to arrest an MP and escort him to parliament sittings before a court decided on his or her case.

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Prosecutor General’s Office spent Rf145,596 in violation of Public Finance Act, finds audit report

The audit report of the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) for the financial year 2010 has found that the office spent a total of Rf145,596 (US$9,706) in violation of the Public Finance Act.

In the report made public yesterday, Auditor General Ibrahim Niyaz revealed that the PGO spent Rf 40,745 (US$2640) in additional expenses for interior design after moving to its new offices without an agreement on price and quality of the work as required by section 8.21 of the public finance regulations.

In addition, the PGO spent Rf 58,913 (US$3800) out of its 2010 budget to settle outstanding bills from 2009 without requesting the funds from the Finance Ministry in the duration stipulated in the Public Finance Act.

Moreover, the PGO spent Rf45,938 (US$3000) on an official dinner to participants of an e-crime conference participants in June 2010 without a publicly-announced bidding process.

In an issue highlighted in previous audit reports of state institutions for 2010, the Auditor General noted that financial statements were not prepared in accordance with international public sector accounting standards (IPSAS) following principles of “accrual accounting” or the “financial reporting under cash basis of accounting” issued by the IPSAS board.

The PGO however informed auditors that it would discuss the issue with the Finance Ministry to prepare financial statements in accordance with international standards in the future.

Attorney General’s Office

Meanwhile the audit report of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) published along with the PGO audit report, the Auditor General noted that staff were paid overtime salary for the time spent waiting in a queue to sign out at the fingerprint system at the end of working hours.

The audit report also found that the Attorney General’s Office had not settled bills for services obtained from different parties within the duration stipulated in the public fiance regulations.

The AG Office was meanwhile owed a total of Rf 71,637 (US$4640) from different parties dating from 2009 but had not taken adequate efforts to recover the money, the audit found, adding that the cases had not been filed at court two years on.

A comparatively high amount of money had meanwhile been spent since 2002 for a software installed to maintain records of employees and case files, the audit found, noting that Rf1.5 million (US$100,000) had been spent as of last year to the company that created the software for maintenance fees, upgrades and other expenses.

The AGO informed auditors that the software initially purchased for Rf376,200 (US$24,000) would not be used from next year onward.

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High Court upholds Criminal Court guilty verdict against MP Ismail Abdul Hameed

The High Court last night upheld the Criminal Court’s guilty verdict against Independent MP Ismail Abdul Hameed for corruption and abuse of authority as former director of waste management at the Male’ municipality.

Under article 73(c)(3) of the constitution, MPs found guilty of a criminal offence “and sentenced to a term of more than twelve months” would be stripped of their seat.

Hameed was accused of abused of authority to financially benefit a Singaporean company named Island Logistics in a deal to purchase a barge.

In the verdict delivered on August 29, Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Didi noted that the agreement stipulated the barge was to be delivered within 90 days of signing the agreement, upon which 50 percent of the value was to be paid to Island Logistics.

Although the barge arrived in the Maldives on October 23, 2008, Hameed had signed a a protocol of delivery and acceptance of the vessel on April 28, 2008.

The judge ruled that Hameed’s actions were intentional and in violation of the Anti-Corruption Act.

The High Court judges ruled unanimously last night that there were no grounds to overturn the guilty verdict.

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MNBC to report MP Mahlouf to police for alleged assault of journalist

A journalist at the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) has claimed that Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Mahlouf assaulted him after Tuesday’s night live coverage of the National Security Committee meeting.

”He came towards me while I was waiting in the corridor and asked me rudely why I was broadcasting the parliament live” said the MNBC reporter, who wished to remain anonymous. ”I said that decision was not up to me and he told me to inform all my superiors that any equipment brought inside the parliament will be destroyed.”

He said the Galolhu South MP then pushed him against the wall and elbowed him on the stomach.

”I told him to get off me, but he then again hit me in the chest,” he said. ”Then he left the area.”

Board members of the state broadcaster were considering reporting the case to police, he said.

Mahlouf however denies the allegations.

An MNBC journalist at the committee meeting suggested that the incident would have been caught on CCTV cameras inside the building.

Prior to the alleged assault, opposition MPs disrupted a National Security Committee meeting to object to live coverage by the state broadcaster.

The meeting was held to vote on a proposal to summon PPM Parliamentary Group Leader MP Abdulla Yameen for questioning.

Committee Chair MP Ali Waheed told press that the rules of procedure did not prohibit live telecasts or dictate terms for media coverage.

The disruption of the live broadcast saw MDP activists gather outside the parliament building to protest.

With opposition MPs still inside parliament over an hour and half after the meeting ended, a group of PPM supporters gathered for a counter-protest.

Riot police in the area separated the rival protesters and cordoned off the area shortly before midnight.

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Civil Court orders MDP Chairman Reeko Moosa to pay Rf2.9 million in three months

The Civil Court has today ordered Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik to settle an outstanding debt of Rf2.9 million to Caterpillar Financial Service’s Asia Branch within three months.

Caterpillar claimed that in 2007 Heavy Load Maldives – a family business of the Hulhu-Henveiru MP – took a loan of US$700,000 (Rf10.5 million at the current exchange rate) from Caterpillar, which was co-signed by Moosa.

Caterpillar said at the Civil Court that Heavy Load had not settled the debt and requested Moosa be ordered to pay the loan as the co-signatory.

Delivering the verdict, Judge Mariyam Nihayath said that in the agreement made between Moosa and Caterpillar, Moosa had also agreed to pay a compensation fee plus the amount paid to hire a lawyer without any obligations.

Judge Nihayath ordered Moosa to pay the total amount which is Rf2.9 million in three months.

However, following the court ruling Moosa expressed concern and criticized the judiciary saying that the judiciary was like a “mad lion.’’

MDP official website quoted him saying that the court should not order him to pay the money without ordering Heavy Load Company to pay the loan.

The former MDP parliamentary group leader told the ruling party’s website that today’s ruling gave him more courage to continue the work to free the judiciary and make it independent.

He also said that Civil Court was issuing such rulings because Moosa and his lawyer Hassan Afeef was publicly advocating judicial reform. .

According to the constitution, if a MP has a decreed debt and is not paying the debt according to the court ruling, he will be disqualified and lose his seat in parliament.

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