Category: Society & Culture

Cabinet to reduce duration of criminal records to boost youth employment

The cabinet has discussed the possibility of decreasing the duration of criminal records to encourage greater youth participation in the workforce, after noting that many skilled youth job applications were being dismissed because of criminal records for minor offences.

The matter was presented by Youth Minister Dr Hassan Latheef on June 7 and the cabinet formed a sub-committee to study the issue.

‘’’The Cabinet members noted that youth accounted for over 43 percent of the population, and in the current job market criminal records were a barrier to job-seeking for many young people.’’

The President’s Office said that cabinet ministers had agreed that the existing system, which requires five year-criminal records, barred many educated and skilled youth with minor offences from gainful employment.

‘’Members agreed that lowering the current standards of establishing good character would increase the number of skilled job seekers,’’ President’s Office said.

The government will announce a procedure for conducting background checks of job seekers for criminal records, said the President’s Office.

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair, said the objective of decreasing the duration of criminal records was mainly to help recovered drug addicts who often have difficulties in finding a job due to their record.

‘’The government is currently discussing with all the concerned authorities such as Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS), Parole board, Clemency board and so on,’’ said Zuhair. ‘’When the amendment to the procedure is brought I think the duration of criminal records may be reduced to perhaps three years.”

Currently those arrested on suspicion of violating a law also have a criminal record filed in their police report.

‘’Incrimination is something that this government condemns. We are currently working to solve this issue,’’ Zuhair added.

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President asks parliament to approve Maldivian contribution to UN peacekeeping operations

Cabinet’s decision to contribute Maldivian soldiers to UN peacekeeping operations has been sent to parliament for approval.

Parliament debated the issue and decided to send the matter to the National Security Committee for review.

After an hour long debate between MPs over the issue, Maldivian Democratic Party([MDP) Parliamentary Group Leader and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik proposed to send the matter to the National Security Committee committee, with 61 MPs voting in favor.

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

Oppostion Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP with former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s faction, Ahmed Mahlouf, said the issue was concerning.

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

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

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf recently called on the government to withdraw a decision made by the cabinet to send Maldivian troops to take part in UN peacekeeping operations.

Cabinet decided to finalise the participation of Maldivian soldiers, noting that it was “important for the Maldives to contribute to the efforts of these international agencies and institutions to ensure that every country, every society and every individual has the opportunity to live in peace and security.”

“Taking part in the UN peacekeeping operations will force Maldivian forces to fight against Muslims which is unacceptable,” said Salaf in the statement, opposing the decision.

”Everyone understands that the most of the wars against Muslims have been started without reasonable grounds, just because they are Muslims.”

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

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Afrashim’s dismissal highlights JSC composition concerns: DRP deputy

A Parliamentary decision passed yesterday by 38 votes to 34 to remove Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Afrashim Ali from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) raises further questions over the watchdog’s impartiality and reliance on political appointees, Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef has claimed.

Shareef, a DRP Deputy Leader, told Minivan News that he believed the no confidence motion against Afrashim, forwarded by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP “Reeko” Moosa Manik, was an “alarming” move by the government that was passed with “no valid reason”.

“If anyone elected to a position is not doing a job properly and perhaps there are more competent people who can do better, then [the removal] wouldn’t be a problem,” he claimed. “However, the MDP reason [for the vote] is not based on this. The government wants to use the JSC as a vehicle for [its own interests].”

The composition of the JSC, which serves as a watchdog for the country’s judiciary, was criticised by one independent judicial review body for failing to ensure transparency in its workings.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has maintained that although it was not illegal to rely on mostly political appointees as opposed to judicial and legal figures to oversee a national legislative watchdog, it was perceived as “bad practice”.

Criticisms of the JSC have also come from within the body itself by a former member selected by President Mohamed Nasheed. Presidential appointee Aishath Velezinee served as a whistle-blower by forwarding allegations of what she called a “silent coup” taking place in the JSC against the government.

Shareef said that he personally held concerns about relying on political figures to serve as JSC appointees when it came to overseeing the country’s courts, despite the process being constitutionally mandated.

“The fact that political appointees are allowed onto the body is not the best for the JSC. I myself have raised the wisdom [of allowing this],” he said. “In my view the JSC should be made up of members of the judiciary. However [composition requirements] are outlined in the constitution and we have to live with that.”

With the removal by parliamentary vote of Dr Afrasheem from his JSC post, Shareef claimed it remained vital to try and ensure the government did not have the ability to potentially “threaten the judiciary” with political appointments to the JSC.

“We [the political opposition] have lost representation on the body and we need a voice,” he said.

With the president entitled under the constitution to appoint a member of his own choice to the body – a position formerly held by Aishath Velezinee before she was dismissed with presidential praise last month – Shareef said he believed the opposition should be allowed a similar appointment.

“The opposition should be given the opportunity to appoint a representative itself to allow for equilibrium in the JSC,” he claimed.

ICJ view

The ICJ said it could not be commenting on Afrashim’s dismissal without additional details.

However, a spokesperson for the ICJ said previous reports on the Maldives had raised issues regarding the composition of the JSC relating to the number of political appointments made to the body compared to legislative and judicial figures.

“[Political representation] was identified as a key issue [by the ICJ] at the time in preventing the JSC from acting in an independent way,” said the spokesperson. “We are in no doubt that this current JSC has had no success in trying to bring about independence in the judiciary. We are not blaming any individual for this, but the JSC is not acting as it should be.”

As a matter outlined under the country’s constitution, the ICJ source said that the organisation accepted that changing such a system and finding a solution was difficult.

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Dhoonidhoo inmates on hunger strike

Inmates at Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial have declared themselves on hunger strike, a person familiar with the matter told Minivan News.

‘’All inmates detained in Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial, except for foreigners, have declared themselves on hunger strike,’’ the source said on conditions of anonymity. ‘’Inmates have been continuously obstructed from obtaining their rights.’’

The source claimed that the main reason of the hunger strike was because of the ‘’spoiled food’’ that had been fed to the inmates recently.

‘’All the inmates felt ill after consuming the food they were brought the day before yesterday, and the inmates complained,’’ he said. ‘’A senior police officer met with the inmates and told them that the food’s quality had been decreasing due to the change in the dollar exchange rate and that the price of products was increasing.’’

He said the police had told the inmates that the budget allocated for inmates’ food was not increased after the dollar exchange rate was altered, and promised that police would try to solve the issue.

‘’The inmates have to be brought out for walking once every two days, now inmates are brought out to walk once every week,’’ he said. ‘’The inmates have not been provided with other essential things they need such as razors, towels, brush, tooth brush, soap. The authorities have said they do not have the budget to provide those things to Maldivians, but the foreigners in this detention centre get all of them.’’

The source said the inmates have said they will continue the hunger strike “until the police meet their demands”.

Inmates started the strike yesterday at 3:00pm, the source said.

A police spokesperson denied that such incident was taking place at Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial.

Dhoonidhoo is used to detain persons accused of committing crimes pending investigation, with prison sentences mostly carried out in Maafushi.

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Criminal Court finds two businessmen charged with drug trafficking innocent

The Criminal Court has ruled that the Prosecutor General had been unable to prove that two businessmen Abdulatheef Mohamed and Hassan Ali charged with drug trafficking were guilty of the crime, due to lack of evidence and witnesses presented to the court.

Abdulatheef was arrested by police after they discovered more than one kilogram of illegal narcotics inside his car trunk.

However, the court said that there was not a single piece of evidence presented to the court suggesting that the illegal narcotics were imported with the knowledge of both Hassan and Abdulatheef.

The Criminal Court ruled that there was no reason to suspect that Abdulatheef and Hassan had an intention to traffic drugs.

During the investigation period of Abdulatheef, the Criminal Court summoned and ordered his release, a day after the High Court invalidated a letter sent by the Criminal Court to police asking to release the suspect under house arrest.

The Criminal Court first asked police to keep Abdulatheef in detention until his trial reached a conclusion. However the Criminal Court later sent a letter to the police changing the court’s first decision and asking police to switch Latheef’s detention to house arrest.

The police then appealed at the High Court to invalidate the letter. The High Court judges determined that the order in the letter was not consistent with the applicable laws concerning detention, and overruled it.

Latheef was arrested last year in December, as he was about to drive off in his car after loading some vegetables into the trunk.

Police officers attended the area, stopped his car and unpacked the loaded items in his presence and discovered 1083.4246 grams of illegal narcotics containing the substance Tetrahydrocannabinol (found in cannabis).

The Prosecutor General appealed at the High Court asking for Abdulatheef to be detained until his trial reached a conclusion and to rule that Criminal Court’s order to release him was unlawful.

However, the High Court ruled that there was no grounds to overrule the Criminal Court’s decision.

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MFDA shuts down Café Alfresco and Blue Cappuccino

The Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) has shut down another famous eatery in Male’, Café Alfresco in the State Trading Organisation (STO) building, after the authority found the café’s hygiene conditions did not meet the MFDA’s regulation.

The Blue Cappuccino restaurant in Maaveyo Magu was also closed by the MFDA in its ongoing food inspections program.

‘’Alfresco has unfortunately been closed for the time being after an inspection by the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA),’’ Alfresco said in a statement on its website. ‘’We will hopefully be reopening shortly after we set the café’s facilities to fully comply with the MFDA’s standards.’’

‘’We apologise deeply to all our customers and assure complete adherence to MFDA regulations and standards in the future. We take full responsibility for this unfortunate incident and are more than willing to extend our support and cooperation to MFDA.’’

No details of the issues with the restaurants were provided by the MFDA as it has decided not to reveal such details following complaints from the owners of the closed food outlets.

‘’We decided not to reveal the details following complaints we received from the places,’’ said Jameela Mohamed, Media Coordinator of MFDA. ‘’We will issue a press release regarding the matter later today.’’

Café Alfresco was not the first famous food outlet to be suddenly closed by the MFDA. Famous restaurants such as West Park and Raaveriya was also closed by the MFDA during the inspections program.

Well known teashops such as Market Hotel, Faseyha Point and Malaafai 2 were also closed by the MFDA after it found the hygiene conditions did not meet MFDA regulations.

Live goats, houseflies, lizards and cats were discovered in the kitchens and stores of some of the closed restaurants and cafés.

The MFDA said so far 113 venues were checked and 12 places closed due to poor hygiene.

Meanwhile, some of the closed restaurants and teashops have been reopened after correcting the issues faced by the MFDA.

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DQP calls on government to stop prostitution

The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) led by former Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed has called on the government to take adequate measures to prevent prostitution in the Maldives.

‘’Prostitution has spread widely across the Maldives in the guise of health clinics and massage centres, to an extent that the citizens should be very concerned,’’ the DQP said in a statement.

‘’There is the chance people will say that prostitution is being conducted with the assistance and support of the government if the government remains silent on the issue instead of taking any action.’’

The DQP claimed the government supported prostitution, referring to video clips allegedly of senior government officials leaked by a blackmail ring prior to their arrest earlier this year.

The party also claimed the government was “keeping its eyes closed” on the issue despite prostitution being haram under Islam, which it claimed showed that the current government was not prioritising Islam in the country.

‘’We call on the government to take immediate measures to stop this and to prevent the society from falling into an illness,’’ the DQP said in its statement. ‘’We condemn statements from the government that these are not issues the government has to investigate.”

The statement also referred to the recent investigation by Sun Online journalists in which the journalists solicited girls in massage parlours.

Police arrested two Maldivian males and two Thai females for involvement in a beauty salon in Addu, for allegedly being involved in prostitution. The Addu Court extended the detention of the four arrested.

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

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Salaf to research and determine “the right president” for 2018

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has issued a press statement calling on Maldivians to be patient while the NGO researches possible candidates that may run for the Presidential elections in 2018, and determine whether he is the right person to rule the country.

Salaf claimed that the presidential pledges candidates make during the campaigns are “nothing but poems”.

Salaf said that politicians and all the country’s democratic and irreligious systems had been unable to direct the Maldives towards a safe harbour.

‘’Those who are trying to change the laws concerning religion to destroy the country, have been granted more protection than Maldivian citizens,’’ Salaf said in the statement.

‘’We would like to announce that it is not something that Salaf will tolerate.’’

The NGO claimed that there were people in the Maldives challenging Islamic Sharia, criticising the religion of Islam and calling for the permitting of alcohol, homosexuality, and fornication.

‘’We are preparing for 2018. We will scan everyone that may run for the Presidential Elections and will advise the citizens about the right person,’’ said President of Salaf Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohamed Ibrahim.

‘’We will form a committee and they will obtain information on figures who will run for the elections.’’

He said the NGO would  write letters to all political parties and request they inform Salaf about their presidential candidate and provide profiles, as well as information on the the services they have provided for Maldivians.

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Criminal Court orders MDP MP Adil be held in detention until trial concludes

The Criminal Court today granted the Prosecutor General (PG) permission to hold Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hassan Adil in detention until his trial reaches conclusion.

The court has said that permission was granted upon a request made by the PG’s office today during the first hearing of the trial.

Police have alleged that Adil sexually abused a 13 year-old girl belonging to a family with whom he was close friends.

The Criminal Court said the court warrant to hold Adil under detention until the trial end was issued according to article 28 of Child Sex Offenders Special Provisions Act.

The Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Adil in April. His detention was subsequently extended, and then later reduced to house arrest.

Police concluded the investigation of Adil in May and forwarded the case to the PG.

As the trial concerns to a child, the Criminal Court has decided to conduct the trial closed to the public and journalists.

Article 73[c]2 of the constitution states that a member of the parliament will be disqualified if found guilty of a criminal offence that involves a prison sentence of more than twelve months.

Adil was formerly a member of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) prior to joining the MDP last year.

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