Category: Society & Culture

Police forward Hassan Abubakur murder case to PG

Police have concluded their investigation into the murder of 65 year-old Hassan Abubakur on Maafaru island in Noonu Atoll, and forwarded the case to the Prosecutor General’s office.

Three suspects were identified as involved in the case: Ahmed Naushad, 27 of Irufa house in Galolhu ward, Akram Abdul Fathaah, 18 of Maafaru Island and Mohamed Faisal of Isdhoo Island in Laamu Atoll.

Hassan Abubakur was found murdered inside his own house on May 30 at around 6:00pm on the island of Maafaru in Noonu Atoll.

“Neighbors living near his house noticed that he had not been coming out at all, and went in to see what was going on and found his dead body,” Ahmed Shareef, President of the Island Council of Maafaru, told Minivan News at the time.

“I saw inside the house after the incident, it seems that some people tried to steal something from the house, because the things inside his house were not arranged as they usually were,’’ he told Minivan New. “Some cupboard doors were opened and some things supposed to be kept on the table were dropped on the floor.”

Head of Maafaru Island Health Centre Ali Shareef suggested that the victim had received a large amount of cash in a lump sum through the elderly persons’ pension scheme, as he had not received it for a long time. The assailants may have killed him in an effort to steal the money, Shareef speculated.

The elderly man’s legs were tied and a pillow was on his face when his body was found, Shareef told Minivan News, according to islanders who witnessed the body.

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High Court orders police to investigate allegations made to ACC regarding High Court judge

An ongoing legal dispute between the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Malaysian mobile security solutions provider Nexbis escalated this week, after the High Court ordered police to investigate claims made to the ACC that Chief Judge of the High Court Ahmed Shareef met officials from the company in Bangkok.

The dispute concerns the deployment of a border control system, specifically the installation of an electronic border gate system in Male’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), bringing technological upgrades such as facial recognition, fingerprint identification and e-gates to the Maldives.

The project stalled after the ACC alleged corruption in the bidding process, leading to a ongoing series of high-profile court battles.

In May 2012 the project was brought to a standstill by a High Court injunction and a raid on immigration offices by ACC staff. At the time the Rf 10 million (US$650,000) first phase of the border control project had been completed, according to local media reports.

Nexbis has threatened legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project, and earlier this month filed a case with against the ACC accusing it of breaching article 141 of the constitution, stipulating non-interference in judicial matters by public officials, and article 42, entitling the company to a fair trial.

The Supreme Court in late June meanwhile dismissed the High Court’s injunction against the continuation of the project, on the basis that the bench overseeing the case had been unlawfully reconstituted. Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali told local media at the time that the department was trying to interpret the order, which he contended “doesn’t make sense”,

In the most recent development Nexbis denied allegations – submitted to the ACC and published in Haveeru – that Chief Judge Ahmed Shareef had returned home from a conference in Singapore after spending a week in Bangkok, where he was alleged to have met Nexbis representatives.

Nexbis denied that any such meeting took place, and this week filed a case in a bid to stop the ACC from publicly sharing information on the investigation while the matter was in court, and seeking an apology for the damage to its reputation.

Asking police to investigate the allegations made to the ACC, the High Court meanwhile stressed in a statement this week that “no individual Judge can simply influence a decision of the Court, as all cases at the High Court are presided by a minimum three Judges bench and a ruling is only made by the majority of a particular bench.”

The accusations sent to the ACC were an “extremely irresponsible act with intentions to deceive and manipulate the truth,” the Court’s statement read.

The Court contended that the ACC’s investigation of the judge would amount to a conflict of interest, as the ACC was investigating a case it had itself filed in court.

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Raaje TV to commence satellite uplink service by mid-July as IFJ raises broadcast concerns

Raaje TV expects to resume satellite broadcasts to the Maldives’ outer islands by mid-July after alleging the government was behind delays in issuing a temporary permit needed to provide its services to a national audience.

The private media group’s  chairman Akram Kamaaluddin earlier this week claimed that political influence was behind a delay in obtaining a satellite uplink permit. Without such a permit, Raaje TV has claimed its signal is limited to an estimated 20 percent of homes in the country.

The broadcaster said that although it had now been given a temporary license to establish its own satellite uplink – it remained concerned about the present government’s overall commitment to media freedom.

A President’s Office spokesperson responded today that the government had no involvement in the reported delay in issuing the license. The spokesperson also questioned the validity of the broadcaster’s accusations considering a temporary permit had now been approved by the independent Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM).

The comments were made as media NGO, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), called for greater clarity by Maldivian broadcast authorities such as the CAM over the regulations it employed for supplying licenses to national media organisations.

“As this statement is issued, the MJA informs us that Raajje TV has been granted temporary uplink permission for six months,” said the IFJ Asia-Pacific in a statement released yesterday.

“We welcome this development, even if it is provisional, and call for a clear statement on the norms that will govern the use of the broadcast spectrum, in a manner that will provide ample room for multiple voices and opinions.”

Despite the temporary resolution of the satellite link issue that had affected Raaje TV’s services this week, the IFJ said it had was concerned that “guidelines for permitting plural sources of news and opinions for the people” may have been breached in the Maldives.

“Multiple sources”

“We urge the authorities in the Maldives to make the grant of uplinking permissions the norm, subject only to a list, preferably small and clearly defined, of ineligible entities. Rather than control information flows, the priority should be to ensure that multiple sources of news are available to the people of the republic in this time of political transition,” the NGO stated

“A review of broadcast policy cannot be the basis for denial of such permission, since such a review in today’s world can only move towards allowing greater diversity and competition on the air-waves and not towards restricting access”.

In outlining the current status of broadcast media in the country, the IFJ – which represents  600,000 journalists in 131 countries – claimed that Raajje TV was known for providing alternative news and opinions in the country compared to other private broadcasters .

However, the NGO claimed Raaje TV’s ability to fulfil this mandate had been restricted after it failed to receive a satellite uplink permit needed to ensure its services were available to a majority of islands in the country’s outer atolls.

“Of the four TV broadcasters operating in the Maldives, one is controlled by the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC), an autonomous body established under law. Though mandated to function independently, the MNBC is believed by opposition parties and independent journalists, to be highly biased towards the government that came to power on February 7, after a police revolt toppled the elected president,” the NGO added. “Of the private channels, two are owned by businessmen with known links to the current regime, according to sources in the Maldives.”

“Hurdles”

Speaking to Minivan News today, Raaje TV Chairman Akram Kamaaluddin said he expected the government would continue to try and create “hurdles” in an attempt to restrict Raaje TV’s broadcasts even after the group obtained a temporary license this week.

Akram alleged that the channel had already been forced to establish its own independent satellite uplink as the government had been influencing major national telecom operators into not providing technical assistance or services to the broadcaster.

“They have given us this temporary license, but there is no guarantee that they won’t try to interfere with our services in other ways,” he claimed.  Akram added that the establishment of Raaje TV’s independent satellite uplink was designed to try and ensure more stability for its services in the future.

Raaje TV’s management have alleged that the CAM had guaranteed that a license would be awarded to the broadcaster on Sunday (July 1) in relation to an application sent two weeks previous.

Akram maintained that the Ministry of Transport and Communication had acted outside of its jurisdiction and influenced the CAM into not issuing a license on the grounds that its existing policy was under review and an uplink could not therefore be provided until this was complete.

Communications Minister Dr Ahmed Shamheed told Minivan News earlier in the week that the allegations of his ministry acting in a politically motivated manner against the broadcaster were a result of Akram “making his own judgement” about the matter.

He therefore maintained that Raaje TV would be given the uplink permit, though was unable to set a date for when it would be made available.

“I spoke with Raaje TV [on July 2] and told them they would be given the license as soon as possible” he said at the time. “I don’t have a time limit for when this will be.”

Shamheed stressed that the process did take time and that the CAM’s Chief Executive, Ilyas Ahmed, had been away until this week, delaying response to the matter.

When contacted today about the concerns raised by the IFJ, President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad said that he welcomed the license being awarded to Raaje TV and stressed the government had no involvement in the issue.

“I am glad that the broadcaster got what they were after,” he said.

With the permit having been awarded, Masood questioned the validity of Raaje TV’s bias allegations.

In addressing these allegations, Masood added that the government had “no involvement” concerning the work of the CAM, which he said was established to operate as an independent body free of government control.

“I don’t know the composition of the CAM is, it is appointed by the parliament,” he said.

Masood added that he was not able to speculate on the possible political affiliations of individuals within an organisation like the CAM.

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CNI report to be delayed until end of August

The final report of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) into the controversial transfer of power on February 7 will be delayed, after hundreds of people have come forward offering new information.

The CNI held a press conference on Thursday morning to update the media on its progress. The next update will be in a fortnight, July 19.

CNI Co-Chair – retired Singaporean Judge G P Selvam – stated that the new date for the report’s completion would be the end of August, which would be discussed with the government. The original deadline was July 31.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s member on the Commission, Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed, said that 244 people had registered to provide information to the commission following the reforming of the CNI.

“There has been a lot of interest. We will speak to each and every single one,” he said.

The new names will join the 87 spoken to by the government’s original three member panel, taking the total number of contributors to 331.

“That’s one contributor for every 1000 of population,” Saeed remarked.

The commission has so far spent 103 hours conducting interviews with 139 people, working from 9:00am to 7:00pm every day. The new commission started work on June 17, 16 days behind schedule.

“Ramadan may upset the apple cart a bit,” Saeed acknowledged, suggesting that the CNI would need to take into consideration that people would be tired and drained during the day: “We intend to make [the hours] more flexible,” he said.

The first three-member CNI was appointed by President Mohamed Waheed, following a police and military mutiny and Nasheed’s resignation, in what he and his party have described as a coup d’état.

Facing pressure from the Commonwealth and civil society NGOs, the government eventually agreed to reform the commission to include a retired Singaporean judge and a representative for Nasheed.

The former CNI subsequently released a ‘timeline’ into events that took place between January 16 to February 7. The MDP accused the commission of trying to prejudice the work of new commission, and then released its own version of events in response – the ‘Ameen- Aslam’ report based on interviews with the security services. The government described the publication of this report as a “terrorist act”.

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Touch of life and death

Waiting has never been a strong suit. But when it is for your best friend who has never left your side, you don’t complain.

Early on Monday evening I was with Inayath Shareef (Inoo), waiting eagerly to welcome her new baby brother into the world. Every time the person inside the delivery room called out her mother’s name, we all flocked to the door. I take out my camera and get ready to click. But every time it’s a false alarm. The contractions still have not reached their height. Disappointed, we walk back.

To kill time, we talk and teased two young pregnant relatives in their mid 20’s. One of the girls looks as if the baby is going to pop out of her at any minute. A relative of Inoo say it is time for us to get married and have kids. We retaliate – “C’mon, we are still kids ourselves.”

Silently, I feared for the pain my friend’s mother must be going through behind the closed door. Relatives are not allowed in and the family only knows anything about the delivery through the occasional feedback from nurses.

Meanwhile, I overhear a conversation between Inoo’s aunt and a young man sitting inside the room, waiting for his wife’s delivery. When he was a baby, his birth mother and father abandoned him on the island. The frail, old couple I had seen moments before in the room, had adopted and cared for him like a son. They were never able to have a child of their own so it was a special occasion. They are soon going to be grandparents of a lovely baby girl.

Evening news starts on TVM at 8:00pm sharp. All eyes and ears were on the flat screen on the wall. The top story of the night, as expected, was the death of lawyer Ahmed Najeeb. Listening to the news at the time was strange. I was sitting among his blood relatives. He is the great uncle of my best friend. The tragedy has left the family devastated. When the news finished, they all talked about death penalty as the only solution to stop the henious crimes in the society which had claimed their brother’s life.

“Mara Maru [Death for Death],” my best friend says.

It was 9:00pm. The conversation on the death penalty had ended and we were again sitting idle. Some, including me, had proposed the idea of calling it a night.

The sudden sound of the person inside the delivery room startled everyone. The nurse called out the name. Same drill. Everyone rushed. I had my doubts, so I walked slowly. We were about to leave when the crowd came running in.

“The baby is delivered! Where is the bag with baby’s stuff?” a relative asks.

Inoo puts the dress for the baby, olive oil, cottons and other necessary post-labor kit into the bag and hurries outside to hand it to the nurse. She was so happy. That moment I realised how long it has been since I have seen that beautiful smile on her face. Life has not been too easy for her, or me.

Outside the labor room, the old relatives were facing a bigger issue. No one has prepared the honey. “How can you forget something so important?” one of the aunt complains.

It is an Islamic tradition to give honey as the first thing when the baby is born. They discuss what to do and finaly sends someone off to buy a bottle of honey.

Meanwhile, as I waited outside the labour room with camera ready, I saw a family rush into the emergency room, just a couple of feet away from labour room. A woman was carrying an unconscious child, about three years old. An accident perhaps, I thought.

However, I was not at the liberty to quench my curiosity because the labor room had just opened. Out came the nurse, carrying my best friend’s little baby brother, wrapped in a soft blue blanket. I switched on my camera and re-focused.

Inoo’s uncle walked in first. He was asked to recite the prayer call near the baby’s ears. Another Islamic tradition. Others followed in. It was such a special moment. Unlike other babies, he did not cry. Despite the bright light above, the baby boy managed to open his eyes wide. He scanned around and stretched out the hand and wrapped his little fingers around my best friend’s finger. He’s a healthy cute little fella weighing almost nine pounds.

The nurse took the baby back to the mother. We walk out discussing who he most resembles. Everyone agreed the boy looks like the father, who was unfortunately still on his way to Male’ from the resort where he worked. As I walked into the labor room showing the pictures from the camera, I accidently bumped into a woman who was crying. I apologised and entered the labour room lobby.

It was a joyous moment for all.  As we ate chocolates and celebrated the birth, a relative came in looking worried: “I think a child has just died.”

We all walk out to see what had happened. Five women stood crying outside the ward next to the labour room. Another curious onlooker told me a child who was brought to the hospital just now had passed away. Immediately, I recall the family rushing into the emergency room and the crying woman I bumped into.

“Oh my God!” was my first response. I followed a relative into the ward.

On the hospital bed, lay a beautiful little girl. I walked closer. Underneath a white blanket covering up to her neck, the girl’s arms were folded. One of the woman standing next to the bed snakes her fingers through the straight locks of her short black hair. “Please wake up,” she cries.

I pat her shoulder, unable to take of my eyes from the lifeless body of the little girl who is no older than one of my nieces.

“How old is she?” I asked.

“Three”, the woman replies. She is the girl’s aunt who had arrived Male’ from the island the day before. “She’s actually a very fair skinned girl,” she continued, as the girl’s skin turns darker with every passing minute. She held the girl’s chin tight, keeping her lips closed. I did not know why at first, but when fluids started to escape out her nose and mouth, no explanation was needed.

“Only if she would open her eyes,” the woman says, between sobs. I touched the girl’s forehead. Near the bed stood a another little girl in tears, no older than 10. The girl on the bed is her younger sister. I notice my best friend had just walked in, so asked her to take the girl outside.

“Where is the father?” I ask, as there was no man to be seen, except for a teenage boy. The woman explained that the girl’s father had abandoned the family a long time ago. Her sister has been raising the two children on her own all these years, with not a penny from the husband who had left her before the girl’s birth.

I could only imagine the mother’s sorrow. She was speaking with two police officers outside the ward. They ask her what happened.

“She was born with a hole in her heart. The doctor said she needed surgery in three months. I could not get enough money to do the operation.” The mother burst into tears.

A policeman asks if she has any complaints with the hospital.

“Why would I have a complaint with the hospital?” The woman cried. “I don’t. I only have complaints with myself. I am the mother. It was my responsibility to keep my children safe and raise them. I failed. It is my fault she is dead.”

Though I am a stranger and have no right to interfere in that family’s matter, I could not stop myself from speaking out.

“Please don’t blame yourself sister. Life and death is beyond our control. It’s not your fault. You did everything you could.”

The grief-stricken mother smiles, and walks back into the room with her elder daughter to say her final goodbyes.

Though I had told her the death of her child was beyond her control, I could not help but think that the little girl would be alive today if she could have had that life-saving operation.

Outraged, I told the policeman to find the father. “He should be held responsible,” I contended.

Inoo later told me that she had taken the elder daughter out for a walk. The girl told her: “My father will be very happy my younger sister is dead.” We both were dumb-struck.

It was time for Inoo’s mother to be transferred to the maternity ward. I conveyed my condolences to the family and followed my best friend. She was finally able to hold her baby brother. Everyone looked so happy.

I remained confused. I caressed the baby’s soft cheeks and walked out, leaving the family to welcome the new member into their home, as another family outside were preparing for their little girl’s funeral.

In one night, I had touched life and death.

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Home minister blames Second Chance rehab scheme for crime “surge”

Home Minister Dr Ahmed Jameel has blamed a current “surge” in crime partly on the Second Chance rehabilitation programme run by the former government, which he alleged released prisoners, sometimes with “heavy sentences”, for political purposes.

After telling local media this week that over 200 convicted criminals released under the scheme has been returned to prison over allegedly having re-offended, Dr Jameel pledged more former Second Chance inmates deemed or suspected as posing “a danger to the public” would be returned to custody.

The now-defunct Second Chance initiative has received significant media coverage this week after a former inmate released under the programme, 29 year-old male Ahmed Murrath, confessed to the murder of prominent lawyer Ahmed Najeeb in Male’.

However, the former manager of the initiative, Aishath Rasheed, has claimed she was surprised at reports of a large number of inmates released under Second Chance now being returned to prison. Speaking to Minivan News this week, Rasheed raised concerns about a lack of rehabilitation measures for young people imprisoned for smaller offences such as drug use in the country since the Second Chance programme was terminated.

Second Chance was established to help address concerns that a majority of the Maldives’ prison population were young people incarcerated for minor drug offences. Rasheed has maintained that the resulting long jail terms handed to young people – in some cases even over minor drugs offences – “were destroying their lives”.

According to the UNDP’s “Prison Assessment and Proposed Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Offenders Report”, which was published last year, 66 percent of all prisoners in the Maldives at the time of report were in jail for drug use or possession, often small quantities.

The majority were males under 30 years of age with education below O-levels, the report added, claiming the Maldivian prison population could be reduced by up to two-thirds if the government would “de-criminalise the offence of drug usage and propose mandatory rehabilitation”.

“Political advantage”

Home Minister Jameel has contended that the Second Chance initiative had been set up by former President Mohamed Nasheed “without a legal basis or justification”, in an attempt to pick and choose convicts for release on the basis of their political allegiance.

“Nothing prevents me to take back to prison all those released under the Second Chance programme found committing further offences for the safety and security of our people,” he said. “I have abolished Second Chance after assuming this [Home Ministry] portfolio to prevent ‘undue political advantage by convicts in the correctional system’ which was the policy of the Nasheed Government. I intend to take back all dangerous criminals back to prison as part of process to make our home and streets safe.”

Jameel added that the country’s legal system already included mechanisms by which prisoners could obtain early release under certain circumstances.  He claimed these legal mechanisms had been negated by the Second Chance initiative.

The mechanisms include clemency, which was provided under the Law on Reduction of Punishment and Clemency and considered only under “exceptional circumstances”, according to Jameel. He added that applicants for this mechanism were required to be reviewed by a specially established clemency board.

A second method to obtain early release is provided in the form of a parole programme overseen by a multi-sectoral board that decides on the eligibility of each candidate.

“Both of these programmes were abandoned to directly pick and select convicts from prison for Second Chance,” claimed Jameel. “Indiscriminate release of convicts without regard to the nature of the offences and selecting convicts based on their political association and belief demonstrates the underlying purpose of the Second Chance programme. Not only one or two of those released has been caught again for committing further offences, but several arrests made to regards to serious offences found second chance convicts.”

When contacted by Minivan News about the number of prisoners released under Second Chance that had since been returned to custody, the Maldives Police Service said it could not confirm a figure at the time, forwarding the enquiry to Home Minster Jameel.

The home minister said that “more than 200” people released under the programme were believed to have re-offended.

The Second Chance programme was stopped back in February directly following the controversial transfer of power that brought Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s coalition government to power.

The Home Minister claimed back in March that a total of 1879 criminals were incarcerated for various offences during Nasheed’s term, but only 621 remained in prisons while 1258 have been released with no clear procedure.

After shutting down Second Chance in February, the programme’s responsibilities were instead tasked to the Parole Board and Clemency Board, which were re-formed in the intervening weeks.

However, both boards have been criticised in recent years for being “slow and ineffective”, by Second Chance’s former manager Aishath Rasheed, who claimed to be “very much surprised” about reports of the number of prisoners released under the programme now being returned to jail.

An estimated 439 inmates were released during the life-time of the Second Chance imitative, each of whom were said to be thoroughly evaluated and approved by the courts, according to Rasheed. Any former inmate found to have violated the terms of the release were sent back to the prison to complete their jail term. She added that the 439 inmates released under the scheme were mostly young people held on minor drug offences.

Verification

Rasheed, also a former member of the country’s parole board until resigning after the new government came to power, claimed that she had first heard about possible cases of prisoners released under the Second Chance committing criminal acts back in March. She stressed that it was therefore important to verify whether the suspected offenders were in fact released under the scheme and if they had been guilty of re-offending.

Beyond serving to secure an early conditional release for prisoners, Rasheed stressed that the programme was also designed to provide educational and rehabilitation programmes for inmates – initiatives that she claimed were not being provided at present.

“The idea was to give a chance to everyone in prison for rehabilitation, but the programme has been stopped, we had offered O-level training and spiritual classes,” she said. “However, within two days of Second Chance being finished they have stopped the O-level programmes and the yoga and spiritual classes. We had very technical and experienced instructors for these programmes, but I’m not sure they have been replaced by anything.”

Rasheed claimed that in closing down the programme, Home Minister Jameel had not looked at the programme and its respective benefits – a model used in many other countries to rehabilitate prisoners.

“In Singapore and New Zealand for example, there are very productive Second Chance-style programmes,” she said. “Due to the structure of our Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service (DPRS) we were only just starting out with these type of rehabilitation programmes.”

Speaking to Minivan News in March, Rasheed claimed that the Parole and Clemency board “did not have the technical expertise to continue the program”.

“I was a member of the parole board. Both boards exist as mere names. Some members do go for the meetings but have to go back home because the meetings cannot be held due to lack of quorum,” Rasheed said at the time.

However, as of last month, a new parole board set up by President Waheed had begun assessing the eligibility of inmates for release after they had undergone months of rehabilitation programmes.

Parole and rehabilitation

Present Parole Board member and Spokesperson for the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service (DPRS) Bilal said that although the Second Chance programme had been terminated in February, prisoners would be still be eligible for potential parole and rehabilitation.

“The present government decided not to continue with Second Chance, there have been examples where prisoners had violated the conditions of their release and had been returned [to jail],” he said. “Second Chance as a programme was seen as a failure.”

Bilal claimed that the main functions of the Second Chance programme could still be met through the existing parole programme ran through the DRPS.

“Under parole, a prisoner under 25 for example must serve one third of their sentence, the parole board will then decide on the candidate’s release,” he said.

As of next month, Bilal claimed that a reintegration programme was being launched to help prisoners released on parole to acclimatise to life outside of prison for their first month back in society.  Vocational programmes in fields like electrical maintenance were also said by Bilal to currently be on offer at the detention centres of Maafushi and  Dhoonidhoo.

“We have planned to start basic education programmes soon as well as more advanced O-level courses. We are having meetings today with the Education Ministry on this,” he claimed. “We expect these programmes to be starting soon.”

Rehabilitative focus

Back in May, Lubna Mohamed Zahir Hussain, Minister of State for Health and Family saidthe upcoming establishment of a entirely new drug court in the country was indicative of a major shift in ongoing government policy over the last three years from a solely punitive approach to a more rehabilitative focus for minor offenders.

The Health Ministry insisted at the time that the new regulations provided distinct measures to assist small time drug abusers, while cracking down on larger-scale traffickers based in the Maldives and the wider South Asian region.

Hussain claimed that under this new legal and judicial system, the NDA was now looking to focus to rehabilitate prisoners found guilty of minor drug offences – something that had not been possible through the prison service previously.

“Seventy percent of prisoners currently being held in jails on drug offences have never been given treatment whilst they are incarcerated,” she claimed at the time.

Hussain added that recent amendments to national drug laws would compensate for the loss of rehabilitative programmes such as Second Chance – at least for minor drug offenders.

“The essence of the Second Chance programme is seen in the new drug law,” she said at the time.

Prison fears

Ali Adyb of the Journey NGO, which runs a drop-in centre in Male’ as well as outreach programmes across the country’s many atolls, told Minivan News earlier this year that he believed a long-term policy of criminalising drug users in the Maldives had failed, in part, because of a failure to segregate prisoners convicted of petty theft with more serious crimes.

“We are aware of people who have actually become addicted to drugs whilst in jail here,” he said.

Journey stressed that even for convicted addicts who were no longer being held in the country’s prison system, the stigma of having a criminal record for using narcotics led even qualified people to struggle to find a job upon their release.

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Maldives websites report denial-of-service (DDoS) cyberattacks

Telecommunications firm Dhiraagu has confirmed that websites in the Maldives have been targeted in apparent Denial of Service (DDoS) cyberattacks, according to local media.

DDoS attacks involve malevolently flooding a web server with queries, locking up bandwidth and preventing legitimate users from accessing a site.

New outlets Sun Online and Haveeru reported accessibility problems, particularly from abroad, according to reports this morning.

Speaking to Haveeru, Dhiraagu’s Marketing, Communications and Public Relations Manager Mohamed Mirshan claimed the attacks were targeted at the newspaper, and not Dhiraagu infrastructure.

“DDoS is very common all around the world. We have taken the same measures taken internationally. DDoS cannot be controlled by anyone other than its originators. The only thing we can do is mitigate the attacks. Dhiraagu has also taken all necessary measures taken against it worldwide,” Mirshan told Haveeru.

Meanwhile, an anonymous email was sent to police and several media outlets, including Sun and Haveeru, from a group claiming to take responsibility for recent attacks on Dhiraagu’s web servers.

“For years our main Internet Service Provider and Communication Provider “Dhiraagu” has been taking our money from us. No government of the Maldives helped us solve this problem. No politician gives a damn about improving the Information Technology and its awareness in Maldives,” the email read, promising escalating cyber attacks “with inside help from Dhiraagu employees”, on targets including government email servers and the provider’s ADSL service.

Dhiraagu’s media division referred Minivan News to Mirshan, who was not responding to Minivan News at time of press.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said police had not received reports of such an incident.

“We have a financial unit that currently investigates such cases, but we are in the process of trying to establish a cybercrime unit that should be operating in 2-3 months,” Haneef said.

Following attacks that affected the company’s web services in January 2011, Mirshan told Minivan News that the company had been receiving such attacks since August 2009, which he claimed were “very organised.”

“We have been working with our counterparts both in the country and overseas around the clock in order to try and minimise the impacts of the attack on our services,” Mirshan said at the time.

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Three men and a woman arrested with large amount of cash and drugs

Three men and a woman have been arrested in possession of illegal drugs and a huge amount of cash, according to police.

Police said the four were arrested yesterday afternoon at about 2:40pm in a special operation conducted following a report received by police intelligence.

The police have not identified the house and the arrested persons but have said a 20 year-old man, 27 year-old man, 27 year-old man and a 29 year-old woman were arrested.

According to police, 10 packets of illegal drugs were found inside a cupboard in the house and the Rf 30,000 (US$1950) was found when the police searched the 20 year-old man.

US$1100 and Rf 3000 (US$195) was found on the 27 year-old man, police said.

The Police Drug Enforcement Department is further investigating the case.

Furthermore, police today said that the case, in which three men broke open a motorbike’s seat and stole Rf 200,000 (US$13,000) stored under it, to the Prosecutor General after concluding the investigation in to the case.

The three suspects involved in the case were identified by the police as Ahmed Areesh, 26, of Maafannu Gulsampaage, Afir Mohamed of Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Rathafandhoo, and Wafir Mohamed.

The three were arrested on May 30 in a operation police conducted to capture them. They were arrested along with valuable items they had bought with the money. The remainder was recovered, police said.

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“Death for death” say six of murdered lawyer’s heirs

Six out of the eight heirs of murdered lawyer Ahmed Najeeb yesterday refused to accept blood money and have asked the Judge for qisas (equal retaliation) – the death penalty – during trial held at the Criminal Court.

During the trial, the court summoned the six heirs following the confession of both the suspects implicated in the crime, while the two others were not present for the session.

The court stated that out of the two heirs, who were not present at the hearing, one was living abroad and the court would be making arrangements through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to collect his statement, while the other worked in a resort out of Male’.

Concluding the trial, the judge said that all eight heirs, were those whom the court had confirmed as rightful heirs, and made a statement that if there was any other person who was a rightful heir to Ahmed Najeeb, they must inform the court before July 10.

He also said that after the taking the statements of all rightful heirs of the deceased, the court will issue a verdict.

If none of deceased victim’s heirs agree to accept blood money, under Islamic Sharia Murrath and his girlfriend will be subjected to the death penalty.

Traditionally, death penalties in the Maldives are commuted to life imprisonment of 25 years under the Clemency Act 2010 (Act no 2/2010), where it states:

“Even if stated otherwise in this act, if the Supreme Court issues a death sentence, or a lower court or High Court issues a death sentence and if the Supreme Court upholds that sentence, the President has the authority to relieve the sentence into a life imprisonment, after consideration of either the state of the guilty, the legal principles behind the issue, consensus of the state or the values of humanity. But once such a sentence is being relieved to a life imprisonment, the guilty shall not be eligible for pardon, under any clause of this act.”

Shocking murder

Veteran lawyer Najeeb was brutally murdered on July 1 and his body discovered in a dustbin bag in a second floor apartment in Maafanu Masroora house in the capital Male’, at about 6:45pm in the evening.

The 65 year-old man’s body was found supposedly gagged, badly beaten up and stabbed at the throat.

The police earlier revealed that 29 year old ex-convict Ahmed Murrath had been charged with Najeeb ’s murder and had confessed to killing him, claiming the lawyer attempted to sexually assault his 18 year-old girlfriend Fathmath Hana.

Hana of Rihab house in Shaviyani Goidhoo island was identified as a second suspect and also faces murder charges in the case, after she confessed to “helping” her boyfriend kill Najeeb.

During the first hearing of the trial held separately for both suspects, Hanaa first testified in court, followed by Murrath.

Hanaa noted that Najeeb arrived to the Maafanu Masroora on Saturday night around 10:00pm, on a request to discuss a family legal case.

She said that her boyfriend killed him after he became “sure” that Najeeb attempted to sexually assault her, and added that she helped tie Najeeb’s hand, legs and taped his mouth while Murrath threatened him with a knife.

“We thought he must have a lot of money as he is a lawyer,” she told the court, after declining representation from a lawyer.

Najeeb’s cash card was taken from him and the pair had withdrawn money from it.

According to Hanaa, she did not know that the victim was killed until her boyfriend woke her up and told her about it around 4:00am. At the time Hanaa said she was sleeping, intoxicated from drinking alcohol.

Her boyfriend corroborated the confession in his statement, saying that she was asleep when he killed the lawyer.

Murrath said he was present when Najeeb came over to the house to discuss the legal case and he became suspicious so asked Hanaa if something was wrong. Hanaa told him that Najeeb had grabbed her hands and hurt her, Murrath added.

Murrath said that he killed Najeeb out of anger and apologised to the family members present at the hearing for committing the crime.

The police had earlier noted that Murrath tested positive for drugs when he was brought under custody. He is a former inmate conditionally released under the Second Chance program for inmates with drug offences.

Police said he had an 18 year jail sentence of which he had completed only three years. His offences included theft, assault, drug use, and breaking out of prison.

Following some criticism that the police had prioritised the case as the victim was a lawyer, police media official Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef responded that Najeeb’s case was investigated and forwarded to court faster than other murder cases because the suspects had confessed to the crime during the trial to extend their detention, and that all forensic evidence necessary to prosecute the case had been found.

“We do not discriminate in cases,” Haneef added.

Public outcry for capital punishment

Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, speaking at a press conference following the murder, repeated his call for a decision on the implementation of the death penalty in relation to such crimes.

“We want death for death,” a crowd gathered near IGMH last night shouted, as Najeeb’s body was brought to the ambulance.

In recent times gang violence, burglary, mugging, sexual abuse of children and murders are increasing to levels of alarming concern in society, and the rise in criminal-related death tolls have provoked public pressure to implement the death penalty or capital punishment in the Maldives.

From January 2001 to December 2010, a total of 14 people were sentenced to death by the courts, and none from them have been executed. The last person to be executed in the Maldives after receiving a death sentence was in 1953 during the first republican President Mohamed Ameen. Hakim Didi was charged with attempting to assassinate President Ameen using black magic.

The latest death sentence came on last November, where Criminal Court  sentenced Mohamed Nabeel to death for the murder of Abdulla Faruhad. The judge issued the verdict after reviewing the statements of witnesses and finding him guilty of the crime.

However, the case has been appealed to the High Court.

Following reports of the murder, the government-aligned Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM)’s parliament group member Ahmed Mahloof proposed an amendment to the Clemency Act (Act no 2/2010) which would make performing the death penalty mandatory in the event it was upheld by the Supreme Court.

His amendment would require the President to enforce any death penalty if the Supreme Court issued the verdict of death, or if the Supreme Court supported the ruling of the death penalty made by either the Criminal court or the High Court. This move would halt the current practice of the President commuting such sentences to life imprisonment.

Previously, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Rasheed and later MP Ibrahim Muthalib also submitted similar amendments to the clemency act although both subsequently withdrew the motions.

“I believe nobody would want to die. So if the death penalty is enforced, a person who is to commit a murder would clearly know that if he carries out the act, his punishment would be his life. I believe this will deter him from committing such acts,” Mahloof said following the submission of the amendment.

In the initial report of the Maldives under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prepared by Human Rights Commission (HRCM) in 2011, the commission noted that growing public sentiment to impose death penalty.

“Death penalty: not as easy as it is thought”- HRCM

According to the commission, the Maldives has affirmed the UN Resolution of Moratorium on death penalty on 18 December 2007, which emphasises all states that still provision capital punishment “progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed.”

“This resolution still needs to be passed by the parliament,” it reads.

Furthermore, there are several laws pending which are related to the enforcement of the death penalty including, the passage of the revised Penal Code, Criminal Procedures Code, Evidence Bill and Witness Act, the commission adds.

The Maldives is yet to establish an independent forensic institution to provide accurate information to support the judiciary to make an impartial decision on matters concerning the administration of the death penalty.

Meanwhile the commission acknowledged that the ”life threatening acts of crime in the country have been aggravated” due to a number of direct and indirect factors, of which the direct problems include “inadequate legislation pertaining the criminal justice system”.

The existing Penal Code which was enforced in 1981 and its last amendment made in 200 has many parts which are not relevant to the present context and does not reflect the spirit of the present Constitution.

Moreover, the commission identifies the inadequate legislations pertaining to evidence and witnesses, dismissal of forensic evidence by courts, absence of a witness protection program and inadequate correctional and rehabilitation system for convicted offenders as key factors.

“The lack of a comprehensive integrated crime prevention mechanism remains the greatest weakness in addressing the issue of increase in crime. High numbers of unemployed youth, and the persistent substance abuse and drug addiction among youth in the country are indirect factors catalysing the increase in crime,” the HRCM report adds.

Therefore, to address the above, says the HRCM, the “state should revise the existing Penal Code, and bring into force the Criminal Procedure Code – the other legislation pertaining to evidence and witnesses.”

“The State should further establish effective rehabilitation mechanisms for offenders, better prisons and correctional facilities to house and to rehabilitate criminals, and to strengthen effective coordination between drug rehabilitation system and criminal justice system,” it concludes.

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