Author: Ahmed Nazeer

Five men gang rape 18 year-old girl in Laamu Atoll Maabaidhoo

A group of five men allegedly gang raped an 18 year-old girl on Maabaidhoo in Laamu Atoll, police have confirmed.

According to the ‘Laamuatoll’ newspaper based on Maabaidhoo, the group of five men snatched the 18 year-old girl as she was walking down a street last night, and took her to the other side of the island before gang raping her.

“Her mother noticed she was missing at 7:00pm and set out searching for her,’’ said the paper. ‘’At 9:00pm last night her mother found her sitting under a coconut palm tree, barely covered as her clothes were torn.”

The paper also reported that the group of men had blindfolded her using her headscarf, and dropped her to the ground hurting her head.

She was carried to the hospital on a vehicle as she could not walk properly due to the injuries she received, said the paper. At the hospital police were called and informed about the incident, but reportedly could not make it to the island because of poor weather.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed the incident had occurred and that police were now investigating the case.

‘’We have arrested one person in connection with the case,’’ Shiyam said. ‘’We will provide more details after the investigation.’’

In March 2010, a group of 15 men abducted, drugged and gang raped a 20 year old girl, filming the incident with a mobile phone on the island of Hithadhu in Seenu Atoll.

“Two men came by on a motorbike while she was outside her house, and forced her to sit between them,” Regional Commander for Addu Atoll, Chief Inspector Hussein Adam, said at the time. “The 15 men forced her to drink a suspected liquid drug and she became drunk,” he said. ”They used box cutters to threaten her.”

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High Court and Judicial Administration claims protesters obstructed court work

The High Court and the Department of Judicial Administration have said that yesterday’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)-led protest calling for the arrest of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had obstructed the work of the courts, and called on the armed forces not to allow protesters to gather near the court buildings.

In a press release the Department of Judicial Administration said protesting near the courts was banned according to relevant laws.

The Department said the constitution stated that no one should influence the work of judiciary and that everyone should respect the courts, and assist the court in all ways.

Meanwhile the High Court issued a press release stating that the work of the High Court was interrupted, and disturbed those summoned to the court as well as staff.

A pregnant woman who came to enter the court was squeezed between the steel gate of the High Court and the protesters and was hurt, the High Court claimed.

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MDP will use majority to cut allowances granted to former President Gayoom, says Moosa

Maldivian Democratic Party (MD) Parliamentary Group Leader and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik has said that an MDP majority will cut allowances granted Maumoon Abdul Gayoom while the former president remains active in politics.

Moosa claimed that the opposition had used their majority to obstruct the government.

”All they did with their majority was increase the expenditure of the government to try an destabilise the economy, while granting allowances for Maumoon.” he said. ”The day that MDP has the full majority of 39 MPs in parliament, will be a day the judges and independent commissions will remember,” he said.

He recalled the day cabinet ministers were dismissed by the parliament after the opposition used its majority to refuse to approve the President’s ministerial appointments.

“That day MMA (Maldives Monetary Authority) Governor Fazeel Najeeb was far away clapping his hands, but I tell you now, when the parliament commences work it will the cabinet ministers who applaud.”

Moosa referred to the corruption allegations against the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and opposition coalition People’s Alliance (PA) MP Ahmed Nazim, claiming that ”Nazim cannot hide from the courts and sit in his chair anymore.”

Moosa said the MDP would give priority to passing the Criminal Procedure Bill, keeping the controversial Sunset Bill aside, and amend the Finance Bill.

Gayoom-faction MP Ahmed Nihan told Minivan News that MDP’s decision to cut the allowances of the former President it would not only harm Gayoom, but President Mohamed Nasheed as well.

”The allowances are granted according to Article 128 of the constitution, so protection and allowances for former Presidents should be granted,” Nihan said. ”That is something given for the hard work Presidents have done for the country and citizens during their time, and we also hope that President Nasheed will remain in the country to serve the people after his administration is over.”

Nihan speculated that the MDP was luring opposition MPs to join the party, seeking a parliamentary majority.

”All Maldivians know that Moosa has personal grudges against Maumoon,” he said. ”It is really an illness that he has, and he needs to find a cure.”

He alleged that Moosa had illegally obtained Rf21 million through a contract with the Thilafushi Corporation – a matter currently being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) – and questioned why “nobody talks about it today.”

”Moosa was once arrested and found guilty of corruption and imprisoned during Maumoon’s administration, but he wasn’t arrested for praying or reciting salawat, he was arrested on corruption charges for attempting to bribe MPs,” Nihan claimed.

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Nazim appears in court over corruption allegations, requests lawyer

Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP of opposition coalition partner the People’s Alliance (PA), Ahmed Nazim, was today summoned to the Criminal Court for a hearing of a corruption case filed against him, with the Prosecutor General’s Office accusing him of gaining money through fraudulent transactions.

Criminal Court Judge Saeed Ibrahim granted Nazim’s request for seven days in which to seek a lawyer, after he was given the opportunity to respond to the accusations.

Judge Ibrahim said the trial would continue without notice if Nazim failed to produce a lawyer by the deadline.

The case is the second to be lodged against Nazim by the Prosecutor General’s office.

State Prosecutor Abdulla Rabiu alleged that Nazim, used the equipment and staff of Namira Engineering and Trading Private Limited of which he was the managing director to propose a bid in the name of a company called Tech Media Services, not registered in the Maldives.

At a press conference in August 2009, Chief Inspector Ismail Atheef said police had uncovered evidence that implicated Nazim, former Atolls Minister Abdulla Hameed and Eydhafushi MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem, former director of finance, in fraudulent transactions worth over Rf3,446,950 (US$270,000).

Police presented numerous quotations, agreements, tender documents, receipts, bank statements and forged cheques, claiming they proved that Nazim received hundreds of thousands of dollars in the scam.

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

Furthermore Nazim’s wife Zeenath Abdullah had abused her position as a manager of the Bank of Maldives’ Villingili branch to deposit proceeds of the fraudulent conspiracy, police alleged.

Hameed, also long-serving Speaker of the People’s Majlis, played a key role in the fraud by handing out bids without public announcements, making advance payments using cheques against the state asset and finance regulations, approving bid documents for unregistered companies and discriminatory treatment of bid applicants, police claimed.

In April this year, police confirmed a request from the Criminal Court to bring Hameed before a court in the Maldives, after a summons could not be delivered to him in a pending case.

Several hearings have been cancelled in the high-profile corruption case involving Hameed, who is the brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, after the court was unable to determine his whereabouts and deliver a summons.

Nazim was not responding to calls at time of press.

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Moosa misleading public over court’s ruling on Isthafa’s arrest, alleges High Court

The High Court has issued a statement regarding condemning comments made by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Parliamentary Group Leader and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, concerning its decision to order the release of former chief prison warden ‘Isthafa’ Ibrahim Mohamed Manik following his arrest in a torture inquiry.

The High Court accused Moosa of falsely stating that the court had ruled that Manik was innocent, in an attempt to mislead the public.

High Court said it had only ruled on a case filed in the court claiming that the court warrant issued by Maafushi Court, in Kaafu Atoll Maafushi, to extend Manik’s detention was unlawful.

‘’He was released by the court as there was no witness or evidence presented to the court that the court could weight in favor of keeping him in detention, and the court finds that the warrant issued by Maafushi court was against the Supreme Court’s procedures followed in such situations,” said the High Court.

The High Court also stated that the court wanted to make it clear to the public that the trial was not conducted to determine whether Manik was guilty of a crime or not, and asked for the public to respect its rulings.

Moosa made his remarks during a special rally held last night, where former opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Abdu-Raheem signed with the MDP.

Speaking at the rally, Moosa said the day that MDP won a majority in parliament would be a day “that members of the independent commission members and judiciary should bear in mind.”

The High Court bench, consisting five judges, was appointed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) in March this year.

The five judges included the lawyer of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Abbas Shareef, former Juvenile Court Chief Judge Shuaib Hussein Zakariya, former Law Commission member Dr Azmiralda Zahir, Former Civil Court registrar Abdu Rauf Ibrahim, and Former Civil Court Chief Judge Ali Sameer.

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Former head warden Isthafa denies torture allegations, as police appeal for victims to come forward

Former chief prison warden ‘Isthafa’ Ibrahim Mohamed Manik has issued a statement to the media denying torture allegations made against him by police, after the High Court overruled a court warrant extending his detention.

In the statement, Isthafa said he welcomed police efforts to investigate allegations of mistreatment inside the prison, but said the public had been misled that he had confessed to condoning torture and inhumane activities in the prison.

‘’I regret that police arrested me unlawfully against the constitution and against the laws’’ said Isthafa in the statement. “The High Court’s ruling clarifies that I was arrested unlawfully.’’

Isthafa said that while the state was investigating torture activities conducted in the prisons over a long period of time, “I was in charge of the prison for eight years.’’

“I have never ordered the torture of anyone or acted against the law, and neither did my superiors ever order me to do so,’’ he added.

Police arrested Isthafa over the weekend and took him to the prison island of Maafushi, where the island’s court granted police an extension of detention for 15 days. This was yesterday overruled by the High Court, which determined that the arrest was unlawful and that there were no probable grounds to extend his pre-trial detention period.

Today Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists gathered near the President’s Office, the Justice Building and other areas of Male’ calling for the arrest of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, demanding justice for the prison torture they alleged he condoned.

The activists were holding posters and carrying a coffin, claiming that many inmates had passed away as a consequence of inhumane activities and torturous activities they were subjected to.

Meanwhile the Criminal Court last night issued a warrant on Isthafa, banning him from leaving the country for a month.

The torture investigation committee formed by Presidential decree to investigate torture allegations against former government, led by former Defence Minister Ameen Faisal, has meanwhile established an office inside Velaanage’ to obtain information concerning prison torture carried out during both the current and former administrations.

Police in a press statement appealed for the public to report any information they had to the office on the 12th floor of  Velaanage, or to phone +960 333 0584 or +960 333 0585. Outside Male, complaints can be submitted to police posts on the islands.

Police are currently investigating allegations of torture inside prisons under the former administration, claiming that planned, systematic and long-term torture of prisoners had taken place in Maldivian prisons, while records of inmates were incomplete or non-existent.

Allegations of prisoner mistreatment have continued to come from the prisons even after the current administration took power in 2008, and both the government and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) previously expressing concern over a “culture of torture” than continued to pervade many institutions.

On October 14, 2010, Police arrested a 19 year-old man while he was sitting near his house,  who later alleged that ‘’the whole duty shift’’ beat him using batons and shoes, before he was taken to solitary confinement  where he alleged he was kept in a cross position until his release the next day – without being brought in front of a judge.

On July 21, 2010, a 19 year-old man was arrested in a joint police and Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) special operation to curb crime alleged officers pushed him into a police bus and blindfolded him with his hands tied with clips.

“They took me to a place and removed my silver ear-rings, my bracelets, necklace and sunglasses,” he claimed. “Then they took me to another place and removed the blindfold, and ordered me to remove my clothes. I refused, but I had no other choice so I did, and they told me to bend over. They harassed me verbally and physically.”

A 14 year-old boy arrested the same day near Giyasudeen School claimed that police treated him the same.

“They took me into a small room and removed the blindfold, and took up a trimmer. I asked them why they had to cut my hair, and they said they were getting me into the religion of Islam. I refused them permission to cut my hair, and I looked at the ground I saw blood all over the floor,” he said. “They started beating me when I refused.”

Another 16 year-old boy who was arrested near Ahmadiyya School said the officers blindfolded and handcuffed him, “and told me to sit down,” he said. “I checked with my hands to make sure there was a chair, and when I touched the chair when I turned to sit down they pulled the chair away. Again they hurt my wound and I told them that it hurt.”

He said the officers asked him to show them his wound, and when he removed his shirt they started hitting the wound and asking whether it hurt.

All were released without charge.

One January 24, 2011, a 17 year-old boy was arrested on Boduthakurufaanu Magu before being driven in a police vehicle to a dark spot near Male’s artificial beach, where he was violently beaten by officers with batons.

The 17 year-old said the squad, consisting of “around 22″ police officers beat him simultaneously with their batons.

On December 29, 2010, inside Maafushi prison, inmates and prison officers clashed with one inmate suffering a broken shoulder, another inmate breaking his nose and third suffering injuries to his eyes because prison officers hit and broke the glasses he was wearing, alleged a person familiar with the case.

The clash allegedly occurred after prison officers did not appear when called to respond to the critical health condition of another inmate.

On April 20, 2010, at least 15 inmates were badly injured in a prison riot in Maafushi Prison.

Most of the cases were reported to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) but by far no trial or transparent investigation was conducted into these cases.

Cases of previous custodial torture can be reported to the government’s investigation committee on the 12th floor of  Velaanage, or by phone on +960 333 0584 or +960 333 0585.

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Third female arrested in connection with dead infant found in Villingili

Police have arrested a third female in connection with the prematurely abandoned baby found inside a Coast Milk Tin in Villingili last week.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that the arrest was made.

‘’She’s an 18 year-old female,’’ said Shiyam, adding that investigation was ongoing.

Shiyam said the six month premature baby was discovered after police were informed about the incident.

Yesterday, Deputy Head of police Serious and Organised Crime Department Inspector Abdulla Nawaz told the press that police had arrested a 30 year old woman from Noonu Atoll who was the suspected mother of the baby, and a 24 year old woman from Kaafu Atoll who was alleged to have assisted her deliver the baby prematurely.

Nawaz identified the suspected mother as Aiminath Shaira, 30 of Manadhoo in Noonu Atoll and the 24 year-old woman who allegedly assisted with the abortion the baby as Fathmath Aniya of Hura in Kaafu Atoll.

According to Nawaz, both women live in Male’ in the same house.

Nawaz told media that Shaira had confessed giving birth three days ago but was unable to tell police where the baby was, and that Aniya had confessed to assisting Shaira deliver the baby.

Meanwhile, islanders on Manadhoo told Minivan News they felt “deep shame” as news of the incident circulated.

‘’The island of Manadhoo has a very low profile in crime and it has remained like that for ages, until we heard that an islander of our island has given birth to an illegal child and thrown the baby away,’’ said an islander.

Shaira was a dancer, he claimed.

‘’Others arrested in connection with this case are not related to our island, we hear that they are members of her dance group,’’ he added. ‘’It’s the first time something like this happened concerning our island, we are all in deep shame, especially because people notice this island as an island that maintains a low crime rate compared to all other islands in this atoll.’’

Having a child out of wedlock remains heavily stigmatised in the Maldives. Previous studies conducted in the country by groups such as the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) have anecdotally pointed to high rates of illegal abortion, while other studies on HIV risk factors have pointed to high levels of promiscuity and limited use of contraceptives.

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High Court orders immediate release of former warden arrested over inmate torture investigation

The High Court has today ordered the immediate release of former head prison warden ‘Isthafa’ Ibrahim Mohamed Manik, citing that his arrest was unlawful and he was currently not in a position to eliminate evidence as claimed by police.

Isthafa was arrested in Male’ in connection with the investigation of photographs allegedly obtained from the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) and leaked to the media, appearing  to show inmates being tortured in custody. Police obtained permission to extend his detention to 15 days from Maafushi Court on Friday.

The photos released so far include images of men tied to coconut palms, caged, and bloodied. One of the photos, of a prisoner lying on a blood-soaked mattress, has a 2001 date stamp.

The High Court ruled that Isthafa was required to be summoned to the Criminal Court because he was arrested in Male’.

The decision of the Maafushi Court was inconsistent with systems applied in such situations, and the Supreme Court’s procedures, said the High Court.

The High Court also said that the Maafushi Court warrant to extend the detention of Isthafa noted that the extension warrant was issued to prevent Ishtafa from influencing witnesses and evidence.

Inspector of Police Abdulla Nawaz confirmed in a statement to the state broadcaster MNBC that the matter involved severe cases of torture and suspected fatalities, and had been passed to police.

Isthafa was summoned for questioning by police in March in mid-March 2011, regarding an undisclosed investigation.

Local media reports citing unnamed sources at the time claimed Isthafa had been summoned to clarify information surround the possible death in custody of a prison inmate named Abdulla Anees.

Abdulla Anees of Vaavu Keyodhoo Bashigasdhosuge, was an inmate at the former Gaamaadhoo complex and was officially declared missing in the 1980s. President Mohamed Nasheed has claimed that human bones discovered on the site of the former Gaamaadhoo prison were thought to match the age and estimated period of death of Anees, after sending the samples to Thailand for DNA analysis and carbon dating, and asked police to investigate.

In April the government claimed crucial files relating to the investigation into the Gaamaadhoo bones had gone missing – including the originals kept with the DPRS, and copies stored with police.

State Home Minister Ahmed Adhil told Minvan News at the time that the government had ordered a police investigation into the missing files.

“Police  informed the Home Ministry that they have located copies of the files, but the original was held by the DPRS and is still missing. We don’t count copies of papers so we don’t know whether any important documents are missing unless we find that original,” he said.

Adhil said at the time that the Ministry could not yet say whether the files had been misplaced or deliberately removed, although the theft of the documents “is a very close possibility.”

Earlier this month, former deputy leader of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Umar Naseer, a key leader in Gayoom’s faction of the DRP, claimed to have obtained information that results of the examinations showed the bones were “over 800 years old.”

”Those bones were first taken to Thailand for investigation and [investigators] said they were over 800 years old,” said Naseer. ”Later the government sent the bones to America, where they also said the same.”

Umar said the investigation into the identity of the bones was now closed, ”but the government will never say that because they want to use it for political purposes.”

Following Isthafa’s arrest, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s spokesperson Mohamed Hussein ‘Mundhu’ Shareef told Haveeru that the detention of the former head of prisons was the “the third part of the drama” in a long-plotted lead up to the arrest of the former president.

“The attempt to arrest President Maumoon will only boost his profile. We see this simply as the government’s attempt to divert the people’s attention from the dollar crisis and rising commodity prices,” Shareef told Haveeru.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Corpse of newborn baby found strangled with underwear, hospital confirms

The body of a newborn baby boy discovered in a park in Hulhumale’ this morning was found with underwear tied tightly around his neck.

Spokesperson for Hulhumale’ Hospital Dr Ahmed Ashraf said the baby may have died from asphyxiation.

‘’When the baby was found the knot was a bit loose, but the marks on its neck shows that it was tied tightly around the neck,’’ Dr Ashraf said.

Dr Ashraf said the baby was dead when discovered, and was first brought to Hulhumale’ hospital before the police took the body for forensic investigation.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the baby was male and appeared to have competed nine months gestation.

The dead baby is the third to have been found abandoned in the last few weeks. On Friday the corpse of a three-month premature infant was discovered in a Coast Milk tin in Villingili, while on May 5 another premature baby was found in a plastic bag in Male’s swimming track area. A medical examination later concluded that the baby had sustained cuts, bruises and other wounds.

Police have since arrested two women in connection to the discovery of the infant found in the tin, including a 30 year old suspected of being the mother and a 24 year old woman police said had confessed to helping the first deliver the baby prematurely.

In November last year another abandoned newborn was discovered alive in some bushes near the Wataniya telecommunications tower in Hulhumale’. The child was put in the care of foster parents.

Birth out of wedlock remains heavily stigmatised in the Maldives. An unreleased 2007 study by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) found that the stigma of having a child out of wedlock compels Maldivian women and girls to opt for abortions, and while a taboo subject, the practice was found to be widespread.

Some of those interviewed for the study said they knew of girls as young as 12 who had undergone abortions, and each knew at least one person who had terminated a pregnancy.

Abortion is illegal in the Maldives except to save a mother’s life, or if a child suffers from a congenital defect such as thalassemia. Many women unable to travel to Sri Lanka resort to illegal abortions performed by unskilled individuals in unhygienic settings, or even induce abdonminal trauma or insert objects into their uterus.

Other studies focusing on HIV have identified associated risk factors contributing to unplanned pregnancy including high levels of promiscuity and limited use of contraception.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the infant was a nine-month old baby. This was a confusing translation and has been clarified as the infant was a newborn.

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