Category: Society & Culture

40 Somali castaways sent back home after four years

Police have said that 40 Somali castaways that were found in the Maldivian EEZ on different occasions since December 2009 have been sent back to their country.

The police said that all these people were accommodated in Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial remand centre under police charge during their time in the Maldives.

Police said that the Somalis were successfully sent back after cooperation between the government and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

A joint operation was conducted with police Serious and Organized Crime Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Aviation Security to send them back, police said.

According to police, the Somalis were sent in a chartered flight and were accompanied with security officers.

The police said that the 40 Somalis included seven castaways rescued on December 2009, another five castaways rescued in the same month.

In 2010, authorities rescued seven Somali nationals on May 26, six were rescued on June 5, two on July 2, seven on November 28. Three more were rescued on 30 November 2010 and another three castaways rescued on December 2011.

In March 2012, a then-senior government official told Minivan News that the castaways under the custody of Maldivian authorities had refused to return home despite arrangements that were made for their safe repatriation.

According to the government official, who spoke to Minivan News on condition of total anonymity, the government had devoted “immeasurable amount of time and effort” over the past three years to safely repatriate several Somali nationals who have been discovered in Maldivian waters in dinghies lost at sea.

A delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) delegation arrived in the Maldives in 2012 to confirm the Somali’s preferences as no refugee can be repatriated without consent under the international conventions.

The Maldives cannot resort to the option of forced repatriation as Somalia is recognised as an unsafe state.

Maldives has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol citing “financial and technical capacity constraints” but the convention prohibits all states, regardless of whether they have acceded it, from returning a “refugee to a territory where his or her life or freedom is threatened”.

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Government requests bids for Hulhumale’ bridge project

The Economic Ministry has announced the opening of a bidding process for a bridge to be built between Male and Hulhumale at a press briefing held at the President’s Office today.

“We are looking for a party to design, operate and maintain [the bridge]. This means commercial components will have to come with this,” said Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb this afternoon.

“That is how this will become sustainable. As you know, a bridge will not be sustainable in the Maldives if it relies solely on the traffic. So, this will come with commercial components. It will become a very big investment.”

An announcement calling for expressions of interest has been placed in the government gazette today, with offers requested for the building, maintenance and operation of the bridge linking the two largest urban areas in the Greater Male’ area.

Bids from domestic and international parties will be accepted until December 29.

Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed described the building of the bridge as a “challenge”, but said the task is one of the key pledges of the coalition government.

He wants bridge work to start as soon as possible, promising that when the concession is awarded, investors will not suffer damages, and that the project will receive “protection” from the Maldives constitution.

Investor confidence in the Maldives had been negatively impacted under the Presidency of Dr Mohamed Waheed.

The country’s largest ever foreign direct investment deal – the US$500million lease to re-develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport – was unilaterally terminated by the government late last year.

Arbitration proceedings are continuing in Singapore, with Indian infrastructure giant GMR claiming US$1.4billion for “wrongful termination”.

Similarly, Malaysian firm Nexbis was given just two weeks to leave the country after the government terminated its deal to install and operate a border control system after the government suggested the MDP-brokered deal was causing “major losses” to the state.

The idea of a bridge linking connecting the islands of Male’ and Hulhumale’ – an artificially reclaimed island built to combat the rising population of Male  – was proposed during the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed in 2011.

The building of a bridge was to accompany the Veshi Fahi Male’ de-congestion programme – a flagship project of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government under its manifesto pledge to provide affordable housing.

The project was launched on November 10, 2010 to ease congestion in the capital and develop the Greater Male’ Region, consisting of Hulhumale’, Vili-Male’, Thilafushi industrial island and Gulhifalhu.

Following the ousting of Nasheed’s administration in February 2012, his successor President Mohamed Waheed announced it had been trying to get a US$150 million loan (MVR 2.31 billion) from Turkey’s Exim bank to fund the project.

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Minister of Home Affairs orders the removal of “any material inciting hatred towards police”

Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer stated on Monday night that he had granted an order to police to remove any material which could be interpreted as “inciting hatred towards police”.

“I have notified every police officer and police station in the country of this order. I have ordered the removal of any material that may incite hatred towards the police – whether it is text, a drawing, a poster or a billboard – that is found in any area of the Maldives at any time.”

The Home Minister’s announcement was made during an event held in honour of retired Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz, who has left the services to pursue a political career.

“For a long time now, there have been attempts of different levels to ruin the reputation of the police force and to create hatred amongst the public for this institution. This is something that has been done in other countries too. But the thing is, peace and stability have never been established in such countries,” Umar said.

Umar pledged to make the police force an institution which is loved and respected by all citizens.

Calling on educated youth to join the police forces, the Home Minister said that it is through employing young, capable, educated persons that the police force can be further strengthened and developed.

The Home Minister further pledged to “destroy gateways through which drugs are brought into the country”, as well as to eradicate all such networks.

The biggest problem faced by the Maldivian society is the issue of drug abuse, he suggested, stating that he had already begun to take necessary measures to eradicate such networks in the near future.

He promised that the police would play a huge role in the operation, and opined that it would be near impossible to bring down other crime levels without first handling the issue of illicit drug sale and abuse.

“We are coming out on a war against the issue of drugs. I hope we will get your full cooperation in these efforts. We will completely destroy drug trade networks,” he told the gathered officers.

Newly appointed Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed, meanwhile, advised the police to speak “gently and caringly” when addressing citizens, and to maintain equal treatment to everyone.

He then said that police should become an entity which rids the community of the currently spreading “hatred and discord”, and that is should aim to bring back unity amongst the people.

“Aim to enforce law, not gaining popularity”: VP Jameel tells police

During the same event last night, Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed stated that the police’s primary objective should be to ensure that they impartially enforce law, rather than whether or not they are garnering support and popularity.

Jameel stated that there are complaints that some of the police stationed in atolls work differently from the norms, saying that this leads to public disapproval and gives rise to concerns. He said that there should be no discrimination in the enforcement of law.

“Those who are mandated to enforce the law must not question the fundamentals of the law itself. Police must not question the substance of a law. It is not the police who decides whether or not the substance of a given law is solid. The law is already passed, and the police’s duty is only to enforce it,” Jameel said.

“If the citizens are being disturbed due to a loud speaker, you must be able to stop the loud speaker. If citizens are getting harassed on the street in a manner that disturbs them, and there is a law banning such action, you should be able to stop it. If there are laws made to assist the people, the police must be able to enforce it. I hope you will work in that manner,” he stated.

Jameel said that, although at a low level, it had previously come to his notice that police officers had acted on their own accord in certain cases, despite actions to be taken being specifically stated in law. He said that such actions had inhibited the growth and development of the institution.

He added that it was only when crime rates go down and stability is maintained that the police can be considered as having fulfilled their mandate to its fullest. He further called on the police to help the government implement a social protection system, saying that one of the strongest pleas of the public is to remove the political polarisation and to establish unity and oneness among the people.

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Maldives absent from Corruption Perceptions Index for second consecutive year

The Maldives has again failed to appear on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) after the anti-corruption organisation was unable to secure the minimum required information necessary.

“We didn’t make the index as the required minimum of three sources of information was not received by TI,” explained Transparency Maldives’ Advocacy and Communications Manager Aiman Rasheed.

The CPI scores are base on a minimum of three expert sources – usually from international organisations with expertise in governance of business climate analysis. Examples include the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Global Insight, or the Asian Development Bank.

Transparency International was only able to obtain information from two sources for this year’s list.

Asked if he thought the absence of the Maldives from the CPI for a second year would have a negative impact on perceptions of the country, Rasheed was dubious.

“My honest opinion is that it can hardly get any worse, we’re already in the bottom of the pile. The developments in 2012 and 2013 do not appear to have improved the public sector in terms of reducing corruption and empowering those who fight corruption,” he said.

He did admit, however, that the Maldives failing to appear on the index for two straight years would raise questions, though he stressed that multiple organisations involved in the collection and analysis of the required data made the assignation of blame to individual bodies unhelpful.

“The problem is that Maldives is a small country and the interactions of international institutions – from which the data is derived – may be limited, as well as the required information may not have been obtained in time, or the data that eventually do come through may not be utilized due to data quality,” continued Rasheed.

After moving up to 134th (of 182 listed states) in the 2011 index, the Maldives did not appear on the 2012 list.

Following the Maldives 2011 appearance in the list, Rasheed described the corruption in the Maldives as “grand corruption” when compared to smaller lever problems elsewhere in the region.

“In the Maldives there is corruption across the judiciary, parliament and members of the executive, all of it interlinked, and a systemic failure of the systems in place to address this. That why we score so low.”

The interference of the judiciary in this year’s presidential elections was roundly criticised internationally after the initial poll was annulled following a questionable Supreme Court ruling regarding fraudulent votes.

This year’s lists consists of just 175 states, with Denmark , Finland and New Zealand taking the top spots for the third year running.

The two positions at the bottom of the table were again occupied by North Korea and Somalia, again for the third consecutive year.

The CPI measures perceived levels of public sector corruption across the globe and is the most widely used indicator of corruption used worldwide.

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Criminal Court sentences opposition activist ‘Hoara Ibbe’ to 10 years for child abuse

Former Under-Secretary of the President’s Office and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activist, Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Hoara Ibbe’, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail after the Criminal Court found him guilty of the charge of sexually abusing a 17-year old girl.

The police arrested Rasheed a year ago in December after being discovered at a house in the Galolhu Ward of Male’ with the minor.

The local media at the time quoted police as saying that when officers entered the room containing Rasheed, he was naked with the girl. However, the police refused to officially confirm the claim.

Rasheed at the time claimed that the 17-year old was his girl friend and later, got married to her when she had attained the age of 18.

The Prosecutor General however pressed charges against Rasheed under section 3(c) of the Special Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009, which carries a sentence of imprisonment up to 14 years.

Criminal Court officials confirmed to local media at the time that Rasheed – during the closed-door trial – had refuted the charges.

However, issuing the guilty verdict this Sunday (December 1), the Criminal Court Judge stated that despite Rasheed’s objections to the charges, the statements given by witnesses produced to the court by the prosecution proved that he had been guilty of the charge.

Section 3 of the Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009 states:

(a) It is an offence if a person touches a minor with sexual intent.

(b) For the purpose of this section, touching a minor with sexual intent is meant if he acts in the following way

  1. Touching the minor’s genital region or his anal region or any other sexual organ  or touching part of his body that could be used to achieve sexual desire,
  2. Touching with the hand or any other object,

(c) If a person is found guilty of the offense mention in Section 3(a), he shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of 10 to 14 years.

For the purpose of Maldivian laws regarding sexual offences, any person under 18 years of age is considered a minor.

Selective application of the law

Although the Criminal Court sentenced Rasheed under the Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009, the same court only sentenced renowned Quran reciter and teacher Hussain ‘Qaari’ Thaufeeq to a six months banishment and 15 lashes in a similar case last week.. Thaufeeq was arrested on August 2010 for multiple counts of child molestation while in a position of trust, although this was not considered by the court.

According to local media the Criminal Court sentenced Thaufeeq under ‘Regulation concerning punishment for fornication and adultery’, and had the enforcement of his sentence suspended under section 292(2) of the “Regulation concerning criminal trial” for a period of three years as it was his first offence.

Minivan News was unable to obtain a copy of the ‘Regulation concerning punishment for fornication and adultery’ as this was not found on the government’s legal website containing all published laws, www.mvlaw.gov.mv. The Criminal Court’s website was down for maintenance.

Section 292(2) of the “Regulation concerning criminal trial” states:

The judge has the discretionary power delay enforcement of a sentence for a period of three years if, the person found guilty is sentenced to imprisonment or banishment or house arrest for a period not exceeding six months, and if it is the first criminal conviction that person has faced [in his life].

It is unclear as to why the Criminal Court opted to sentence Thaufeeq under the “Regulation concerning punishment for fornication and adultery” while section 9 of Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009 explicitly states the offence of child abuse and molestation while being in a position of trust, and despite usual practice being that a specific legislation supersedes a by-law.

Section 9 of Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009 states:

(a) It is an offence if a person who commits a sexual act against a minor while being in a position of trust

(b) The punishment for the offence stated in section 9(a) is imprisonment for a period between 15 to 18 years

Thaufeeq is also being charged with possession of pornographic material. The trial is still pending at the Criminal Court.

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Fornicating couple sentenced to 18 months jail, 25 lashes for self-made sex video

The Criminal Court has sentenced two consenting adults to 18 months in jail and 25 lashes for videoing themselves engaging in extramarital sex.

Aseel Ismail and Mariyam Sana were arrested in April 2011 after a police raid found CDs and photos in which the couple appear to engage in extramarital sex.

Aseel is currently serving a seven year jail term for assault and Sana is facing trial for drug abuse and alcohol consumption.

The Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced the two to six months in jail and 25 lashes for fornication and issued an additional one-year jail term for producing pornographic material.

Meanwhile, renowned Quran reciter Hussain Thaufeeq has been sentenced to six months banishment and 15 lashes for sexually abusing children. However the Criminal Court suspended the sentence for three years, on the grounds it was the Qari’s first offence.

Thaufeeq was arrested in August 2010 on multiple charges of child sexual molestation with “some cases going a long time back,” police said at the time.

Thaufeeq’s students had also submitted a petition to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) asking the commission to investigate the matter

Thaufeeq hosted a daily Quran teaching program on Television Maldives (TVM) for school children every evening after Isha prayers. He also led Friday prayers and conducted sermons.

He is also being charged with possession of pornographic material. The trial is still pending at the Criminal Court.

Under the Child Sex Offenders (Special Provisions) Act of 2009, the penalty for child sex abuse is 10-14 years but can be extended to 15-18 years if the accused was in a position of trust with the children he allegedly abused.

However, it appears Thaufeeq has been charged under a different regulation criminalising fornication and sexual misconduct.

The Criminal Court was not responding to calls at the time of press.

In August this year, a 15-year-old girl who faced 100 lashes after she was raped by her stepfather had her sentence overturned following an international campaign.

The Juvenile Court in September sentenced a 17 year old boy to four months in prison after he kissed a 16 year old girl in a court waiting room. The girl was sentenced to four months house arrest.

Meanwhile, a series of sex tapes in which Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed appears to be having sex with several unidentified foreign women were leaked in July, but the judicial oversight body voted not to take any disciplinary action citing lack of evidence. The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) continues with the investigation.

According to a 2007 UN study, one in three women in the Maldives experience physical and /or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Further, one in eight women reported they had experienced childhood sexual abuse, the study said.

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Four passengers detained for threatening to hijack plane

Four passengers who were to board a flight operated by local airline operator Flyme have been detained by the Aviation Security Command (AVC) for allegedly threatening to hijack the plane.

According to local media reports, the incident occurred last Saturday evening around 7:00pm at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) while passengers were boarding Flyme’s scheduled flight from INIA to Laamu Atoll Kadhdhoo domestic airport.

A police media official confirmed to Minivan News that such a case was investigated but said that the police had not made any arrests regarding the matter.

“The Aviation Security Command did not mention the issue was of serious concern. There is no reason to detain them and investigate. So we did not arrest them,” the official told Minivan News.

Flyme is an airline operated under resort tycoon-turned-politician Gasim Ibrahim’s Villa Group which  began its operations on October 1, 2011, with the opening of Gasim’s and the Maldives’ first private airport in Alif Dhaal atoll Maamigili Island.

The Head of Aviation Security Command Colonel Mohamed Ziyad told local newspaper Haveeru that the four passengers had given out a false threat in a bid to express their frustration over the delay in boarding the passengers to the flight.

“[Regardless of accuracy of such threats] we are obliged to take action. That is because, as per aviation regulations no passenger or any one for that matter, can make such threatening remarks. If anyone gives such an alarm, we have to take action. That person would not be allowed to board the flight and will be handed over to police,” Colonel Ziyad was quoted on Haveeru.

“We are at the moment trying to compile their statements. After that we will hand them over to police.”

However, an official from Flyme told local media outlet Sun Online that the four passengers had threatened to hijack the flight.

“While the passengers were boarding the flight, some individuals threatened the officials about hijacking the plane. So due to those threats we had to hand them over to the police,” the official told Sun Online.

He added that the incident had now been resolved although the flight had been delayed for about 45 minutes due to the incident.

Minivan News tried contacting Flyme’s media official Ahmed Shareef and Head of Aviation Security Command Colonel Mohamed Ziyad, but were not responding to calls at time of press.

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“Everything is in order” for Maldives’ presidential election runoff: EC

Polls open on Saturday at 7:30am and close at 4:00pm. Counting will start 30 minutes after polls close. Check where you are registered to vote using the EC’s 1414 SMS system (text 1414 in the format ‘VIS [National ID #]’, or by visiting the EC’s website.

Final preparations are underway and “everything is in order” for the Maldives’ Elections Commission to hold tomorrow’s presidential election second round runoff, says the commission.

Saturday’s (November 16) vote will mark the sixth time the Elections Commission (EC) has prepared to hold presidential polls over the last two months.

While last Saturday’s (November 9) first round revote was conducted without incident – and showed nearly identical results to the annulled September 7 first round – the November 10 runoff was halted by an early morning Supreme Court order.

“Everything is in order” for a free, fair, inclusive and transparent poll to take place tomorrow, EC Chairperson Fuwad Thowfeek told Minivan News today (November 15).

“Both the presidential candidates’ appointees signed [the voter registry] yesterday. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) finished at 4:00pm, while the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) finished at 8:15pm,” he noted.

EC Director General Mohamed Shakeel echoed these sentiments speaking to Minivan News today.

“The Elections Commission is prepared for the runoff tomorrow,” said Shakeel. “All [voter] lists are now off to the atolls and abroad. Some have already been delivered to the atoll islands.”

He also noted that elections officials’ training was completed Thursday night and they are “now off to their assigned islands and countries”.

“Personally I believe we are ready for a free, fair, inclusive and transparent poll tomorrow,” Shakeel concluded.

Polling will take place from 7:30am to 4:00pm tomorrow, he added.

The Maldives Police Service is working alongside the EC to transport ballot papers and other materials in preparation for tomorrow’s presidential run-off, according to local media.

The EC also announced earlier this week that voters left-hand ring fingers will be marked in tomorrow’s election, with the right and left-hand forefingers having been marked in the two previous polls on September 7 and October 9.

Uphold electoral laws: EC

Meanwhile, the commission has asked all stakeholders to adhere to elections laws and regulations while campaigning, and not to undermine the electoral rights of any candidate.

In particular, the EC urged the public at large to not engage in anti-campaigning and/or propagating false information against either presidential candidate and reiterated that all campaigning must cease by today’s 6:00pm deadline.

The commission will take action against any individual or group that violates these electoral laws, the EC also noted in a press statement released yesterday.

The European Union said yesterday that it is prepared to consider “appropriate measures” should Saturday’s run-off election be subverted, and the country fall into authoritarianism.

Past presidential polls

Prior to the November 9 revote, the Elections Commission called upon “all friends of democracy to help us deliver a free, fair, transparent and inclusive presidential election as scheduled”.

The September 7 first round poll received a unanimous positive assessment by more than a thousand local and international election observers, before Jumhooree Party (JP)’s leader, Gasim Ibrahim, who placed third in the poll refused to accept the results.

After agreeing to hear Gasim’s complaints, the Supreme Court then issued an injunction on September 23 to indefinitely delay the presidential election’s second round, before the police physically halted the EC’s ongoing preparations for the September 28 run-off.

The Supreme Court ultimately ruled to annul the first round – citing a secret police report which alleged electoral fraud, but was never presented to the EC’s lawyers – and delineated 16 guidelines to hold a revote by October 20.

With just 11 days to prepare for the next round of the presidential election – a process that usually requires a minimum of 45 days – the Supreme Court issued subsequent rulings dictating managerial and administrative tasks the EC must undertake while preparing for the repeat first round.

The apex court’s guidelines also mandated police play a substantive role in handling the logistics and security of the election and ballot papers, as well as demanded that all parties sign the voter lists, effectively giving presidential candidates veto power.

The day before the scheduled October 19 election, candidates Abdulla Yameen and Gasim had still not signed the voter lists and were not responding to phone calls from the EC or officials sent to their homes. The pair subsequently demanded extensive fingerprint verification of the new voters’ registry – another stipulation of the Supreme Court midnight rulings.

The same evening both candidates sought a Supreme Court ruling demanding that the election be delayed.

Receiving only a brief instruction from the court to follow its guidelines, the EC prioritised the guideline requiring an election before Oct 20 and proceeded with the vote.

However, an hour before polls were due to open on October 19 police obstructed EC staff attempting to leave the commission’s office with ballot documents and equipment – later stating that police had decided not to provide cooperation to the EC as it had not followed the 16-point guidelines imposed by the court.

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has since concluded that police illegally blocked the EC from conducting the re-vote of the presidential election on October 19 in contravention of the constitution, the Police Act, and the Elections Act.

Following the rescheduling of the election for November 9 – just two days before the end of the presidential term – Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek labelled the Supreme Court’s guidelines “restrictions” and expressed concern that they effectively allowed political parties to stop elections from happening.

Amidst presidential elections preparations, the EC has also published by-laws regarding local council elections to take place in December.

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Maldives police, thugs clash with pro-democracy protesters

Riot police, protesters and thugs brutally clashed during demonstrations last night, after President Mohamed Waheed declared he would stay in power beyond the conclusion of his presidential term.

Waheed’s decision half an hour before the expiry of his term prompted people to take to the streets in Male’.

While the majority of protesters were Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters, other political parties were also demonstrating to demand the constitution be upheld and Shahid be sworn in as president, a protest participant told Minivan News.

The Supreme Court on November 9 upheld its earlier ruling from October 7 stating that Waheed could remain in power past the conclusion of his term on November 11, dismissing a parliament resolution passed last week demanding the installment of the speaker after the expiry of the term.

Waheed, who received just 5.13 percent in the annulled first round vote on September 7, had previously declared that he had no intention of remaining in power “even a day after November 11”.

Prior to Waheed’s announcement, Minivan News observed large numbers of riot police assembling in Republic Square. Following Waheed’s declaration to remain in power protests immediately erupted in Male’.

About 100 protesters on foot and motorcycles had gathered in front of police barricades near Majeedia School on Sosun Magu by 11:45pm (November 10), continuously blasting vehicle horns and shouting at the Maldives Police Service (MPS), calling for Shahid to assume the presidency.

After the protesters moved the police barricades and began walking toward the People’s Majlis (Parliament), Special Operations (SO) police responded forcibly, hauling individuals from the crowd into custody, while aggressively forcing protesters back toward Sosun Magu.

Minivan News witnessed SO police pushing two young Maldivian women as well as a female Chinese photographer to clear the intersection.

Meanwhile a group of at least six police officers surrounded a male protester who was retreating back toward Sosun Magu, brutally beat him with their batons and pepper-sprayed his face at point blank range, before taking the man into custody. Another male protester on a motorcycle – who was in the process of turning to head back toward Sosun Magu – was hauled off his bike and beaten by multiple police officers.

Multiple protesters warned Minivan News to be cautious of “drunken thugs” dispersed among the crowd in a bid to incite violence.

A number of protesters alleged that the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) had hired gang members to act aggressive and violent, to prompt police to crackdown on the demonstrators.

“Everyone says this will continue until [former 30-year autocratic ruler] Maumoon Gayoom dies. He has too much money, power and influence. He does not want to let go,” 28 year-old Ahmed lamented. “And his corrupted family web have tentacles in everything.”

“The mafia keeps holding on to power. Today is a black day because we are going to crush down our own constitution,” said 27 year-old Saeed.

Shortly after being forced from the intersection, demonstrators surrounded and temporarily hijacked two city buses, pushed them toward the intersection and attempted to tip them over. Large stones were then hurled toward the riot police before they charged the crowd and arrested more people.

By approximately 2:00am the crowd had swelled to around 1000, who were primarily gathered near the intersection as well as scattered down the length of Sosun Magu.

Over 250 SO riot police were present and made multiple incursions into the crowd, charging demonstrators before dragging them away into custody. Some protesters near the police line were throwing stones, making a blockade with bicycles, and removing police barricades. However the vast majority were demonstrating peacefully, with a few sitting down in front of the barricades.

During one particularly violent ‘snatch and grab’ operation around 2:30am, Minivan News heard a small explosion before riot police stormed into the demonstration.

SO officers proceeded to rip the clothes off of a middle-aged man while arresting him. The protester had to hold his ‘mundu’ (traditional sarong) with one hand while being led away to prevent being undressed..

Minivan News also witnessed police hitting and trying to drag into custody a former Province Minister who was peaceably protesting; ultimately he was not arrested.

A group of riot police then began shoving photographers and journalists down the sidewalk, in addition to forcing protesters further south down Sosun Magu. The police line moved aggressively and a group of about 20 people were forced to seek refuge in an alley to prevent being trampled or injured.

Minivan News was repeatedly told by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to stay behind police lines or be treated as a protester and risk injury. A photographer for local media outlet Haveeru sustained a head injury while reporting on the demonstration.

Additionally local media outlet Raajje TV claimed to have witnessed police leading away man by the groin.

“They are arresting him so they can go rape him,” two female protesters shouted at the SO as the man was being led away.

Police also grabbed a female protester’s buttocks and were beating old ladies on the side of the road, a protester alleged to Minivan News.

As the police crackdown grew more violent, the protesters’ response escalated, with more individuals throwing stones, while a few set fire to a barricade.

The demonstrators began chanting “money money SO”, and yelling insults at the riot police.

“What is the point in peacefully protesting? That’s what we’ve been doing since the February [2012] coup and nothing has changed,” said a 26 year-old protester.

“Every time [we protest] it’s like a flash of light which enlightens the whole country and then the light goes off for another week or more. It’s been like that since last February. People are feeling hopeless,” he continued.

“We just have a new dictator baghee [‘traitor’] Waheed; he’s Maumoon’s puppet,” he added.

Meanwhile a young boy, who appeared to be about eight years-old, showed Minivan News two stones that he indicated he was going to throw at the riot police. Shortly after, Minivan News learned the boy had been punched in the face and his bloody nose was being tended to by a half-dozen female protesters.

“This is nothing new. The security services have been acting this violent since Maumoon’s time. At least now you can talk about him without being jailed and tortured,” a former political prisoner and torture victim told Minivan News on condition of anonymity.

By 3:30am the crowd had thinned to around 200 protesters, at which point Minivan News witnessed a group of around six men that appeared to be in their 20’s arrived on motorcycles. The group proceeded to surround an MDP protester, forced him against the wall of a building, violently beat and attempted to stab the man with a large kitchen knife.

Police did not respond to the situation for several minutes – despite observing the attack – and eventually proceeded to take the victim into custody.

“Earlier the victim had been throwing stones at police,” an eyewitness told Minivan News. “I saw a police officer pick up the knife [after the attack], but they did not go after the thugs.”

“These gangsters were probably told who to target by the SO,” he alleged.

It is unclear whether the suspected attacker was taken into police custody or led away and then released, as there were conflicting eyewitness accounts.

SO police then proceeded to form a line and forced the remaining protesters and journalists to clear the area.

“There’s no law here according to the Supreme Court, President and police,” said a 27 year-old protester. “It’s a mafia state run by Maumoon and [PPM Presidential Candidate Abdulla] Yameen.”

Minivan News witnessed police arrest more than 25 individuals throughout the course of the protest.

As of 5:00am, one individual had been admitted for a minor head injury sustained in a fight, an Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) official told Minivan News.

While ADK Hospital told Minivan News that one person was in the emergency room, but could not specify the type of injury.

Police report

Minivan News called Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef today (November 11), who requested he be contacted via the police media line instead of his personal number.

Upon doing so, the officer who answered stated the call had been misdirected to the wrong line and requested Minivan News redial the police media line. After repeatedly redialing the police media line there was no response.

The MPS ran a live blog throughout last night’s protest that stated 24 individuals had been arrested.

23:58: A protester has thrown a stone at and injured a police officer.
00:38: A protester threw a rock that hit and injured a journalist. We have received information that he is being treated at ADK hospital.
00:49: Protesters on Sosun Magu are from time to time throwing rocks at police.
00:49: Police have detained an individual for breaking through police barricades.
00:58: Police have detained 6 individuals, including a woman, for breaking through police barricades.
01:05: Some individuals among the protesters on Sosun Magu have vandalized the traffic lights at Sosun Magu/Majeedhiyya School junction.
01:55: A device that appears to be a molotov cocktail exploded in front of the Naadhee Building on Sosun Magu.
01:59: Police have arrested 6 people for obstructing police duty.
02:05: Police have arrested four individuals for crossing police barricades and obstructing police duty.
02:08: Individuals among the protesters on Sosun Magu have kicked down some bicycles on Sosun Magu.
02:18: Police barricades have been torched.
02:19: We have received reports that protesters are from time to time throw rocks and bottles at the media personnel.
02:20: Police have doused the torched police barricades.
02:24: Police are trying to set back the protesters at Roashanee Building on Sosun Magu.
03:21: Police have detained three women who broke through police barricades.
03:31: Police have started to push back the protesters in front of Majeedhiyya School on Sosun Magu.
03:38: Police have arrested four individuals for disobedience to order as they push back protesters.
04:00: Protesters have voluntarily left the area.

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