Category: Society & Culture

Knife misses boy’s heart by millimetres, says doctor

A 16 year-old boy has been stabbed in the chest in a gang fight between two groups on the island of Baarah in Haa Dhaalu Atoll.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said two boys in connection with the case were under arrest.

”The injured boy has been admitted to Kulhudhufushi regional hospital,” said Shiyam.

Dr Ali Hakim who attended to the injured boy first, when he was admitted to Baarah health centre said that the boy was stabbed ”just a little bit below the heart.”

Dr Hakim said that the boy was still in hospital’s intensive care unit.

”This condition is progressing now,” said Dr Hakim, adding that he expected the boy to recover.

He said that the boy had internal bleeding and that he was stabbed “very deep”.

Councilor of Baarah, Ali Shameem, said the two groups involved were school students.

”They had some problem between them and fought in school also that morning,” Shameem said. ”It heated and they continued the fight that evening.”

Shameem said two boys were injured during the incident.

”One had a cut in his forehead,” he said. ”He was not badly injured but the other boy who was stabbed in the chest was very seriously injured.”

He said police were still investigating the case.

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Airport deal “will allow Israeli flights to stop over after bombing Arab countries”: Umar Naseer

Deputy Leader of the Maldives’ main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Umar Naseer, has said that the government’s decision to privatise Male’ International Airport is “ridiculous.”

”Privatisation is a good policy, but there should be limitations,” Umar said. ”There are many disadvantages that Maldivians will face in the long term future if Male’ International Airport is privatised.”

He claimed that if the airport was privatised, the Maldives would not have the authority to decide which flights would be permitted to land at the airport.

”That means, if [the operators] allowed it, an Israel flight can come and stop over after bombing Arab countries,” Umar claimed.

He also claimed that “more than 1500 jobs” would be lost.

”More than half the Maldivians working in the Airport will lose their jobs if a foreign company takes over it,” Umar predicted. ”There are currently more than 3000 Maldivians working there.”

He said that if foreigners replaced Maldivians working in the airport, “income which was earned by the Maldives would go to the hands of foreigners.”

”Retail shops in the airport will also belong to foreigners,” he said. ”So money coming into the county will flow out of the country because foreigners are earning it.”

Umar suggested that the airport could charge a US$25 airport development fee for each passenger, the same amount GMR has proposed to collect.

”If that US$25 charge is implemented it will generate an extra US$25 million annually, because more than 500,000 tourists come to the Maldives each year and could be charged upon arrival and departure – which means US$50 from each person could be collected.”

He claimed the government was pushing ahead with the privatisation deal because “there are no successful businessmen in the government.”

”President Nasheed did not even know how to run a carpentry business. In 1990 his father gave him the business, and the president bankrupted it,” Umar alleged.

He said that “any economist” would consider the privatisation deal “ridiculous”.

Today the parliament is voting on whether to amend a Financial Bill stating that any state asset can only be sold or rented by an imposed law approved by parliament.

The signing of the privatisation deal with GMR-KLIA was derailed at the last minute yesterday, in front of assembled press, when representatives of the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) reportedly disagreed over who would sign the document.

Three MACL board members have now reportedly resigned after disputing the government’s decision to privatise the airport.

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair, said he had not officially received confirmation.

”I also heard something like that unofficially,” he said. ”I have asked for the minutes of the last MACL board meeting.”

Minister for Civil Aviation Mahmood Razee, also Chairman of the Privatisation Committee, said he had no information regarding the matter.

”All the board members agreed to privatise the airport,” said Razee. ”If they are having disputes, that might be an issue concerning individuals.”

MACL board members Shaz Waleed, Moosa Solih, and Chairperson Ibrahim Nooradeen, declined to comment.

The vote on the Financial Bill will go before parliament today.

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Woman on Kinbidhoo attempts suicide after death of 10 month-old child

An Indian woman living on the island of Kinbidhoo in Thaa Atoll has been admitted to hospital after allegedly smothering her 10 month child and attempting suicide in Kinbidhoo this afternoon, an island official has claimed.

The woman was discovered by people on the island and rescued before she could kill herself, the official told Minivan News.

”Her husband is from Kinbidhoo, he works in the island court as a court secretary. She is quite young,” he said. ”They both had some disputes two days ago and it continued until today.”

”After killing the child she attempted to kill herself, but people discovered her and rescued her,” he alleged. ”She was taken to the health centre as she was in a bad condition. The health centre said that she had taken pills and tried to hang herself.”

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed the woman was hospitalised in Kinbidhoo health centre, but said it was too early to establish murder charges.

”We cannot say whether the child was murdered yet,” said Shiyam. ”There are more investigations to be conducted.”

He declined to give more information as the investigation was ongoing.

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“People should be free to pray according to any sect of Islam”, says Adhaalath president

The Islamic Ministry and the Adhaalath party have expressed concern over certain amendments proposed in the religious unity act by Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

The Islamic Ministry on its website said that while the amendment bill was useful, it was concerned about an article stating that the Shafi sect should be enshrined as the basis of Islam in the Maldives.

The Islamic Ministry described the article as “unIslamic”, and that it was against the constitution of the Maldives.

Furthermore, the ministry called on parliament to gather more information and to cite that information when amending the proposed bill during the committee stage.

The ministry said that “many scholars” were concerned over the amendment proposed to make the Shafi sect the main basis of Islam in the Maldives.

Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, President of the Adhaalath Party, refuted the article which making the Shafi sect the official sect of the Maldives.

”People should have the freedom to pray according to any sect [of Islam] they wish,” said Sheikh Hussein. ”There are many people in the Maldives who follows different sects when worshiping.”

Sheikh Hussein said that although the bill was passed, ”nobody will follow it.”

”Until 1997, on the island where Dr Afrasheem comes from, they did not perform the Friday prayers because according to the Shafi sect there should be a minimum of 40 people in order to conduct them,” he said. ”So if it becomes a law to follow the Shafi sect, again we are going back to those days.”

He said that Dr Afrasheem’s comment in parliament that in Malaysia people followed the Shafi sect was “a big lie.”

”In Malaysia people perform prayers according other sects as well,” Sheikh Hussein said.

He said that in many other Islamic countries there were no laws that specified which sect to follow.

”Laws can’t force people to follow a specific sect – people should be rather trained to follow a specific sect,” he said. ”I strongly refuse that part of the amendment bill.”

On May 21, Dr Afrasheem Ali presented a bill to amend the religious unity act.

Dr Afrasheem said that social unity among Maldivians was weaker than it had been in the past.

”One reason for this [disruption] is issues of religion, particularly disputes over worship and [scholars] criticising each other,” said Dr Afrasheem.

He proposed that the Shafi sect be chosen as the basis of Islam in the Maldives.

”I selected the Shafi sect because it is the sect most friendly, most accepted and most widely followed sect in Islam,” he said.

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Maldivian journalist and blogger found unconscious on Raa atoll

Well-known Maldivian writer and blogger, Ismail Khilath ‘Hilath’ Rasheed, 34, has been found unconscious from a suspected drug overdose on an uninhabited island in Raa atoll, according to a Haveeru report in Dhivehi.

Hilath was found unconscious at a beach in Furaveri, a garden island where he had been staying since last Saturday. The caretaker of the island found him at the beach around 4:00pm last Wednesday, said the Haveeru report.

Haveeru noted that Hilath was being treated at Ugoofaru hospital, and his condition was improving.

Today Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said Hilath had been released from hospital and is now being held in police custody while police investigate the drug related-incident.

“We tried to keep him under house arrest but his family refused and asked that he be placed in police custody,” Shiyam said, adding that the court had ruled that Hilath could be held for seven days.

Hilath, a journalist of 10 years experience, is one of the most outspoken and controversial figures in the Maldivian ‘bloggosphere’ and is well known for being highly critical of Islamic fundamentalism in the Maldives.

In March he was the subject of death threats published on Muraasil.com, a popular publishing platform that allows anyone to publish content in Dhivehi.

The threats were quickly removed from Muraasil following complaints, but not before receiving widespread attention.

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PTAs concerned over Dhivehi teacher at Hiriya

A group of Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) have raised concerns over a Dhivehi teacher who was transferred to Hiriya school, after he was found innocent in a court case concerning possession of pornographic images.

Hiriya school is an all-female secondary grade school which officially opened last year.

Director General of the Education Ministry Mohamed Saeed said that the PTAs of many schools in Male’ met with the Ministry yesterday to “express concern”.

”He worked in Dharumavantha School last year as a Dhivehi teacher and was transferred to Hiriya School along with some other teachers,” said Saeed. ”Ever since he was transferred we have received complaints from parents.”

”The teacher was suspended during the case and the court ruled that we should restore his job,” Saeed said.

He emphasised that the teacher had been found innocent, but parents remained concerned about the allegations.

”They said they did not like a man who had allegations of this kind against him to face the students everyday,” he said. ”Because of this issue he has not started working at the school but he remains officially registered as a teacher at Hiriya.”

He said that the PTAs were trying to prevent the teacher from working at the school.

Ahmed Riyaz, President of Hiriya School PTA, told Minivan News that parents were concerned that pornographic pictures of the teacher had been exposed “and everybody knows that”, despite the court ruling he was innocent.

”Courts do not always punish criminals,” claimed Riyaz. ”The court ruled that the pictures were not produced or leaked by [the teacher] – we do not know from the ruling whether it was him in the picture,” he added.

Riyaz said that as the school contained “a mixture of disciplined and undisciplined students”, there might be students “who would tease him by [spreading] the pictures and consequently get punished for it, which might disrupt the education of the student.”

Riyaz claimed Permanent Secretary for the Education Ministry Amand Ali “is the only one who is pressuring the school to have this teacher in Hiriya. She had sent letters to the Hiriya school principal demanding the teacher be allowed to work.”

He further alleged the Dhivehi teacher was transferred because he was “embarrassed to face students at Dharumavantha School,” and “does not have the qualifications to be a secondary grade Dhivehi teacher.”

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Woman stabs ex-husband to death in Male’

A 21 year-old woman has been arrested after allegedly stabbing her 34 year-old ex-husband to death near Woodapple restaurant in Male’.

Police said the man died in hospital on Tuesday afternoon while he was receiving medical treatment.

Police Sergeant Abdul Muhusin declined to reveal further information on the case “as the investigation is ongoing.”

The criminal court trial began yesterday with murder charges presented against Mariyam Nazaha by state prosecutor Dheebaanaz Fahmy.

According to daily newspaper Haveeru, Fahmy claimed Nazaha hid a knife in her bedroom with the intention of stabbing Hassan Shahid, of Machangoalhi Edhuruge.

Nazaha acknowledged the charges and denied them, Haveeru reported. Her lawyer, Ahmed Abdulla Afeef, said he would review the documents before responding to the charges.

Meanwhile, a person familiar with the matter told Minivan News the victim was stabbed by his ex-wife, after they separated some time ago.

He said he saw the victim run out of Baikendi in the Henveiru district of Male’ yesterday afternoon, enter a nearby shop and ask the shopkeeper to call the police as he had been stabbed.

”At first people in the shop thought he was joking, but then he took his hands from the wound and showed them the blood,” said the source. ”He was stabbed once in the lower back.”

The source told Minivan News that two passing police men stopped and assisted the injured man, while police headquarters sent more officers to the scene.

”He was taken to ADK hospital for treatment and later died,” he said.

The source claimed the man was stabbed inside the house where his ex-wife lived.

”He used to come to that house but he was not allowed inside,” the source said. ”They have a child that he comes to visit.”

He said the incident may have been the result of a court ruling yesterday regarding the child’s guardianship.

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Sheikh Nasrulla signs with MDP

The Secretary General of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Ahmed Shah has confirmed that Sheikh Nasrulla Mustafa has signed to join the party.

Shah said Sheikh Nasrulla was “a well educated and very capable person”, and that his decision to sign with MDP was a major progression for the party.

”He signed the application form last week and it has now been sent to Elections Commission (EC) for approval,” Shah said. ”Then he will officially be a member of MDP.”

Sheikh Nasrulla declined to comment on this story, instead recommending that Minivan News clarify his application with the EC.

”If I applied and if the EC approved [my application] then I will be a member of MDP,” said Sheikh Nasrulla, when asked to confirm his application.

Religious website Raajjeislam reported that Sheikh Nasrulla had recently declared that the purpose of forming political parties and NGOs was to create splits in a society, and these institutions were therefore against the principles of the as-salaf as-saliheen (the earliest converts to Islam).

The website also said that Sheikh Nasrulla has in his sermons claimed that voting was not allowed in Islam, and that it was an ‘enmity’.

Raajjeislam’s report claimed that the government was attempting to trying to displace the Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari  and State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed from their posts.

According to daily newspaper Haveeru, the Islamic Ministry has recently restricted Sheikh Nasrulla from using microphones inside mosques to deliver sermons, which Sheikh Nasrulla claimed was preventing him from preaching.

Haveeru reported that the restriction was put in place by the Islamic Ministry because of “numerous complaints” the Ministry had received.

Sheikh Nasrulla  has reportedly disputed the lectures of other prominent Islamic scholars during his sermons, including Dr Zakir Naik, who recently visited the Maldives.

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Repatriation of castaways delayed by lack of documents

Police Sergeant Abdul Muhusin has said police are holding 25 castaways in police custody in Dhoonidhoo, while waiting for their respective countries to identify them and provide necessary documents.

Muhusin said that all the castaways would be repatriated when they are identified by their countries.

”The latest castaways (six Somalians) who were rescued on May 16 are currently being kept in Dhoonidhoo custodial,” Muhusin said. ”They were brought there after they were discharged from hospital.”

Muhusin said that many of the castaways carried no passport or identity cards, or any document clarifying who they were and where they were from.

”That’s why it’s taking some time to repatriate them,” Muhusin said.

Police said that the 25 castaways included seven people who were saved on December 1 last year, five people rescued on December 5, seven people saved on May 12 this year and the six men recently discovered in a dinghy near Makunudhoo.

”Police are investigating everyone,” Muhusin said. ”They have claimed that they were out for fishing.”

”They have not been arrested,” Muhusin emphasised.

State Home Minister Ahmed Adil said the investigation of the castaways was still ongoing and he had no idea when they could be repatriated.

State Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem said that the Somalian government and Maldivian government together were trying to identify all the men who claimed to be Somalians.

”We have sent the Somalian government pictures of the castaways,” Naseem said.

He said he had no information about the Iranian vessel which was found in Maldivian waters in May, referring Minivan News to the home ministry

However, Adil said he had no information about Iranian vessel.

In May the Maldives Coastguard rescued an Iranian fishing vessel in Maldivian territorial waters, discovering that the crew have been deprived of water and food for several days.

Another Somalian boat was found with a crew of six men on board drifting near the island of Makunudhoo in Haadhaalu Atoll.

Makunudhoo islanders who rescued the men said it appeared they had been drifting in the tiny 12-15 foot vessel for three months without food or water.

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