Category: Society & Culture

Criminal court grants police warrant to obtain IP address of Minivan News commentator accused of “violating Islamic principles”

The Criminal Court has granted a warrant for police to obtain the email and IP address of a Minivan News commentator accused of “violating Islamic principles”.

In a letter signed by Police Inspector Moosa Ali, Head of Fraud and Financial Crime, states that a case was filed at police regarding the commentator’s use of the identity ‘Maai Allah’, and requests Minivan News provide the email and IP address for the investigation.

The letter also asks Minivan News to remove the comment, located on a story dated November 28 titled: ‘Government “cynically used xenophobia, nationalism and religious extremism” to attack foreign investor: former President’.

“As you know, the Maldives is a 100 percent Muslim nation and as no human being has been empowered to take for himself the almighty status using the name of Allah, and as this is insulting to the noble name of Holy Allah and undermines noble Islamic principles or tenets, we require information of the person who made this comment for our investigation,’’ the letter stated.

‘Maai’ is the Dhivehi word for ‘holy’.

The accompanying court warrant was signed by the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed, and issued in connection with a case filed by the Cyber Policing Department of the Maldives Police Service.

Minivan News understands that this the first time police have requested the details of an internet commentator in connection with a case filed on religious grounds.

As a Maldives-registered media outlet Minivan News has complied with the warrant and removed the comment as obliged under Maldivian law. The particular IP address requested by police is registered in a foreign country.

Police informed Minivan News that the case was filed by religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf.

The serving of the court warrant follows a statement released by religious Adhaalath Party on December 3 stating that “approving and publishing such comments is a failure to properly fulfill the responsibilities of journalism”, and “calling on the person who wrote the comment and who published it to repent and reform [themselves].”

“A person has commented on Minivan News, a newspaper published online in the country, claiming to be Allah. This is something that involves a serious wrong in it. The reason is because the phrase ‘Allah’ refers to the name of Creator Allah, whom Muslims pray to, seek strength from and whom people find peace in their hearts by praising. Therefore, no human can say I am ‘Maai Allah’ [Holy God]. [They should] instead say ‘Abdullah’ or ‘slave of Allah’,” the party explained.

“If the intention of the person who wrote the comment was to characterise himself as a Khaleefa [steward] of God, that too is a serious wrong. The reason is because all things were created by Allah. And all things are possessed by Allah. Nothing escapes the knowing or possession of the deity. Therefore, only Allah would know whom he would appoint a steward on this earth. A person cannot claim on his own that he is the ‘steward of Allah’.”

“As such problems are a recurring one in the aforementioned newspaper, we urge the relevant authorities to investigate this and take action,” the party urged.

A media monitoring report by Transparency Maldives published in December 2011 found that Minian News’ coverage of the Adhaalath Party was 100 percent positive.

Editor of Minivan News JJ Robinson said:

“Whistle-blowers entering a source relationship with a journalist for a story in the public interest are entitled to legal protection from identification under the Maldivian Constitution. However without a prior journalist-source agreement commentators have no such protection, and need to be aware that under Maldivian law news websites registered in the country cannot guarantee the publication of comments, or anonymity.”
“A platform such as Minivan News  is no more accountable for the opinions and statements of its readers than an internet service provider (ISP) is for the content viewed by its subscribers, yet under Maldivian law is obliged to remove comments where advised by relevant authorities,” Robinson said.

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State Environment Minister plays down budget dispute, alleges media “misunderstanding”

State Minister for Environment and Energy Abdul Matheen Mohamed has played down a report that his department yesterday slammed the proposed state budget for neglecting the “fundamental rights” of Maldivians, claiming there had been a “misunderstanding” with local media.

The Sun Online news agency yesterday reported that senior environment ministry officials had raised fears before the Majlis’ National Development Committee that it had been allotted an insufficient budget for proposed water and sewerage projects needed across the country.

Environment Ministry Permanent Secretary Ahmed Saleem was quoted as claiming that some 15 projects proposed by his department had been excluded from the budget is being debated within parliament this week. These projects were said to deal with issues including waste management, as well as supplying water and sewerage systems to more islands around the Maldives.

Saleem was reported as saying that complaints over the matter had also been sent to Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad, who had in turn had responded that any amendments to the budget would have to be made through the Majlis with support of MPs.

Both finance chief  Jihad and Economic Development Minister Ahmed Mohamed were not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

Speaking following yesterday’s meeting with the National Development Committee, Permanent Secretary Matheen claimed that Saleem’s reported comments had been the result of a “misunderstanding” by its author.  He alleged that the journalist had focused on a few points of a long meeting with the committee.

While Matheen said that there were some “concerns” about the present status of the budget allocated to the Environment Ministry, he that alleged the article’s conclusions were “very misleading”.

“The budget issue is very sensitive right now, so i’m afraid I cannot make any comments about the matter at present,” he said. “The islands are all asking what they will have from the ministry.”

Matheen added that he was presently unable to comment on the exact nature of the “misunderstanding” contained within the Sun Online report due to the fact discussions on finalising the state budget were ongoing.

Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Hassan Adil, a member of the National Development Committee, was unavailable for comment when contacted on the challenges in trying to balance ministry expenditure in the current economic climate, asking Minivan News to call this evening. However, Adil was not answering calls at the time of press.

Budget discussion

Presenting the budget to parliament last week, Finance Minister Jihad explained that next year’s budget deficit was to be financed with MVR 971 million (US$62 million) as budget support and MVR 1.3 billion (US$84 million) from Treasury bill (T-bill) sales.

However, as debate on the budget commenced yesterday amidst, regularly coming to a halt due to frequent loss of quorum – most MPs complained of the lack of funds allocated for development projects in their constituencies.  these projects included developments such as harbours, water and sanitation systems, additional classrooms and upgrades to health centres.

Meanwhile,  it was revealed last week that the proposed budget for defence expenditure for 2013 was found to be 14 percent higher than the funds allocated during 2012.

A total of MVR 930.9 million (US$60.3 million) was proposed for defence expenditure, which amounts to 5.5 percent of the total budget.

Balance of payments

With the Majlis currently contemplating the 2013 budget, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to the Maldives last month noted that a ballooning fiscal deficit had “implied a rise in the public debt ratio, which now stands at over 80 percent of GDP.

According to the organisation, these developments also helped to boost national imports, thus worsening dollar shortages in the economy and putting pressure on MMA (Maldives Monetary Authority) reserves.”

The IMF forecast for the current account deficit was “nearly 30 percent of GDP this year.”

“Gross international reserves at the MMA have been declining slowly, [and] now account for just one and a half months of imports, and could be more substantially pressured if major borrowings maturing in the next few months are not rolled over,” the IMF mission warned.

The mission recommended formulating “a realistic and prudent budget for 2013″ to rein in the fiscal deficit, suggesting hiking taxes and “selectively” reversing import duty reductions.

According to an overview of the economy presented by the Finance Ministry along with the state budget (Dhivehi) proposed to parliament last week, the current account deficit in 2012 was expected to be 27 percent of GDP.

Water shortages

Following water shortages that authorities said affected over 100 inhabited islands back in May, Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodig at the time claimed financial support was the key challenge in ensuring sufficient supplies of drinking water to the public, even with the assistance of local resorts and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

Minivan News reported back in April that in the country’s southerly Addu Atoll, an estimated 90 percent of the local population were reliant on rainfall to bolster their drinking water supplies.

Numerous islands in the atoll are said to experience severe supply issues for drinking water annually as a result.

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Maldives resort arranging repatriation of Finnish tourist killed in speedboat collision

The body of a Finnish tourist killed this week in a speedboat collision near to Male’ will be repatriated “as soon as possible”, the Honorary Consul of Finland in the Maldives has said.

An as yet unidentified male from Finland, who was said to be holidaying in the country with his wife, was killed after an express speedboat service to the island of Hulhumale’ collided with another vessel belonging to the Bandos Island Resort and Spa on Sunday (December 2).

Nine local people were also injured in the collision.  One of the injured – a 29 year-old woman – suffered a severe head injury that was since said to have improved, according to authorities.

A spokesperson for the honorary consul confirmed to Minivan News that its representatives had met with the wife of the deceased and were presently trying to assist the resort in which the couple had been staying with arrangements to return the body home.

The spokesperson said that the consulate was unable to provide any information on the exact cause of death, adding that it was waiting on the details from an ongoing police investigation.

Local media, citing police sources, reported yesterday that the Finnish national had been thrown overboard following the collision and was said to have been found dead when retrieved from the water.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Ahneef was unable to clarify the reports, claiming that investigations were continuing into the matter.

Following the collision on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) said it had temporarily suspended its express speedboat service between Hulhumale’ and Male’ while it reviewed guest safety procedures.

“We believe we need to do some work on safety,” a company spokesperson told Minivan News. “We will be working with transport authorities, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and the police on the matter and will resume the services after that.” Dhoni services will continue to run between Male’ and Hulhumale’ as normal, the MTCC added yesterday.

When contacted today, the MTCC said it would be issuing a statement on the matter once the details of its own internal investigation and the findings of the police has been completed.

Meanwhile, Bandos Island Resort and Spa, which operated the other speedboat involved in the collision, said it was “not in a situation to discuss the incident” until police have completed their investigations.

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Afrasheem’s murder was well planned, worth MVR 4 million, claims Police Commissioner

Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz has claimed that the murder of MP for Ungoofaaru constituency Dr Afrasheem Ali was a well planned murder worth MVR 4 million (US$260,000).

In a press conference held on Tuesday to brief the media about the high profile murder case, Riyaz stated that the new revelations came made amidst several difficult challenges for police investigators.

The commissioner claimed that the investigation team included consultants from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and 80 police officers including forensic, multimedia and legal experts. He added that this was the first case that had been worked on by such a large criminal investigation team.

In a presentation shown during the press conference, Riyaz claimed that 11 suspects were initially arrested, however three had now been released. He added that about 200 items had been analysed as evidence, including forensic and digital evidence, which he claimed was enough to prosecute the prime suspects.

“Over 500 hours of CCTV footage have been analysed, more than a hundred people have been interviewed and about 13,000 phone call recordings have been analysed out of which 12,000 were from one single tower,” Riyaz said.

Afrasheem’s movements right before the murder

The commissioner claimed that Afrasheem was last seen alive inside the premises of the state broadcaster, Television Maldives (TVM). The presentation suggested that Afrasheem was seen leaving the premises in his car around 11:04pm, according to the nearby CCTV camera footage.

Afrasheem left the station after participating in a religious TV program called “Islamee Dhiriulhun” (Islamic Life), with Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Qubad Aboobakuru.

In his last words, aired on the show, Afrasheem said that he was deeply saddened and asked for forgiveness from citizens if he had created a misconception in their minds due to his inability to express himself in the right manner.

Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed was quoted in local media as saying that the Islamic Ministry had not forced Afrasheem to offer a public apology for anything during his last television appearance and disputed that there was any religious motivation in the death of the moderate scholar.

Photo snaps taken from several CCTV cameras suggested that he had passed the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) building, the Bank of Maldives (BML) building and Raalhugandu Area, all of which are located in the outermost road of Male, Boduthakurufaanu Magu, police claimed.

Afrasheem had parked his car just a few metres from his residence and had entered it at about approximately 12:04am, police said. The murder occurred just a few minutes later, police alleged.

Afrasheem’s body was discovered by his wife at the bottom of the stairs of their apartment building shortly after midnight.

According to the presentation, the first few police officers arrived at the scene at about 1:30am, exactly one and a half hour later. A second police jeep arrived soon afterwards.

Riyaz stated that following the report of the incident, all police officers patrolling in the capital were brought to alert and were ordered to focus on finding anyone that was acting suspiciously.

Minivan News journalists on the night of the incident observed that police officers in Specialist Operations (SO) uniform entering several coffee shops including Sea House Café’, however no one was seen being arrested.

The Police Commissioner claimed that the first suspect was arrested at 1:55am, just 20 minutes after the incident was reported.

Police also revealed the identities of two suspects arrested in connection with the murder case: Hussen Humaam Ahmed and Ali Shaan, while a 17 year-old minor was also arrested on suspicion of assisting the murder.

Commissioner Riyaz expressed confidence in prosecuting the suspects stating that the police had “enough evidence” to prove all of them guilty. He added that the cases of the suspects would be sent to the Prosecutor General (PG)’s office by the end of this week.

“Political motive behind the murder” – Commissioner of Police

Commissioner of Police alleged that sum of MVR 4 million (US$260,000) was to be paid for the murder of the MP, which he alleged involved a political motive.

“This is an act of terrorism and the people behind this are politicians,” Riyaz claimed.

He alleged that two suspects had been arrested for supposedly financing of the murder, but declined to reveal their identities claiming that the investigation was still ongoing.

He also said that  police had concluded the first part of the investigation which involved identifying who had been directly involved in murdering the MP, and how it was carried out.

“We have been able to establish who did this. We have been able to establish how this happened. The next thing is to find out who was behind this,” he said.

The commissioner also dismissed the rumours that the murder was linked to religious fundamentalists, stating “no evidence has been gathered suggesting that this murder was carried out for a religious motive.”

He further claimed that the findings of the investigation were based on fact and solid evidence and not were intended to create political leverage against the political rivals of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

Riyaz claimed that the prime suspects involved in the murder were from a local gang named ‘Kuda Henveiru’ (Little Henveiru-ward), whose members had previously been involved in several criminal activities.

“The findings reveal that a dangerous trend of ‘killing for money’ is growing within our society. I call upon businessmen and politicians to not to pay money to young people to conduct criminal activities for their benefit,” he said.

Riyaz added that new cases of criminal activities were being revealed through the investigation and that such cases would be dealt with firmly.

Despite repeated questions from journalists as to what the “political motive” involved, Riyaz at first responded stating that he could not go into the details of the case, but later said that police were able comprehend a picture out of its findings but said this needed to be “verified”.

“Zero tolerance”

Riyaz called on parliament members to not to hesitate in giving more powers to the police and said that such vast powers were required to curb growing criminal activities within Maldivian society.

“I know that members of the parliament are hesitant to grant more powers to the police because of the political views they hold. But we need stricter laws to stop such acts from happening. Hesitance to grant more powers isn’t a solution for police discrepancies. Powers should be granted and at the same time they can establish a proper accountability mechanism,” he said.

The commissioner said that police would have “zero tolerance” towards criminals and would utilise all powers and resources at hand in preventing crimes.

“That means, we will not allow a drunkard to freely wander around the street. Police officers will question suspicious people on the road and they have been given the order to stop and search anyone who they feel is suspected of  being a criminal or carrying out a crime,” he said.

He added that special measures have been taken and orders have been given to SO officers to do “crime patrolling” throughout the capital city 24 hours a day.

Riyaz also expressed concern over former President Mohamed Nasheed’s latest remarks in which the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate suggested that Afrasheem’s were foreigners and had fled the country after committing the crime.

“We have no evidence that suggesting the murder was carried out by foreigners. It is really concerning when such remarks are made for political gain,” Riyaz said.

High profile murder

MP Afrasheem was brutally stabbed to death on the night of October 1, outside his home.

Local media reports suggested that the MP was stabbed four times in the back of the head and a chunk of his skull was missing, and that he also suffered stab wounds to the chest and neck. The MP was rushed to ADK hospital where he was pronounced dead.

He was buried shortly before 5:00pm the following day at the Asahara cemetery in Male’.

Thousands gathered for the funeral prayers which took place in the Islamic Centre. The prayers were led by former President and leader of Afrasheem’s party, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Initially, four suspects were arrested by police in connection to the murder and the Criminal Court extended the detention period of the arrestees by an additional 15 days.

However, a female suspect arrested – Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activist Mariyam Naifa – was given a conditional release on October 21 while the detention of the remaining two suspects were extended for another 15 days.

Another suspect was also arrested later in November, after police claimed he was wearing the same coloured shirt as someone caught on CCTV footage near the area where Afrasheem was murdered.

Dr Afrasheem was elected to parliament in 2009 as a member of the then-opposition Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP). Following the opposition’s split, Afrasheem sided with the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and faded into the political background.

Widely considered an Islamic moderate, Dr Afrasheem took outspoken and controversial positions on issues such as the permissibility of playing music, and praying next to the deceased.

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GMR disputes government’s claims to international media that it had agreed to vacate airport

Indian infrastructure giant GMR has said it “categorically refutes” claims made by the government to international media today that it had agreed to vacate Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

The government yesterday dismissed an injunction on GMR’s seven day eviction notice granted by the High Court of Singapore, and vowed that the airport would be run by the state-owned Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) by December 7.

A Finance Ministry official said on condition of anonymity that GMR had agreed to vacate following “informal communication.”

“It’s unofficial. They are even selling off their items at a cheaper price. They have given 40-60 percent discounts. They are selling off whatever they can sell off from here including iron bars, concrete, and cement. So I think there won’t be any confrontation or any such nature. All the department heads and senior staff will start working for the Maldives Airports Company Limited MACL from December 7,” the official claimed. “Even though they maintain in public they are not going to vacate, they are going to vacate.”

President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad meanwhile told reporters that “Whatever the financial implications on their investments, we have already filed a case in Singapore court for arbitration. We will pay the compensation, what we have to pay.”

However CEO of GMR Male International Airport Limited (GMIAL), Andrew Harrison, said that while GMR had met with a delegation from the government at 11:45am this morning, “we did not agree nor state our willingness to hand over Male’ airport.”

Harrison told Minivan News that he had been advised by a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Colonel at 11:03am that Defence Minister and Acting Transport Minister Mohamed Nazim wished to meet him personally.

“The meeting was attended by the Acting Transport Minister, the Chairman of the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority, our lawyer in the Maldives and three members of the MNDF,” Harrison said, in an emailed account of the meeting.

“The meeting was cordial and the Acting Transport Minister outlined the following: that MACL would be operating the airport from Saturday morning in line with the Government of Maldives communication to GMR-MAHB; that the Minister would like a smooth transition as the airport operations should not be affected or suffer in any way; that passengers should not be inconvenienced and therefore all activities including Duty Free would be allowed to continue as is.”

According to Harrison, Nazim informed GMR that “According to their legal advisors the injunction issued by Singapore High Court does not prevent them from taking over the airport and the injunction cannot be applied to a sovereign state.”

Nazim had furthermore proposed offering “100 percent employment in MACL to all staff currently working for GMIAL and an announcement to that effect made tomorrow by the MACL Board .The offer includes both local and foreign staff at their existing terms and conditions including salary,” Harrison stated.

“Our position, which I communicated to them, remains crystal clear. The Singapore High Court has issued an injunction which clearly prevents MACL or the Government of Maldives or any of its agents from taking any action that interferes with GMIAL operating the airport. The injunction clearly prevents them from taking the action outlined in their notice issued to us stating that the airport would be taken over at the end of the seven day period. We remain resolute in our position and there is no question of an offer being made and certainly no question of any alleged offer being accepted as we will simply not agree to our rights nor the injunction being undermined in any way.”

GMR’s lawyer had advised that the injunction was to be was to be honoured “as their representatives and the Attorney General [Azima Shukoor] were party to those proceedings and were present during the proceedings in the Singapore High Court.”

“Further to this we have issued a communication to their lawyers to confirm that their client (MACL/GoM) will not ignore the injunction and outlining the consequences as well as the disturbing media reports that they will ignore the injunction and take over the airport as planned,” Harrison stated.

Nazim had explained that “as he was not a legal person” he would arrange for a legal team to meet GMR’s representatives tomorrow, and pledged to “maintain dialogue”, Harrison said.

“We will always maintain dialogue but our legal position is very clear and we will not compromise on our legal position which is clearly supported by the injunction.”

Moreover, “any version of the meeting being described any differently to my response is categorically untrue and we maintain that we have been granted the right to continue operating the airport in line with the injunction. There is and has never been any change in our position.”

Harrison added that Nazim had also said that “no force used to take over the airport” and that “media reports that the MNDF would take over the airport are untrue.”

Claims that the company was discounting were true – “in the duty free shop”.

“We have a 40 percent sale in duty free because we are trying to minimise our stock holding,” said Harrison. “It is delighting passengers. But I can categorically state we have no intention of going anywhere.”

Indian industry groups back GMR

The 400,000-member Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has meanwhile issued a statement today in support of GMR, warning that “the attitude of Male’ Government, despite the rulings of Singapore High Court, will shake the confidence of the investors and will jeopardise the spirit behind the cooperation of the SAARC nations.”

The industry group appealed to the government to respecting the Singapore judgement, and said it “conveys its displeasure against any unilateral termination of economic agreements, that will be determent to the growth of the nations and might even sow seeds of suspicion amongst the potential investors in all times to come.”

A second industry group, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), also issued a statement in support of GMR.

“It is extremely important for all the concerned parties to respect the sanctity of the concession agreement and abide by the provisions provided therein to resolve any dispute within the stipulated legal framework”, said the CII’s Director General, Chandrajit Banerjee.

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Maldives identifies “first” child HIV infection

Senior health figures have called on the government, NGOs and members of the private sector to help step up attempts to promote AIDS prevention in the country after authorities discovered that a two year-old child had tested HIV positive earlier this year.

While accepting that HIV infection rates remained relatively low in the Maldives, Minister of State for Health Lubna Zahir Hussain said that efforts needed to be increased across all sectors of society to tackle attitudes towards high-risk behaviours that allow the virus to be transmitted.

Lubna heads the National Drug Agency (NDA). Her comments followed the hosting of a special NDA workshop on HIV prevention held on December 1 to commemorate World AIDS Day. The workshop was focused particularly on the HIV infection through drug abuse.

Though statistics indicate HIV infection rates have been limited in the Maldives over the space of the last two decades, health officials in the Maldives have begun to raise concerns about the risk of cases spreading across the country.

In October Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed claimed it was only through “incredible luck” that HIV had not spread across the Maldives, considering the prolific levels of unprotected sex and intravenous drug use.

Addressing concerns raised by Health Minister Jamsheed about the potential scope for HIV to spread beyond high-risk communities such as drug users, Lubna said greater effort was needed to address attitudes of the general public to the spread of the virus.

“I think what the health minister was saying is that it is not only people living bad lifestyles that are at risk [of HIV infection],” she said, reiterating concerns about the number of young people engaged in intravenous drug use and potentially dangerous sexual practices.

She spoke about a child who was suspected of having been infected from her mother at birth.

“We were first made aware of the case in April 2012 and as far as I know, this is the first case [of a child in the Maldives being born HIV positive],” she said. “However, I think it is important for the public to know the reality of the situation right now, whilst respecting [the child’s] privacy and well being.”

Lubna said she was ultimately encouraged by the work of the country’s health authorities in trying to address the HIV risk from national attitudes towards sex and drug use in the country, yet warned against complacency.

“This doesn’t mean that we continue to work at this pace to try and address attitudes towards AIDS and its spread,” she said.

Lubna called on civil society, the business community and government to speed up efforts to hold awareness and education events about the dangers posed through unprotected sex and intravenous drug use, and to promote preventative measures to reduce the national HIV risk.

Attempts have been made to work with local drug NGOs such as Male’-based Journey on running special outreach programs and blood tests to try and monitor and manage infection rates.

However Lubna said that drug use was not the only area of concern in trying to curb HIV infection.

“Prostitution is another area that needs to be looked into. Awareness work in this area needs to be seen immediately,” she said.

She said greater awareness was needed not just among the general public, but by government authorities and law enforcement agencies.

First Lady’s concerns

During the NDA workshop, First Lady Ilham Hussain stressed that growing numbers of the country’s youth were subjected to dangerous habits that could potentially lead to HIV infection.  She highlighted recreational drug use in particular as the leading cause of the virus spreading nationally.

“Incredible luck”

Speaking earlier this year on the issue of HIV infection rates, Health Minister Jamsheed said that although the Maldives had remained on the HIV less-prevalent category since the first HIV positive case was found in 1991, “all the habits that may lead to the spread of HIV is excessively in practice here,” stating that it was only through “incredible luck” that the disease had not already spread widely throughout the country.

“What has always worried me most is that there is a large drug community, and that the virus might find its way into this group, especially the IV drug users. Once it does, it will spread like wild fire,” he said at the time.

“I don’t think this is too far off now. We have already identified one IV drug user who has been infected with HIV. What’s left is to see how much this has spread,” Jamsheed revealed.

Jamsheed said that he believed there were issues which needed to be opened to a “national debate” in order to move forward and take stronger preventive measures.

“We can simply stay inactive and keep talking for any amount of time by assuming the moral highground,’ Jamsheed said at Sunday’s press conference.

“That is to claim that we are Muslims, and by living in a Muslim state in Muslim ways we are doubtless protected from this disease. But that is never the reality anywhere in the world,” he said.

Jamsheed said it was unrealistic to assume all Muslims to live as “perfect Muslims”, and that even if they were, there was still a chance of infection. He stated that HIV is not transferred through sexual activity or visits to prostitutes alone.

In 2011, a total of 18 HIV positive cases were reported, out of which one was of a local. Between 1991 and 2011, 15 HIV cases were reported among Maldivians, while 168 cases of expatriate workers were also filed. Two out of the 15 cases were female, and all patients cited heterosexual transmission as the cause of infection.

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Police start investigation after teenage girl found with eyes glued shut

Police have opened an investigation into an incident involving a 17 year-old girl who was held down and had her eyes glued shut on the island of Maduvvari in Raa Atoll.

While the Maldives Police Service has confirmed the incident occurred, it was not supplying further details on the case.

However the island council of confirmed to local media that the girl was found with her eyes sealed with a substance believed to be a strong adhesive at about 8:45pm last night. According to reports, the council said the girl was found abandoned on an uninhabited part of the island.

The council also confirmed that the 17 year-old was unconscious when she was found. She was taken to the island health centre on discovery.

When interviewed by the press, the girl’s family alleged that a group of islanders were responsible for incident, which had left her eyes potentially seriously injured.

Doctors were not able to ascertain the extent of the injuries to her eyes because she was unable to open them, her family told local media.

The girl’s family claimed that the teenager was snatched by an unidentified group while she was walking along the street, and was taken to an uninhabited house in the island.

Once inside, one of her abductors was said to have hit her over the head with a wooden stick. She was then allegedly held down and glue was put in her eyes.

Maduvvari Council President Hussain Shiham told local media that once she had regained consciousness the girl had claimed she was attacked “by a man with long hair, and that he would have her teeth marks on his hand. But she couldn’t tell what he looked like.”

The victim was first taken to Ungoofaaru Hospital in Raa Atoll and later transferred to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’.

Similar incidents were reported to have happened on the same island in 2005.

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No official response from PIC over bystander’s death, authorities “elusive and slow”, says widow

Leaked CCTV footage which has thrown into dispute an official police account of 43 year-old Abdulla Gasim Ibrahim’s death in a motorcycle accident on August 17 has been making rapid rounds on social media.

The family of the victim in September raised the matter with the Police Integrity Commission (PIC), stating: “the ‘accident’ occurred due to a policeman standing in front of Hilaaleege using his baton to hit the head of the driver on a motorcycle which had two people fleeing after stealing, which caused the motorcycle to lose control and drive into Abdulla Gasim Ibrahim’s motorcycle.”

Ibrahim’s widow Naseema Khaleel told Minivan News on Monday that she had received no official response from the PIC to her letter.

“I call the PIC now and then and ask about it. They first said they’ve asked the police for the relevant footage, then later said they had received it. The standard answer since then has been that they are looking into the matter,” Khaleel said.

“The police call every now and then. They called a few days back to ask for the motorcycle registration and bills. They too say they are investigating the case. I do want to take the matter to court. Right now I’m waiting to see if we get a response from PIC,” Khaleel explained. “What else can we do?”

Khaleel stays home taking care of the couple’s two children, and said she has faced much hardship following her husband’s death.

“No state bodies or anyone else have extended any sort of support. My brothers and family help as much as they can. The younger child is seven and I, too, wish to provide for my children, for their education and school activities. But it is hard now,” she said.

Khaleel said she had approached the police after the incident, asking for assistance in taking her husband abroad for emergency medical care, but to no avail.

“I did approach the police to ask for help, but did not get any assistance from them. We had bury him in Sri Lanka in the end. I was not even given the police records, which further complicated things there. Had I gotten at least cooperation from the police, things would not have been as difficult as they were,” she said.

Khaleel said that although the Aasandha health insurance scheme helped with the medical costs, the graveness of the situation called for her and other close family members to travel with Ibrahim. She said the family had not received any assistance even in this instance.

“I am not trying to blame the police or any other persons involved. But even the police have said that Gasim had no fault in this, that he was just an innocent bystander. Then someone needs to take responsibility,” Khaleel said.

“I don’t know what else we can do. They are elusive and very slow, which is why we keep calling back. All I want is justice,” Khaleel told Minivan News.

Investigation almost concluded: PIC

PIC Director General Fathimath Sarira confirmed the PIC had received the letter, and that the investigation was now nearing the point of conclusion.

She also confirmed that the PIC had previously received the leaked footage and that it was part of the ongoing investigation.

Article 41(c) of the Police Act states that Maldives Police Service should inform the PIC upon the occurrence of death or infliction of grave bodily injury to a person due to the use of force by a police officer.

Asked if police had in accordance with the above article notified PIC of the incident, Sarira replied, “Police has notified the commission about the accident over a phone call. Although, when we first heard of the case, it was only said that a speeding motorcycle had collided with a parked one and led to a death. But then later, we got the footage too.”

Asked for clarification on what actions the commission would take if police were found to have failed to notify the commission as required, Sarira responded that police usually did keep the PIC informed and that she could not recall any recent incidents to refer back to.

“We will be concluding this investigation very soon and can then provide more details,” she said.

Meanwhile, Vice President of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) Ahmed Tholal stated that they had only become aware of the incident after the leaked video went viral on social media.

“We have today started discussions on the matter in the commission meeting. Only after the commission members conclude discussions can we provide details on how we will proceed to act on this matter,” he said.

“Police Commissioner Riyaz must take responsibility”

Former President Mohamed Nasheed and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have meanwhile released statements condemning the cover-up of the incident, and calling for Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz to take responsibility for the incident.

“I am shocked and appalled by the leaked video, which appears to show a policeman hitting a motorcyclist in the head with a baton, which led to the death of an innocent bystander,” said Nasheed.

“Under [President Mohamed] Waheed’s administration, we are seeing a return to the thuggish brutality of Maldives’ authoritarian past. I implore the international community to pressure the Waheed government to immediately and impartially investigate this case, to bring human rights abusers in the security forces to book, to cease its harassment of opposition members, and hold early elections so democracy can be restored.”

Warning: some viewers may find the following footage disturbing.

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Government continues bid to seize airport despite injunction from High Court of Singapore

Additional reporting by Mohamed Naahee

The Maldivian government has dismissed an injunction granted to GMR by the High Court of Singapore, and vowed that the airport will be run by the state-owned Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) by the coming Saturday (December 7).

The Singaporean High Court on Monday morning issued an injunction against cabinet’s decision the previous Tuesday to void the concession agreement for the US$511 million project, and issue the developer a seven day eviction notice.

Under the injunction, “Both MACL and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, pursuant to the notice issued on 27th Nov 2012 either directly or indirectly, are not allowed to interfere with the rights of the Investor (GMR-MAHB consortium) under the concession agreement,” GMR said in a statement today.

The injunction prompted President Mohamed Waheed’s Special Advisor Dr Hassan Saeed, Defense and acting Transport Minister Mohamed Nazim and Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel to call a press conference on Monday shortly after midday.

“The government believes that the injunction issued by the Singapore court can be legally contested in a higher court. The government has decided to appeal the injunction as we believe the injunction lacks any grounds to stop the takeover,” said Hassan Saeed.

“I believe that the Singapore court interpreted the law wrong. We cannot wait for a hearing of the appeal. What I am saying is there is no damage to GMR but we face damages by not terminating the agreement,” Saeed said.

“The injunction did not overrule the government’s grounds that the contract was void from the beginning. Neither did it rule against the government’s grounds that the contract was frustrated. As you would know the Civil Court ruling over the ADC made the contract impossible to act upon,” said Saeed, referring to the airport development charge which his own Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) successfully disputed in court while in opposition.

“This is a sovereign country. We have given them a sovereign guarantee. That means the government will compensate for their damages. An injunction cannot be issued like this to a sovereign state,” he continued.

Defense Minister Nazim meanwhile pledged the government would “continue the airport takeover and Insha Allah from next Saturday onwards MACL will be running the airport.”

“The government remains firm and committed towards implementing its decision to terminate the agreement. We will not reconsider it,” he said.

Following the government’s decision to declare the contract void last week, the Immigration Department announced it was halting the renewal of work permits for foreign nationals associated with the project, immediately affecting 17 of the airport’s 140 foreign staff.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) meanwhile informed GMR that it would withdraw the operator’s aerodrome certificate at 23:59 on December 7.

GMR’s Head of Corporate Communications Arun Bhaghat reiterated to Minivan News that the company had no intention of leaving.

“It is not our intention to leave. We hope the government will act according to the law and respect the legal formalities,” he said.

Spokesperson for the International Air Transport Authority (IATA), Albert Tjoeng,  told Minivan News that it was the organisation’s understanding that the airport owner “remains unchanged – it is still the Maldives government.  What is changing is the operator of the airport.”

“The priority is to ensure uninterrupted operations at the airport, with no degradation in safety, efficiency and quality of service,” Tjoeng said.

“It is the responsibility of the civil aviation authority to regulate safety at the airport.  While this is a commercial matter between the government and the airport operator, it should not lead to cost increases for airlines operating to the airport.”

Lawyer acting for GMR, Fayyaz Ismail of Aequitas Legal Consultants (ALC), told Minivan News that if the government failed to comply with the injunction, “the Maldives will no longer be respected as upholding its obligations under international law, which will be very detrimental to future foreign investment. Hopefully they will be reasonable.”

Former President Mohamed Nasheed, under whose administration the contract was signed, declared that “President Waheed cannot ignore international law at his whim and fancy. Rules are rules and they must be respected.”

Lenders write to MACL

Axis Bank, one of the main lenders to the airport development project, has meanwhile sent a letter to MACL dated November 28 in which it reminded the government that the Finance Ministry was the guarantor of the direct agreement “in which the guarantor has undertaken and irrevocably guaranteed to pay any sums due… as a separate and independent obligation notwithstanding any termination of the concession agreement by the grantor or the project company for any reason whatsoever.”

“As a sovereign undertaking by the Republic of Maldives, we are sure that the Ministry of Finance and Treasury shall honour the aforesaid guarantee to repay the Finance Parties, notwithstanding the grounds on which the Ministry has declared he Concession Agreement as void, which has the consequences of terminating the Concession Agreement,” the bank wrote.

“We fear that the taking over of the airport without setting the dues of the Finance Parties shall be detrimental to the interests of the Finance Parties and shall go against the spirit of foreign investment in developmental projects of the Republic of Maldives.”

India considers withdrawing aid, withdraws representative

Indian media has meanwhile reported that the Indian government is considering freezing aid to the economically-crippled archipelago, notably a US$25 million loan necessary for the payment of civil servant salaries and the construction of a police academy.

“We are not happy with the way Maldives cancelled the GMR airport deal. This has surely left an impact on our bilateral ties,” a foreign ministry official told AFP. “A decision whether the money should be given or not will be taken soon.”

However the Indian High Commission told newspaper Haveeru that the suggestion was “unofficial” and that such a decision would not be “unilateral”.

Indian media also reported that High Commissioner D M Mulay had been appointed Indian Consul General in New York, and is to be replaced by Rajiv Shahare.

President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza had described Mulay as a “traitor and enemy of the Maldives and the Maldivian people” during a rally on November 9 calling for the government to “reclaim” Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) from GMR.

The remarks were widely reported by Indian media, sparking a diplomatic row and forcing the President’s Office to issue a statement distancing itself from the comments.

However Riza subsequently stood by his comments spoke at a second rally, characterising the Indian media coverage of his remarks as a “success” and urging participants to persevere “until GMR leaves this country.”

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