The Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court has denied former President Mohamed Nasheed’s request to travel abroad for a family wedding.
According to a statement from the former President’s Office, Nasheed had requested to leave the Maldives from March 27 to March 31.
The request was denied by the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, which stated that it was too close to President Nasheed’s next scheduled trial date on April 4.
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(0)A new undergraduate degree program focused on individuals working in security and law enforcement began on Sunday (March 24).
The course is being conducted by the Institute for Security and Law Enforcement Studies (ISLES) in conjunction with the University of Western Sydney (UWS), local media reported.
Speaking to local media on Sunday, Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz said that the Maldives Police Service now has the capability to train to regional standards.
According to local media, 57 percent of the participants on the program are policemen, whilst the remaining 47 percent consist of individuals working in customs, immigration, and the military.
(0)Dislikes(0)Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) presidential primary candidate Abdulla Yameen has claimed he will increase the party’s membership to 65,000 before the September elections.
According to figures from the Elections Commission, PPM has a total of 22,765 members as of February, meaning that Yameen will have to increase the party’s membership by 37,235 in just six months to reach his target.
Speaking at a campaign rally on Sunday (March 24), Yameen said that on request of his half-brother, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, he had worked to increase the party’s membership since it was first established, local media reported.
“If you give us assurance from the vote on the 30th, by the time we reach the presidential election, with more effort and without show of any fatigue, by August I will increase our party’s count from 31,000 to 60,000 or 65,000, God willing,” Yameen was quoted as saying in SunOnline.
The presidential primary candidate claimed that PPM is the most legitimate of political parties as fingerprints are recorded when registering members to the party.
According to local media, Gayoom’s children made an appearance at Sunday’s rally in order to show support for Yameen.
In a display of solidarity, Dhunya Maumoon, Farish Maumoon, Gassan Maumoon and Yumna’s husband Mohamed Nadheem went on stage to hold hands with Yameen, local media reported.
PPM’s former Deputy Leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla reportedly told the audience that because Gayoom’s children supported Yameen, it would be a reason to vote for him.
Both Yameen and Umar Naseer are competing in the PPM presidential primary on March 30.
(0)Dislikes(0)A man convicted of the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl has been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by the Criminal Court.
An official from Criminal Court told local media that Afrah Hussain of Maavaidhoo in Haa Dhaalu Atoll was sentenced following witness testimonies proving he had been involved in sexual activities with a minor in Hulhumale’ on May 30, 2011.
Local media reported that the state had also pressed charges against Afrah Hussain for owning pornographic material.
(0)Dislikes(0)NGO Tiny Hearts of Maldives has claimed there is a strong increase in the number of families seeking consultations with child cardiac specialists volunteering at a healthcare camp it has been running annually since 2010.
During the second day of the Care for Tiny Hearts 2013 camp, which is set to conclude tomorrow (March 26), the NGO has claimed it will be hosting consultations and workshops with specialists from the Maldives and India to try and fill a gap in local healthcare concerning Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). Some 300 patients are currently said to be registered with Tiny Hearts.
Healthcare volunteers from India, a cardiac specialist from Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’ and a local surgeon are said to be involved in this year’s program, which includes a workshop on trying to identify serious conditions at a foetal stage, according to local media.
A spokesperson for the charity today told Minivan News that a limited number of cardiac specialists practising in the Maldives had meant there remained a narrow opportunity for screening and supporting children at risk from CHD.
In addressing perceived challenges affecting its work, Tiny Hearts of Maldives claimed that it was experiencing difficulties common to many welfare and health groups across the country – namely in the limited resources available to Maldivians seeking specialist care.
As an example of these challenges, the spokesperson pointed to the importance of the Indian healthcare system in ensuring Maldivians were presently able to receive more specialist treatment in areas such as congenital illness.
However, the NGO spokesperson said that Tiny Heart’s biggest challenge remained in spreading awareness among the public about congenital disease of all kinds, as well as informing others on how and where they can seek support.
“Every individual can make a difference by spending a few minutes to share information with others on congenital illnesses,” the spokesperson added.
Tiny Hearts, which was formed back in 2009 to help local children suffering with CHD, has been at the centre of a number of high-profile awareness schemes and special fund-raisers in the Maldives in recent years.
(1)Dislikes(0)Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s legal team filed a case with the High Court today (March 24) regarding the deferment of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court criminal case until after the September presidential election.
Nasheed is facing criminal charges over the controversial detention of Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed during the last days of his presidency.
Nasheed’s legal team previously requested the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court delay the trial until the end of the scheduled presidential elections in 2013, and in a separate request, asked the Hulhumale’ court for a delay in proceedings by four weeks, during the March 7 Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court hearing.
At the same hearing, state prosecutors said they did not object to delaying the trial until presidential elections scheduled for September this year are over.
The Hulhumale’ court dismissed the request to delay the trial until the end of the elections, but agreed to withhold it for four weeks, stating that the panel of judges by majority “had decided to proceed with the trial”.
Nasheed’s lawyers subsequently contested the decision, claiming that continuing the trial could compromise the rights of many people, arguing that Nasheed was the presidential candidate of the largest political party in the country, the MDP.
However, the court stated that Nasheed’s claim he was the presidential candidate of a political party lacked legal grounds to support it, as presidential candidates were decided by the Elections Commission after it opened the opportunity to file presidential candidates.
Filing of presidential candidates is expected to take place in July.
High Court case submission
Nasheed’s legal team submitted a case to the High Court at approximately 10:20 this morning (March 24) to defer the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court criminal case until after the September presidential election, MDP Spokesperson Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy told Minivan News.
“Now the court has to formally accept the case, which will happen at a later date,” stated Fahmy.
“We expect that prior to the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court hearing, the High Court should have a decision and will ask the lower court to halt the case,” he added.
Nasheed’s legal team confirmed with Minivan News that the case has been submitted to the High Court.
“This is not an appeal. We submitted a case to the High Court for the deferment of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court case until the election is over,” said one of Nasheed’s lawyers, Hifaan Hussain.
“The court accepted the documents, but we are waiting for the court to accept and register the case,” she explained.
Hussain explained a reply from the High Court will likely be issued within three days and once the case is accepted it should take about a month to complete.
She expects the High Court to grant the deferment of lower court’s case against Nasheed until the presidential election is over.
President Nasheed’s Spokesperson MP Mariya Didi is also confident the High Court will grant the deferment.
“The prosecution has said they have no objection to deferment of the trial until after the elections,” Didi stated.
“I don’t see any reason why the court should not grant deferment when the prosecutor has no objection to it,” she added.
Politicising justice
The MDP maintain that the charges are a politically-motivated attempt to prevent Nasheed from contesting elections in September, and have condemned the former President’s repeated arrest on the court’s order by squads of masked special operations police.
Speaking during a party rally held earlier in March, President Nasheed stated that the four-week break granted by the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court until the next hearing was an opportunity for state institutions to decide on the matter.
“Delaying trial for just four weeks has no meaning. There is no reason for it nor does it help anyone. We want the trial to be delayed till the elections are over. [The prosecution] gave one month and said that they did not object to further delays,” Nasheed told his supporters.
Nasheed said that it was very clear that charge of arresting the judge was not a charge against him alone, but several others as well.
He also warned that if the magistrate court issued a verdict that would bar him from contesting the elections, a lot of people would rise up against the decision and trigger a “very dangerous political insurgency”.
Didi also highlighted the large number of Maldivians continuing to support Nasheed, speaking with Minivan News today.
“It is clear that 46,000 Maldivians have decided President Nasheed is their presidential candidate. Our campaigns show that President Nasheed will win the elections with a clear majority.
“The coup has set us back not only with regard to democracy and human rights, but in regard to investor confidence and development.
“Our international development partners have also urged the government to take account of the wishes of the people and to hold an inclusive election with – as the European Union put it – the chosen candidate of MDP Mohamed Nasheed being able to contest the elections.
“We cannot waste another five years with a government that lacks a democratic mandate,” Didi declared.
Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court legitimacy questioned
During the early-March MDP rally, Nasheed also criticised the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) stating that the problem with Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court was not just the panel of judges. He alleged that the JSC had formulated the bench and have now been forcing administrative staff of the court to do specific things to impact the trial.
Parliament’s Independent Commissions Oversight Committee has been investigating the legitimacy of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, specifically the appointment of judges by the JSC.
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim told local media on Friday (March 22) that a notice had been sent to Gasim Ibrahim – who is a Majlis-appointed JSC member and also the presidential candidate for Jumhoree Party (JP) – regarding a case to remove him from his JSC post.
The parliamentary committee summoned all members of the JSC to attend the committee on Wednesday (March 20) to face questions regarding the manner in which judges were appointed to the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court bench.
Another committee meeting is scheduled to take place tonight (March 24).
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, also raised concerns over the politicisation of the JSC during her investigative visit to the Maldives this February.
As part of a wider review of the Maldives justice system, Knaul claimed that the JSC – mandated with the appointment, transfer and removal of judges – was unable to perform its constitutional duty adequately in its current form.
As well as recommendations to address what she said were minimal levels of public “trust” in the nation’s judicial system, Knaul also addressed matters such as the trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed.
Nasheed is currently facing trial for his detention of Chief Judge of Criminal Court last year, charges he claims are politically motivated to prevent him from contesting presidential elections later this year.
Knaul maintained that the former president, like every other Maldivian citizen, should be guaranteed a free and independent trial.
(0)Dislikes(0)The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has extended the mandate of Dr Ahmed Shaheed as UN Special Rapporteur on Iran.
Shaheed, who also held the post of Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, was voted in with 26 votes in favour, 2 votes against and 17 abstentions during a UNHRC session in Geneva, Switzerland.
Shaheed has been previously refused access into Iran by Iranian authorities in order to investigate the country’s human rights situation, after the government accused him of accepting bribes from the United States.
Dr Shaheed presented his most recent report to the council on March 2013. Despite not being allowed into Iran, the Special Rapporteur has conducted 409 interviews “with primary sources located inside and outside the country.”
According to the report, 169 interviews were between September and December 2012 for the March 2013 report.
The report highlights “continued and widespread systemic and systematic violations of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Moreover, a lack of government investigation and redress generally fosters a culture of impunity, further weakening the impact of the human rights instruments Iran has ratified.”
(0)Dislikes(0)Usfasgandu has once again been handed back to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) by Male’ City Council.
Speaking to local media on Sunday (March 24), Male’ City Council Mayor ‘Maizan’ Ali Manik said that the area was handed back to the MDP after they requested back the land.
“Usfasgandu is a place where a large number of Maldivians gather to voice their opinions, and MDP requested for the area in accordance with existing policies.
“MDP has said that the area will be used by the people to express their opinions, rather than by the party to advocate its ideology,” Manik was quoted as saying in SunOnline.
Mayor Manik claimed that as no other party had requested Usfasgandu other than the MDP, it was handed back to the party.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz has said authorities require a mechanism to take witness testimonies before they can be intimidated or influenced.
Local media reported that Riyaz expressed “concern” over the way all suspects in the murder case of Ali Shifan had been acquitted.
The Police Commission claimed that many witnesses were too afraid to testify in high profile cases, adding that there needs to be mechanism to process witness statements quicker.
“Such things happen. This is something we must accept. In other countries there are various mechanisms in place to ensure witness protection.
“We already have such a law. There is a witness protection Act. We have been informed that a draft of such an Act is already at the Parliament. I hope it becomes a law soon,” Riyaz was quoted as saying in local media.
According to Riyaz witnesses change their statements in court because their influenced financially and through intimidation.
Last week, the Criminal Court ruled that all six suspects arrested in connection with the stabbing murder of Ali Shifan are innocent and ordered their release.
The judge ruled that there was not enough evidence to convict, reported local media, despite the DNA of the victim being found under the fingernail of one of the suspects.
The judge said that although the state had produced five witnesses to the court, their statements to police were contradictory.
The judge cited a Supreme Court ruling stating that when dealing with murder cases, a suspect could only be convicted if there was enough evidence to believe he was guilty beyond any doubt, and said the state was not able to convince the court that they were guilty.
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