Volunteer teachers recruited under the International Volunteer Programme (IVP) for 2011 have arrived in the Maldives and been inducted into the island lifestyle they will live for the next year.
The 13 volunteer teachers were recruited by the High Commission of the Maldives in the UK, the Maldives Volunteer Corps and UK-based NGO Friends of Maldives.
During the induction programme the teachers were briefed on the Maldives and the country’s health and culture, as well as given an introduction to Islam. A two-day island visit to Dhiffushi in Kaafu Atoll was arranged to familiarise the volunteers with life in the Maldives.
The volunteers were also given an orientation session at the Ministry of Education, where they met Minister Shifa Mohamed and learned about the education system in the Maldives.
Volunteers were also provided with a handbook which including a code of conduct and procedures to follow during their placement in the Maldives.
The education volunteers are based in Haa Dhaal Kulhudhuffushi, Haa Alif Ihavandhoo, Haa Alif Dhidhoo, Laamu Gan, Gaaf Alif Maamendhoo, Raa Dhuvaafaru and Kaafu Villingili.
A 20 year-old man from Hithadhoo died in police custody early Friday morning, after he and a 24 year-old man were arrested in a drug-related case.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the two men were arrested in a hospital toilet on Veymandoo in Thaa Atoll, allegedly in possession of drugs, and confirmed that Abdulla Basith Zubair later died in custody.
Basith’s family, including his mother, brother and best friend, were fighting back tears as they explained they were in “deep shock”, but said they had to prepare for his body to be brought home. In Muslim tradition the dead must be buried the same day they die.
“It is really upsetting, I am in deep shock,” Basith’s friend said. “We are bringing the body home now. He was beaten by the cops because they say he had drugs. They say it was an overdose, but he was beaten black and blue. There is no justice for us. They will not investigate. I can’t believe my best friend is dead.”
Another second friend, who attended Hithadhoo school with Basith, said “This is very sad news, he was a very good person with a good heart. I am in shock. His friend saw everything, [Basith] was brutally beaten. It’s murder!”
Basith brother was busy arranging the funeral. Townsfolk were gathered outside the family home to pay respects to the young man.
Sub-Inspector Shiyam said police were investigating the incident. The Police Integrity Commission and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) had been informed, he added.
The Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) has expressed concern that protesting outside media organisations ”to threaten interviews” was becoming common and has warned that it might cause the media to back down from coverage.
”Under the constitution, every citizen is guaranteed the two fundamental rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” the MJA said in a statement. ”MJA calls on people not to misuse these fundamental rights by threatening and intimidating interviewees for a political gain.”
The MJA claimed that every time a person arrived for an interview at a media outlet, “he has to be taken home under police protection.”
Protesters recently gathered near private television station Villa TV (VTV) when Imad Solih of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) entered the studio for an interview regarding its successful Civil Court bid to overturn the President’s declaration that Addu was to become a city.
”The tendency of protesting outside media organisations has now gone to an extreme level in which the medias is prevented from performing its responsibility to make the government accountable,” the statement said. ”MJA wants to note that recently such two protests were organised outside VTV station, and earlier protests were also held outside DhiTV station and MNBC One.”
The organisation suggested that expressing opinion in the media and responding to opinions people disagreed with through the media would be “much more fair and diplomatic” than protesting.
”As with freedom of expression, we recognise that freedom of assembly is a fundamental right,” the MJA said. ”But we call for an environment safeguarding both these fundamental rights at the same time.”
President Mohamed Nasheed has raised the possibility of expanding Male’ by reclaiming land from nearby reefs.
”It is not impossible to provide shelter for all the citizens living in Male’,” said Nasheed, adding that the housing crisis could be mitigated “using technology”.
”Instead of looking east of Male’, another solution lies in the reefs at west of Male’,” he said.
Nasheed said that the reefs around Villingili, Gulhi, Thilafushi, Giraavaru and could potentially be reclaimed and and populated.
”As a result we can produce land, link them together and provide housing for people of Male’ and people living in Male’,” he said. ”It is something we could and most probably will do, by divine will.”
This week the president launched phase one of ”Veshi Fahi Male’,” a program to alleviate congestion caused in Male’. The city is the world’s most densely populated, with over 100,000 people living in just two square kilometres – a third of the country’s population.
Under phase 1 of the Veshi Fahi Male’ program, a total of 1,000 parties in the first category will be able to apply for housing schemes. This includes 500 housing units in Malé, 250 housing units in Hulhumalé, and 250 housing plots in Hulhumalé.
On December 28, 2010, the Peoples’ Majlis passed Bill No 29/2010, the ‘Imthiyaz Bill’ or parliamentary privileges bill, among a host of others as members prepared to take their two month annual holiday from the Majlis floor.
The bill, which was submitted by Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed, was passed with 44 ‘yes’ votes, 21 ‘no’ votes and 10 abstentions.
This is a substantial level of agreement in a parliament fiercely divided by party lines and plagued by frequent public displays of discord and disagreement on the floor which ends in cancellation of proceedings.
On December 15, 2010, prior to the passage of the privileges bill, the parliamentary Financial Committee submitted a report to the floor proposing to award themselves a “committee allowance” of Rf 20,000 (US$1550), increasing the already inflated MP salary of Rf 62,500 (US$4860) to Rf 82,500 (US$6420) per month.
Understandably, this caused public outrage which strangely appears to have taken some MPs by surprise.
The two different instances of personal privileges and remunerations are being sought by MPs at a time when the government is struggling to cope with an all-time high budget deficit, and being heavily criticised for making controversial cut-backs in civil service wages. These developments have lead to a considerable build up of public frustration, dissatisfaction and loss of confidence in the parliament.
On December 30, 2010, protesters gathered outside the parliament building demanding the resignation of MPs and the whole parliament, and ridiculed MPs for asking payment to “get out of bed”!
A few young people went so far as to call for a “Majlis Fund” and joined the protest with a cardboard donation box, raising funds for the allegedly destitute MPs.
Two days later on January 2, 2011, another public demonstration took place at Raalhugandu where protesters demanded MPs show accountability to the people and called for the reinstatement of civil servants’ wages and the scrapping of the proposed MP salary increment.
Citizen opinion
An open Facebook group entitled “Majlis membarunge musaara bodukurumaa dhekolhah” (“against MP salary increment”, sprang up virtually overnight and has attracted nearly 2000 members in just over a week.
As the momentum of the public protest gathered speed, a group of concerned citizens met at the social centre (MCSE) in Malé on the evening of January 8, 2011 to discuss and analyse the privileges bill.
Several lawyers and an economic analyst gave presentations on the issues arising from the bill. Two MPs, Mr Ahmed Nihan and Mr Ahmed Mahloof attended the meeting. They explained to the audience some of the difficulties conducting their work, including their obligation to follow the party line as well as the issue of getting insufficient time to read bills before voting.
Both MPs – who incidentally had voted in favour of the bill – said that they now supported those speaking out against the bill.
Nihan informed a member of the audience that he would not support the bill any more. This brings little comfort for citizens who find the contents of the privileges bill a parliamentary disgrace. The fact that an MP tried to justify voting for a bill he did not have time to read, further undermined any efforts for redemption.
On the evening of January 9, 2011, MNBC One aired a live panel discussion organised by three NGOs: Strength of Society, Madulu and the Maldivian Democracy Network.
The four panellists were practising lawyers Ali Hussain, Ahmed Abdulla Afeef and Shafaz Wajeeh, as well as economic expert Mr Ahmed Adheeb. The panel was moderated by prominent social advocate Salma Fikry.
Opening the discussion, Shafaz explained that the main purpose of the 400 year old principle of parliamentary privileges was to facilitate the unobstructed and independent freedom for MPs to perform their duties and functions as MPs.
However, nearly 75 percent of the “privileges” in the Maldivian MPs privileges bill, the panel argued, went beyond the remit of the principle of parliamentary privilege. In fact, it appears that the elected MPs of the new Maldivian democracy have attempted to redefine the whole concept of parliamentary privilege, as practiced in established democracies around the world. Privilege in the context of parliamentary practice had become distorted to personal status building.
Issues and concerns
Critics of the bill raised several concerns. They argued that it contravened citizens’ basic rights as provided in the constitution, contravened the constitution and existing laws and completely disregarded the serious economic situation of the country.
If ratified, they argued that this bill could not be implemented because it falls foul of many existing laws of the country.
The MP privileges bill gives powers to the Speaker of the Majlis to impose jurisdiction over independent statutory bodies, the judiciary as well as individual citizens.
According to Article 5 of the privileges bill, outlining “actions which impede privileges”, the penalties for non-compliance by any individual or institution range from fines between Rf1,000 to Rf100,000 as well as removal from employment or a jail term of 1-2 years. Several other articles of the bill set out similar punishments for non-compliance or “criminal misconduct” as perceived within the bill.
Of the 39 articles in the bill, 30 percent include non-compliance penalties directed outside the realm of the Majlis.
Legal experts say that the harshest punishment for non-compliance with parliamentary privilege in a developed democracy is up to six months in jail. In the fledgling democracy of the Maldives, this has reached a new height.
Moreover, they point out that the current bill gives the Speaker of the Majlis powers to remove from office senior officials of the Police, members of the Judiciary, the Prosecutor General and other such heads of statutory institutions. This undermines the concept of “separation of powers”.
Supported by Article 102 of the Constitution, Article 7(a) of the MP privileges bill stipulates that all financial remuneration including MPs own salaries will be decided by the parliament, meaning by themselves.
A vocal critic of the privileges bill,lawyer Ali Hussain, argued that MP salaries should be decided through a public referendum, even if this requires a constitutional amendment. This is perhaps a valid argument given the situation where the constitution is facilitating the highest degree of conflict of interest by requiring MPs to set their own wages. One could argue that the constitution is setting a precedent for MPs to abuse their powers. And they appear to have done just that in the privileges bill.
Some “privileges”:
Article 7 (b) of the privileges bill requires the provision of medical insurance for MPs, their spouses, any children under 18 and parents to receive an insurance package which includes services available in the Maldives as well as any SAARC or ASEAN country.
Article 7 (c) states that every MP and spouse must be issued a diplomatic passport.
Article 7 (f) states that each MP should be entitled to import one duty free car during each term in office although should such a car be sold or passed on to another person, duty should be paid.
Article 7 (g) explains that if a “natural incident or any other incident” prevents the use of such a vehicle, the importation of a replacement would be permitted.
Article 8 (a-c) provides pension entitlements of 30 percent of the salary for serving one term in office, 45 percent for 2 terms and 60 percent for 3 terms.
Article 8 (e) states that any person who has served as an MP should receive medical insurance (presumably for life)
Article 8 (f) requires an official passport to be issued to any person who has served as an MP and article 8 (g) states that such person(s) must receive “honourable status” and should be addressed as the “honourable member for” whatever constituency seat held at the time of departure from the parliament.
Article 9 requires MNDF to provide bodyguards if any MP requests for protection at any time.
Under article 16 (c-d), MPs cannot be searched (by law enforcement authorities) in a public place unless “absolutely certain without suspicion” of an offence.
Critics argue that this is a non-sequitur highly illogical and outside of legal reasoning which would be impossible to implement.
What next?
As more and more citizens come to understand the distorted, pervasive and impossible remit of Bill No 29/2010, the MP Privileges Bill, they are also beginning to understand just how unfit for public office their MPs really are.
While most citizens neither have the time nor the inclination to speak out against what they see as meaningless political shenanigans, MP accountability can only come with active citizen participation and protest. As the country struggles to get to grips with its new democratic constitution, its MPs are busily seeking to ensure their collective and personal interests at the expense of the ordinary citizen and the financial health of the nation.
While the job of MPs is state building, their preoccupation is personal status building. The MP privileges bill has the capacity to undermine democracy, respect for citizens’ rights and the rule of law in the Maldives, unless its citizens act to make the parliament accountable.
On January 3, 2011, the parliament sent the MP privileges bill to the President for ratification. As they await the President’s decision, concerned citizens are putting their faith in their elected leader’s capacity and willingness to listen to the people and return this bill to parliament, as wholly unfit for ratification given its current ludicrous content.
All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]
President of the Elections Commission (EC) Fuad Thaufeeq has said that local council elections in Addu could be delayed by up to two months, with the EC forced to conduct voter registration again after President Mohamed Nasheed declared the atoll a city for the second time yesterday.
The Civil Court ruled on Sunday in favour of the minority opposition Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP), that the President had no authority to do declare Addu a city until it met the then-unstated requirements for a city, as determined by the Local Government Authority.
Yesterday the authority – currently consisting solely of the Home Minister – published the requirements in the government gazette, and the President declared Addu a city for the second time, after Adduans and MDP activists took to the streets to protest against the Civil Court’s decision and the DQP.
“The Local Government Authority consists of only one person, which is Hassan Afeef, and today I asked Afeef to determine whether Addu Atoll meets the requirements to be a City,’’ President Nasheed said, addressing a rally at Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.
However overcoming the technicality raised in the Civil Court was not so simple, warned Thaufeeq.
“When the Civil Court ruled that the first declaration of the Presdient was invalid, it also invalidates all the work done by the commission to hold the Local Council Election,’’ said Thaufeeq.
“Now we will have to register all the citizens of Addu, will have to announce for the elections, will have to elect candidates and will have to give them time for campaign. The commission will have to repeat the whole process for the Local Council Elections in Addu.
“There would be a delay of almost two months [in Addu], while all the other atolls will have concluded the elections and have elected councilors,’’ he explained. “The best way is to hold the elections across all the islands at the same time, by overturning the Civil Court’s ruling.’’
He said the EC was seeking legal advice and trying to determine a way to resolve the issue.
“We have not decided what we will do yet, but these are the issues that will arise if the second declaration is be implemented,’’ he added.
Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad has already said the government will seek to appeal in the High Court, but with the elections scheduled for February 5, a delay could be possible.
The President’s Member on the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and outspoken whistleblower Aishath Velezinee has vowed to continue pushing for a public inquiry into the activities of the JSC, despite what she has described as an “assassination attempt” on Monday January 3.
Velezinee was hospitalised after she was stabbed three times in the back, in broad daylight on the main tourist street of Male’, “right outside the Home Minister’s door.”
Many international organisations, including Transparency International and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), have expressed “grave concern that the attack may be politically motivated.”
Velezinee turned whistle-blower on the JSC in August 2010, after parliament failed to issue an injunction she had requested on the reappointment of judges before the conclusion of the constitutional interim period. Velezinee contends the reappointment of unsuitable judges – many largely uneducated and some with criminal convictions – was rushed through in collaboration with senior members of parliament.
Since then she has campaigned against what she alleges is a “silent coup”, an “alliance between parliament and the judiciary to subvert the rule of law, derail constitutional democracy and use the courts to bring down the executive.”
“I didn’t stop complaining. I realised this was a bigger thing, a conspiracy, and mentioned names. They were not interested in change – they are using all their powers, their status and the respect people have for them to subvert the rule of law.”
The public, she claims, is poorly informed on the matter as “there is a huge information gap because the JSC meetings are closed. If the JSC sittings were open to the media, the public would be able to put together what has happened.”
“I sit in the JSC and I see the Speaker of Parliament (Abdulla Shahid) and DRP MP (Dr Afrasheem Ali), also members of the Commission, do whatever they will. What is done in the JSC is done by parliament.”
For example, she explained on the last day of the final parliament session for 2010, the opposition-majority Majlis amended the Judges’ Act (13/2010) to award a Rf 53,250 (US$4140) monthly retirement package to former JSC Vice Chair and Interim-Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy, despite a conviction for embezzling state funds in 1996.
“It was not an honourable discharge, he was not fit to be a judge. But they made an amendment to the judges bill solely for one man – only Mujthaz it applies to, and only Mujthaz it will apply to,” Velezinee explained.
MP Afrasheem observed at the time that judges are awarded high salaries and benefits to ensure their ethical and disciplinary standards, and that it is essential for them to continue to be able to uphold their dignity and impeccable ethical standards even after they leave office.
“If a retired Justice were forced to wheel a cart on the street after leaving the bench, it will not give them the respect and the love that they received in office, and still deserve,” Afrasheem said.
The entire amendment, Velezinee alleges, was “to pay Mujthaz his dues for his role as an instrument in the silent coup.”
Meanwhile the public, she stated, “ is misinformed as to the reality of the judiciary they have. We have high state officials using their status and their authority to confuse the public, and legitimise that which is unconstitutional.
“The public are helpless when it is the state that has dissented. We Maldivians have been taught to obey. Obedience is the priority – our religion is about obedience. It is a completely different culture for us to stand up for ourselves and demand things of our leaders.”
JSC member and whistle-blower Aishath Velezinee
Lead-up
Days prior to being stabbed in the street, Velezinee had been trying to get the Majlis to distribute a 34-page letter to members of the JSC’s parliamentary oversight committee, without apparent success. On January 2, she delivered 250 posters to citizens around Male’, calling for a public inquiry into the JSC.
“The Constitution grants everyone a free and fair trial, but JSC’s treason has deprived the people of not only a right to a free and fair trial but thereby compromised all other fundamental rights,” she wrote on her website, the day before her stabbing. “The State can neither protect fundamental rights of the people, nor further human rights and practice democratic government without the institutionalisation of an Independent judiciary.”
The attack
At 10am on the morning of January 3, Velezinee was walking along the main tourist street of Chandhanee Magu near Islanker school, “when I felt this knock on my back.”
“I thought I had been bumped, I didn’t realise I had been stabbed,” she said. “When I looked back I made eye contact with a guy as he was turning around. So I kept walking and then he turned back and stabbed me a second and third time.”
Her assailant, whom she described as “a young kid, a teenager”, jumped on the back of a waiting motorbike driven by another and rode off.
“At that point I put my hand up and it was completely soaked in blood, and I realised I had been stabbed. If I had fallen I would have been dead, the second two stabs would have finished me off, as would the first if their aim had been correct. But I’m light and my bag got in the way. I think it was meant to be assassination attempt or else hit my spine and make me a vegetable for the rest of my life.”
While still upright she was, however, “bleeding everywhere. I was soaked through.”
“My fear was that I would easily I bleed to death. But I took a deep breath and realised I was alive. As soon as I realised this, the only thing I wanted to do was go and get the blood stopped and get to the Commission because this was the day of the High Court appointments, and I know they wanted me out of the way. I didn’t realise how serious the wounds were, I didn’t see them until two days later when I went for a dressing change.”
“I tried calling 119, it took four attempts to get through, I told them I was stabbed. Nobody stopped to help me, so I saw a neighbour from my childhood and didn’t give him a chance to say no and jumped on the back of his motorbike and said ‘take me to IGMH (Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital), I’ve been stabbed.”
“He took me round the corner to his home, where he could get a vehicle. At that point another man stopped and said “no, you can’t wait if you’re bleeding like that, get on my bike.”
“I got on the bike without thinking and then wondered, ‘who are you?’ He was really good, screaming at traffic to get out of the way, but I was bleeding very heavily. I had to hold on and he was afraid I would faint – it was dangerous on a motorbike.
“He came to Majeedhee Magu. He tried to get a taxi to respond, but I saw a police car and they took me to hospital.”
On the agenda at 2:30pm that day at the JSC was the decision over which applicants would qualify for appointment as High Court judges.
“It was very suspicious the way the Commission acted [after the stabbing],” Velezinee said.
“Not a single Commission member called or came to the hospital or made any effort to see how I was. Instead they hurried to organise an extraordinary meeting to discuss the assault, and then decided to hold a press conference – all of this without checking on me – and as I understand it, it was suggested by the Speaker of Parliament that the Chair of the Commission, who’ve I’ve previously alleged is suffering from a psychiatric disorder, be nominated to give a press conference.
“At the press conference they made very strange statements. They said that ‘Nobody should be attacked for having different opinions, or the way they express their different opinions’.
“The commission did not show me any respect, because after that press conference they organised a meeting on Tuesday to decide on the High Court judges. The Commission had previously agreed not to meet on Tuesdays because Tuesday is cabinet day.
“So I requested Commission members talk with the chair and make him postpone the meeting. The Speaker was leaving the country that night – I asked the Secretary General to speak with the Chair and delay the meeting until Wednesday, but the response I got was that they could not delay the meeting because it was ‘the right of the people to have the High Court’.
“I put out a rude statement accusing the Commission of trying to expedite things while I was incapacitated, and that persuaded them to cancel the meeting. But they did not say they were doing so out of concern for my wellbeing – instead they told the media that the meeting was postponed “because some members are busy.”
Still busy
Velezinee says she does not believe last week’s attempt on her life will be the last.
“I don’t believe the State can actually protect me. Because it is the state that wants me silenced – the parliament and the judiciary. If you look at what happened in the days before the attack, there was a flurry of attacks in the media – including by the parliamentary oversight committee – criticising me, my character and my performance in the JSC. This has been a very organised effort to discredit me, and some people speak in different voices.
“There are honourable men in this country who are owned by others, and they may be put in a position where they believe they have to take my life. I knew there was a chance that I was risking murder, and I wasn’t wrong. It was only because of God’s grace that I survived.”
The police, she said, had been “very effective” in their investigation so far. However police spokesperson Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that it was “very difficult” for police to release an update on the case, as it was “complicated”.
Police were, he said, collecting evidence and would release an update to the media “as soon as it is available.”
As to whether the attacks would dissuade her from continuing to campaign against the “derailment of democracy” by parliament and the judiciary, “if I close my eyes, I will have betrayed my country and people,” Velezinee said.
“I will have betrayed them by failing to inform people and give them a chance to change this. When the State fails it is up to the citizens to hold the State accountable. The state has failed here, and as a state official it is my responsibility to inform the public and give them the chance to make an informed decision.
“I know for a fact that rule of law has been subverted. I know for a fact that there is corruption at the highest level in parliament. And I know that if I join the majority in keeping silent, I have become a traitor.”
President Mohamed Nasheed has declared Addu a city – for the second time – after the Civil Court ruled yesterday in favour of the Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) that the President had no authority to do so.
The Civil Court of the Maldives ruled that the President did not have the authority to declare islands as a city before the Local Government Authority had established a criteria to determine cities, as the law stated that “all cities should meet the criteria established by the Local Government Authority.”
The President’s Office said this afternoon that the Local Government Authority had now established the criteria and published it in the government’s gazette, and stated that a city council had been formed for Addu in accordance with Decree number 2010/15, and Annex 2 of the Decentralisation Act.
The President also sent a letter to the Elections Commission, informing them of his decision to declare Addu a city. In the letter, he requested the Elections Commission to hold elections for the Addu city council as scheduled and in accordance with law.
The Local Government Authority’s criteria for establishing a city include that it have a minimum population of 25,000 people, and have a GDP of no less than RF 1 billion.
Statistics from the Department of National Planning show the GDP of Addu in 2010 as more than Rf 2 billion, while the population is almost 30,000.
Musharaf Hassan, a journalist working for registered online news organisation ‘MVYouth’, has alleged that he was arbitrarily arrested, threatened and tortured by police in Hulhumale’ on Saturday night.
”I was waiting near my flat with two other journalists who work with me and a friend, and the police vehicle stopped by and started searching our bodies one by one,” he told Minivan News. ”After checking our body the police ordered us inside our house, and we waited on the ground floor of my flat where I live because one of us have not returned yet.”
Musharaf said that while they were waiting, the police team returned and shouted at them, saying they would be arrested. All of them ran inside their apartment, he said.
”They followed us into our apartment and so I locked myself inside my room,” said Musharaf. ”They knocked on the doors of the rooms and warned that they would force the door open, so I opened it.”
Police officers pulled Musharaf’s hair and pushed him inside the police vehicle, he said.
”They tortured me inside the police vehicle and one of them said to the other that I was a journalist from MVYouth, and said that the next day this story would be all over the news,” he said. ”And then they threatened me that if this story was in the news, it would be harder for me the next time they caught me.”
Musharaf said he was released after about an hour, and that on the police slip they gave him it said he was arrested to search his body.
”But they did not search my body after arresting me,” he said. ”I think it was a deliberate attack on MVyouth, we have been under a lot of pressure from the police after we published some videos of police torture and another video showing police violently attacking a person near BG [a well-known club in Maafannu].”
He also claimed that police media had refused to co-operate with the news organisation.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that the police had no information that police officers attacked a journalist or any one specifically.
”Police always share information to all the media equally, and everyone is invited to police media briefings,” he said.
Police recently launched a three year strategic plan giving high priority to curb rising gang violence in the Maldives. Police recently said that they would be conducting special operations to reduce crime and would take any necessary measures to bring criminals to justice.
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