Author: Ahmed Nazeer

JP asks Supreme Court to declare Kaashidhoo seat vacant

Jumhooree Party (JP) Youth Wing leader Moosa Anwar has filed a case in the Supreme Court of the Maldives requesting that the Kaashidhoo seat in parliament be declared vacant, and Elections Commission (EC) hold a by-election to reelect an MP for the seat.

The Criminal Court last week sentenced Independent MP for Kaashidhoo, Ismail Abdul Hameed, to one year and six months banishment after he was found guilty of abuse of authority for financial gain to a third party.

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.

Article 78 of the constitution meanwhile states that “whenever there is a vacancy among the members of The People’s Majlis, an election shall be held within sixty days from the date of the vacancy. A by-election shall not be held within six months prior to a general election.”

Moosa said that that the Supreme Court could determine whether Hameed should be given 90 days to appeal or if the seat should become vacant immediately following the lower court’s ruling.

“It is uncertain whether the seat is vacant. I believe that the seat is vacant following the Criminal Court ruling on 29 August and that the Elections Commission should have announced the by-election within five days as stated in the Parliamentary Elections Act,” he said. “But the commission has not, so the confusion over the vacant seat has to be cleared up by the Supreme Court.”

In other democratic countries, he noted, MPs would resign on their own when criminal charges were made against them with clear evidence, describing it as “best practice”.

The Prosecutor General pressed corruption charges against Hameed alleging that he had abused his authority as the former Director of Waste Management at the Male’ municipality to financially benefit a Singaporean company named Island Logistics in a deal to purchase a barge.

Deputy Elections Commissioner Hassan Fayaz told Minivan News at the time that the EC will begin preparations for the by-election when parliament officially informs the commission that a seat is vacant.

“I think it will take some time because he has the right appeal the verdict in superior courts,” he told Minivan News at the time.

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Independent MP Ismail Abdul Hameed found guilty of corruption, banished

The Criminal Court today sentenced Independent MP for Kaashidhoo, Ismail Abdul Hameed, to one year and six months banishment after he was found guilty of corruption.

Banishment is a traditional punishment in the Maldives in which those sentenced are forbidden to leave a designated island.

The Prosecutor General pressed corruption charges against Hameed alleging that he had abused his authority as the former Director of Waste Management at the Male’ municipality to financially benefit a Singaporean company named Island Logistics in a deal to purchase a barge.

According to local media reports, Judge Abdulla Didi noted in the verdict 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 however signed a document claiming that the barge was delivered on schedule on April 28, 2008.

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

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.

Article 78 of the constitution meanwhile states that “whenever there is a vacancy among the members of The People’s Majlis, an election shall be held within sixty days from the date of the vacancy. A by-election shall not be held within six months prior to a general election.”

Deputy Elections Commissioner Hassan Fayaz told Minivan News that the Elections Commission (EC) will commence work to hold the election of the vacant seat when the parliament officially informs the commission that a seat is vacant.

“If a seat is vacant the commission will hold the election to elect a member, but the parliament haven’t officially informed the commission about a vacant seat,” he said. “I think it will take some time because he has the right appeal the verdict in superior courts.”

However, according to media reports, Hameed has not indicatated that he will appeal the verdict at the High Court or not. The MP for Kaafu Atoll Kaashidhoo was not present for today’s vote on the government’s Goods and Services Tax.

Hameed had voted with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in most votes during the past two years.

Speaking at a press conference today, ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik criticised the judiciary and accused the Criminal Court of imposing double standards on MPs facing court cases.

Moosa claimed that Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim of the opposition People’s Alliance (PA) had dodged court summons eight times.

When Nazim finally appeared at court, said Moosa, the court barred journalists from observing the trial.

“If a parliament seat becomes vacant in any constituency of the Maldives, God willing, we at the MDP will do everything we can to win the seat,” he said.

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DQP MP Riyaz Rasheed attacked, party alleges

The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) has alleged that DQP MP Riyaz Rasheed was attacked last night while he was on his way home after attending a meeting.

A crowd gathered around Riyaz’s car demanding he get out of it, and assaulted him when he did so, Haveeru reported.

DQP today issued a press release saying it “was possible” that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik “was behind the attack”.

“The fact that the attack came a few days after former MDP Parliamentary group leader Moosa gave a warning to Riyaz, it is possible that the attack has some connection with the warning,” the DQP claimed.

DQP said that Riyaz Rasheed was the MP who had submitted “the most number of bills to the parliament,” an MP that had been “criticising the government publicly” and that there had been “many attempts made to silence his voice.”

“The government has repeatedly attempted to stop Riyaz from his work against corruption in this government, by trying to bribe him, threatening him and by torturing him,” the DQP alleged.

Meanwhile, MDP Chairperson and MP Moosa Manik said he believed that DQP Dr Hassan Saeed was behind the attack “if they are blaming it on me.”

“Dr Hassan Saeed and Riyaz have been disturbing me and my family for a long time,” Moosa said. “And because that does not satisfy them, they are now blaming me for this.”

Moosa said he had “never attacked anyone physically or mentally.”

“I call on the police to investigate and find out on what grounds they are making this accusations on me,” he said.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the matter had been reported to police, who were investigating.

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Media Council condemns Criminal Court for excluding journalists from Deputy Speaker’s corruption trial

The Maldives Media Council (MMC) has condemned the Criminal Court for barring journalist from a corruption hearing involving Parliament’s Deputy Speaker and People Alliance Party (PA) MP Ahmed Nazim.

The council issued the statement following the Criminal Court judge’s decision, stating that the court’s claim that journalists were blocked because they gave a negative perspective on the court was not probable grounds to disallow journalists from hearing the trial.

The Council said that the Criminal Court’s decision would prevent the court from gaining public confidence.

The MMC’s press statement said the decision to bar journalists from the trial was “a huge challenge” for people’s right to a free press, as outlined in the Constitution.

Last Thursday, the Criminal Court refused to allow journalists to observe the hearing of Nazim’s ongoing corruption trial. Nazim is facing charges of multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud the former Atolls Ministry.

Local dailies Haveeru and Sun Online reported that the hearing was scheduled to start at 12:00pm, but was actually conducted one hour earlier at 11:00pm. The court had not informed any of the reporters who registered at the court that morning of the time change.

According to Haveeru, court reporters who learned of the time change and requested entry were told that “the judge has decided to hold a closed hearing.”

When asked by reporters to offer a reason for the closed hearing, the court official asked the reporters to wait, went inside and did not appear until the hearing was over.

Almost two hours after the hearing concluded, Criminal Court Media Officer Ahmed Mohamed Manik told the court reporters that had not been allowed to enter because “negative perceptions of the court were being created [among the public] because of some journalists.”

Queried by the court reporters, the Criminal Court official insisted that the judge was authorised to exclude the public from trials under article 42 of the constitution. Members of the public were allowed to attend today’s hearing.

Under normal court procedure, only trials involving child sexual abuse are closed to the public.

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MNDF officer shot dead in friendly fire incident during SAARC bodyguard training

A Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officer has died in a friendly-fire incident during bodyguard training at the Kadhoo facility in Laamu Atoll.

32 year-old Corporal Ibrahim Shaukath was shot in the head and was taken to Laamu Gan Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:50am.

The MNDF stated that live ammunition was used in the training program, intended to train bodyguards for the upcoming SAARC Summit to be held in Addu.

MNDF Spokesperson Major Abdul Raheem told Minivan News that a joint investigation by police and the MNDF had been launched into the investigation of the death.

“It is too early to say how the incident occurred because the investigation is ongoing,” Abdul Raheem said.

Asked whether officers were required to wear helmets during training requiring the use of live ammunition, Abdul Raheem responded that “during some training, the officers will be equipped with different weapons and tools and I am not sure whether in this training the students were told to wear their helmets,’’ he replied.

A state funeral for Shaukath will be held on his home island of Alifushi in Raa Atoll.

“The family requested we conduct the funeral on Alifushi, so we decided to do so,’’ Abdul Raheem said, adding that senior officers of the MNDF would attend.

He said that the MNDF flag would be hoisted half-mast for three days in mourning of the incident.

“The whole MNDF force is with the family of Shaukath and our prayers are with him and his family,’’ Abdul Raheem said. “It was a very regrettable incident.”

Local media meanwhile reported that Shaukath died immediately when the bullet went straight his forehead.

Defense Minister Thalhath Ibrahim, Chief of Defense Force Major General Moosa Ali Jaleel and Vice Chief of Defense Force Faruhath Shaheeru and MNDF Nothern Area Commander Brigadier General Ahmed Mohamed will attend the funeral.

The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) sent condolences to Shaukath’s family and called for an independent investigation to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future, alleging that existing safety measures during training exercises were “questionable”.

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Two “dangerous criminals” to be set free if police witnesses fail to appear in court, warns judge

A Criminal Court judge handling the case of two persons identified by police as “dangerous criminals” has claimed that police had “not cooperated” with the court and that both may have to be released.

Thursday’s hearing of the case against Ahmed Shareef of Gaafu Dhaalu Nadella and Maadhih Mohamed of Laamu Gan, had to be cancelled after police officers who were supposed to testify as witnesses failed to appear, according to local media.

The media reported the judge as saying that it was the fourth hearing in the trial that had to be cancelled because the two police officers did not appear, and stated that the court was informed that one police officer was on vacation while the other was not turning up for work.

The judge said that a hearing would be scheduled for next week and that if the two police officers failed to appear, the two suspects would be released from custody.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam meanwhile said that police had always fully cooperated with the Criminal Court and had always produced persons necessary for trials.

“If we had failed to produce someone to the court we have always informed the court about it, and given a reason as to why we have been unable to present him,” Shiyam said.

Shareef and Maadhih are both charged of assaulting and stabbing Ismail Firdhaus, near the Hulhumale’ ferry terminal.

Both of them denied the charges against them, however, the court granted the police authority to hold them in police custody until their trial was concluded.

On February 17, Criminal Court’ Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed 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 because the 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.

Later the family of Ahusan Basheer, 21, who was fatally stabbed in a gang fight, accused Shahum of murdering Ahusan and blamed Judge Abdulla for releasing him.

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National Security Committee supports sending Maldives troops to UN peacekeeping operations

Parliament’s National Security Committee has voted in favor of signing a memorandum of understanding with the UN to send Maldivian soldiers to UN conflict zones for peacekeeping operations.

According to the parliament, all the members of the committee were present at the meeting last Monday when the voting was held, including Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Rozaina Adam, Peoples Alliance Party (PA) MP Abdulraheem Abdulla and DRP MP Mohamed Nashiz.

The committee will now submit the matter to parliament for approval.

On April 5, the cabinet decided to sign a memorandum of understanding with the UN to deploy Maldivian soldiers to UN conflict zones, noting that it would be important for the Maldives to contribute to these international efforts to ensure that every country, society and individual had the opportunity to live in peace and security.

The decision was then sent to the parliament for approval, and the parliament voted in favor of sending it to the National Security Committee to examine the issue further.

According to 243[b] of the constitution, “if the President, as Commander in Chief, authorizes or orders the employment of the military service in defence of the republic or as part of an international undertaking, the President shall without delay submit the authorisation to the People’s Majlis. The People’s Majlis may at any time approve the authorisation, or revoke the authorisation.”

Speaking on the matter in parliament, opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP, Ahmed Mahlouf, said the issue was concerning.

“This is no joke, this is a very serious issue,” he said. “I do not think any honorable member would want to send some Maldivians abroad to their deaths.”

Mahlouf said death was a real possibility in peacekeeping operations. He also noted that it was possible that terrorists would target the Maldives if Maldivian soldiers were sent to participate in peacekeeping operations.

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf also expressed concern over the issue and called on the government to withdraw the decision.

Salaf at the that time claimed that any Muslim who assisted non-Muslims in a war against Muslims would themselves be branded infidels.

“Muslims will be obliged to treat him as a non-Muslim in all ways, such as if dead, burying without enshrouding the body, burying the body with other non-believer, and when dealing with inheritance matters the terms and condition that applies to a non-believer who dies in a war against Muslims will be applied to him,” the NGO said.

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Mass resignation of expatriate staff at Thaa Atoll Hospital

All expatriate staff working in Thaa Atoll Hospital on the island of Veymandoo in Thaa Atoll have resigned following a strike over visa and financial issues with the Health Corporation.

Assistant Manager and spokesperson for Thaa Atoll Hospital, Midhath Naseer, told Minivan News that the hospital’s doctors had submitted their resignations, which were accepted on Sunday.

“On Sunday there was no doctor at the hospital, but the next day at 12:00pm we replaced all the doctors by bringing them in from Laamu Atoll and nearby islands. They have started working and the hospital is fully functioning,’’ Midhath said. “We arranged it so that any patient with a critical condition could receive services.”

Midhath said the major issue was that the expat doctors’ visas were not renewed before they expired, which made it difficult for them to return to their home countries in urgent cases.

‘’One of the doctors apologised to us and withdrew the resignation,’’ he said, adding that the doctor had now rejoined Thaa Atoll Hospital.

He said the expat doctors and nurses who resigned had also complained about being included in the pension scheme, which lowered their wages.

Atoll Councilor Abdulla Shareef told Minvan News that the resigned doctors and nurses were still on the island and that he did not know when they would depart.

‘’They met us recently, but since the Health Corporation has accused the Atoll Council of politicising this issue after we met with them, we are not involved in this anymore,’’ Shareef said. ‘’But the council thinks that we being the Atoll Councilors have the authority to meet with them anytime they request.’’

Shareef said that he did not have any official information about the resignations.

The doctors and nursing staff working at the hospital – which is almost entirely staffed by expatriates – declared themselves on strike on Sunday, and met with the atoll council to discuss their issues.

Haveeru reported that head of the Atoll Council, Shareef, had told the paper that the Health Corporation was counting staff as having used their vacation days despite staff waiting in the Maldives for their visas to be renewed.

Doctors and nurses told the council that in some cases their vacation days were all but spent by the time they actually reached their home country.

Shareef also told the paper that the hospital was using expired medicines imported during 2004 tsunami, and that doctors were being blamed for not having enough medicine in the hospital.

Meanwhile, an Indian gynecologist working at the Hoarafushi Health Centre in Haa Alifu Atoll has declared that she will “never come back to the Maldives” after two masked islanders attacked and gagged her on Monday night.

“They broke in to my room with their faces covered, holding knives, and they tried to attack me,” the doctor told Minivan News yesterday. “I could only see their eyes. It was like the worst nightmare I have ever seen.”

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National Security Committee to summon former President Gayoom

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik has proposed summoning former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to the parliamentary National Security Committee yesterday over his alleged involvement in US$800 million worth of blackmarket oil trade with Burma.

The Hulhu-Henveiru MP, a member of the MDP-dominated committee, proposed summoning Gayoom and other senior officials of the former government suspected of involvement in the secret trade conducted by the State Trading Organisation’s (STO) Singapore branch.

Moosa’s proposal was backed by other MDP MPs as well as minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla.

Moosa told Minivan News today that the committee will summon Gayoom after gathering necessary information.

“Because this is a very serious issue and it is a serious allegation, it requires the committee to question him and other persons believed to be involved in this black-market oil trade,” Moosa said.

On August 2, a resolution calling for an investigation into the allegations submitted by MDP MP Mohamed Musthafa was sent to the National Security Committee, which began deliberations at its meeting yesterday.

National Security Committee Chair MP Ali Waheed told press yesterday that the committee decided to send out letters to the relevant authorities in the Maldives as well as Singapore to gather information.

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) Z-faction MP Ahmed Nihan meanwhile told Minivan News that the committee’s decision was a “psychological attack” on the party’s ‘Honorary Leader’ (Zaeem) Gayoom.

“The committee does not have any sincerity in their work, it is all about the personal grudge that Moosa has for Gayoom,” Nihan said. “The committee does have the authority to summon persons and inviting former president to the committee is nothing to be concerned about.”

Nihan suggested that the committee should also investigate allegations that the committee’s chair MP Ali Waheed – former Deputy Leader of the DRP – received US$2 million by defecting to the ruling party.

“The committee should also investigate the allegations that there was corruption in the US$21 million Thilafushi project that Moosa is conducting,” Nihan said.

He added that opposition MPs would soon submit a resolution calling for an investigation into President Mohamed Nasheed allegedly consuming alcohol in front of Indian journalists in December 2008.

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