Day: March 20, 2011

Convicted criminals being brought to court for extention of detention, says Criminal Court

The Criminal Court has claimed that police have been arresting and bringing already convicted criminals to the court and requesting extensions of detention, despite the fact that the individuals are supposed to be behind bars.

On March 18 the police brought a person to the Criminal Court who had previously been sentenced to 45 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of theft, objection to order and three drug related charges, said the Criminal Court.

A second person was also brought before the court who had been sentenced 10 times on different charges and was supposed to be serving 27 years imprisonment, the court said, after he was found guilty of five robbery cases, two cases of objection to order, two cases of driving without license and one case of possession and using of drugs.

”The court’s documents show that those two persons were handed over to the concerned authorities to implement the verdict,” the court said. ”They were brought before the judges on March 18 on charges of robbery and were caught that night while the police was conducting a special operation to curb the violence in Male’.”

The Criminal Court that night ordered police to handover the two criminals to the penitentiary department within two days.

”The court queried why a person sentenced to 45 years prison and another to 27 years, who are supposed to be in jail, were released into society. [Police] replied that it was the Home Ministry that released them,” the court added.

Head of Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) Ahmed Rasheed told Minivan News that there were many challenges the department had to face when handling the prisoners.

”There are people who escape, people who are released for house arrest, people who cannot be kept inside the cells because of their medical condition,” said Rasheed. ”A very infamous criminal named Mohamed Ibrahim Didi, also known as ‘Kiyawa’, escaped recently.”

Kiyawa, Rasheed said, was brought Male’ to report to the hospital as he had a severe knee injury.

”The doctors said his knee needed to undergo an operation and that he needed to be admitted for a month before operating,” Rasheed explained. ”One day, late in the afternoon, he fled from hospital. There are reasons why a person who cannot stand on two feet by himself escapes.”

Rasheed said in other incidents when prisoners escaped while they were being transferred from island prisons to Male’.

”Somehow their relatives, friends and lovers get to know that they are scheduled to come Male’ at this time for this purpose and will be at the jetty when prisoners arrives, they will all circle around and gather,” he said. ”Some of those times, the prisoners friends will come by, threaten the prison officers and flee.”

He said that currently there were more than 70 prisoners released on parole.

”There will be 15 prisoners in Thilafushi in the work corporation, and there will be fugitives as well,” he said.

Rasheed said a legal framework needed to be established to solve the issues.

”There has to be a lawful system where good prisoners can be granted clemency, such as a reward for a prisoner who learns by heart two books of the Quran or the whole of Quran. If such a law was established then prisoners cannot escape by having a friend in the President’s Office.”

He also noted that there were times DPRS officers were attacked during prisoners’ escapes.

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HRCM investigating leak of child molestation allegations against MP

President of Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) Maryam Azra has said that the commission has begun an internal investigation to find out the source of a story published in local newspaper Haveeru that the commission was investigating an MP regarding child molestation.

Minivan News understands that Haveeru removed the story from its website this afternoon.

When Minivan News queried Azra as whether the commission was investigating such a case, she replied “I do not know.”

”We are trying to find out who it was that has told Haveeru so,” she said.

Haveeru had quoted an official at HRCM as saying that a child molestation case related to a MP had been filed at commission, which was investigating alongside police.
The official declined to reveal the name of the MP, said Haveeru.

Spokesperson of HRCM Ahmed Rilwan told Minivan News that he would “have check whether such a case was reported to the commission.”

”The statement given to Haveeru by whomever was not an official statement,” he said.

A police spokesperson said police had no comment on the matter.

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Murder suspect at large

The Maldives Police Service has appealed for public assistance as it searches for fugitive Ibrahim Shahum, 20, of Galholhu Cozy, the principal suspect in the gang-related murder of 21-year old Ahusan Basheer last week.

Shahum was arrested in August last year in connection with the murder of 17-year old Mohamed Hussein on July 30, 2010, which occured near the Maaziya playground in Male’.  The suspect had later turned himself in after three weeks of police searches.

However, he was released six months later on 17 February by Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed after police claimed that the Health Ministry had not complied with requests for the medico-legal report from Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGHM), where the victim died while undergoing treatment.

According to Haveeru, Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed observed that six months was “a bit too much” to respond to a police request, ordering the release of the suspect “to hold [Health Minister] Aminath Jameel responsible.”

A statement issued by police on Thursday notes that upon request the Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the Criminal Court ruling three days later.

“Police are extremely concerned about such incidents. The Maldives Police Service will be taking special measures to curb the rising crime in society,” read the statement that also appealed for the cooperation of the authorities and the public to aid police efforts.

Meanwhile, the authorities continue to shift blame after the Criminal Court last week issued a statement defending the court from public criticism over the release of dangerous suspects.  The Criminal Court stressed that persons brought before it had constitutional rights and should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

The statement claims that court records show a number of defendants brought before the court had previously been sentenced to jail and “none of the relevant authorities of the state could prove that any of these people had been released to society on a Criminal Court order.”

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Parliament cuts off live feed to DhiFM, summons journalists

A parliament decision to cut a live feed to private radio station DhiFM and summon some of its journalists before its general affairs committee tomorrow over allegations of contempt during a live broadcast has been roundly condemned by the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA).

”We believe that the media has the authority to report the dialogue of MPs, broadcast what is going on inside the parliament as well as the authority to criticise,” read a press release by the MJA. ”It is a right guaranteed by the constitution and we call on the parliament not to violate that right.”

The MJA notes that the parliament’s action to last week cut the feed – reportedly in response to “disrespect” exhibited to some MPs by DhiFM presenters – was both unwarranted and disproportionate, adding that parliament should have recourse to other means than unilaterally terminating the live coverage of parliament sittings.

”This association does not believe that a responsible institution of the state would have to stop sending live feed to a media outlet in order to complain about its reporting,” reads the MJA statement. ”It is also questionable whether the live feed was stopped after investigating the matter.”

The press association warned that such actions could undermine press freedom by silencing the media.

However, the MJA also called on local media to be responsible in their duties as well as appealing for MPs to ensure the freedoms guaranteed by the constitution are practiced to their full extent.

Parliament Secretary-General Ahmed Mohamed is currently abroad and was unavailable for comment.

CEO of DhiFM, Masoodh Hilmy confirmed that the parliamentary committee sent two letters to the radio station requesting a recording of its ”Breakfast Club” programme last week and summoning the two DhiFM journalists who presented the programme in front of a committee tomorrow.

”We have not yet decided whether we will send the two journalists, because currently we are seeking legal advice to determine whether legally we are obliged to attend parliament if requested,” said Masood. ”We will abide by all laws, and we do not believe that we violated the privileges of MPs.”

Masood characterised the action taken by the parliament as a challenge to the freedom of press.

”It is a step backwards in terms of democracy, I think its the first time in history the parliament has summoned journalists,” he said, adding that the incident was “regrettable”.

Masood added that while DhiFM has not officially been informed that the live feed had been disconnected, “our technical department says that we haven’t been receiving signals from the parliament.”

The MJA’s criticism comes just a month after it spoke out along with other media figures like the editor of Haveeru to criticise police in requesting to speak with some of the paper’s journalists concerning the identity of sources on which it based a report.

The story focused on an alleged blackmail ring that reportedly obtained pornographic images of some high-profile national figures through the internet, which has been the basis of an ongoing police investigation.  Haveeru said at the time that its staff declined to reveal the identities of its sources.

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“Maldives for Japan” telethon raises Rf7 million in 37 hours

Over Rf7 million (US$544,747) worth of aid has been raised during the 37-hour “Maldives for Japan” telethon that was held over the weekend in an attempt to support the people of Japan following a devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the Maldives’ largest bilateral donor on 11 March.

A total of Rf5,319,162.69 (US$413,900) along with 119,507 cans of tuna were donated by the people of Maldives.

The fundraising telethon was organised by Male’ City Council and broadcast live in what is thought to be an unprecedented collaborative effort by all of the country’s TV and radio stations.

Musicians and actors teamed up to organise entertainment shows at the tsunami memorial area where more than 30 bands performed over two nights.

A steady stream of Maldivians, often accompanied by children, also queued at the MNBC studio and other locations hosting  fund boxes where they could make their contributions.

The single largest donor was trading company CTG, which provided Rf1 million (US$77,800).  Chairman of the Villa Group, Gasim Ibrahim, donated tuna cans worth Rf1.3 million (US$101,100).

In his weekly radio address on Friday, President Mohamed Nasheed urged all Maldivians to contribute to the telethon and show solidarity with Japan while Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed led a walk with thousands of participants across the capital later that day.

A moment of silence was observed at 10:45am on Friday (18 March) to mark the moment the earthquake struck.

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MNDF commences Vilufushi crocodile hunt

Officers from the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) are conducting searches for crocodiles near Thaa Atoll Vilufushi after islanders reported sightings of two of the creatures on Thursday.

Officers from the MNDF Central Area on Friday searched the Vilifushi lagoon and nearby uninhabited islands, but there has been no sign of the presence of the amphibians so far.

According to the MNDF website, officers from the Laamu Kahdhoo post will remain on duty in Vilufushi during the operation that is set to continue for a week.

A six-foot crocodile found in Lhaviyani Naifaru on February 1 was the believed to be the second crocodile found in as many months within Maldivian waters.

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Gasim Ibrahim undecided on whether to contest presidency in 2013

Maamigili MP Gasim Ibrahim, leader of the Jumhooree Party, has said he does not intend to back or become running mate of any candidate in the 2013 presidential elections, though he has not ruled out standing for the country’s top political position himself.

Speaking to Haveeru, the former Finance Minister explained that he had opted not to back any candidate for the presidency in 2013 after taking criticism for supporting President Mohamed Nasheed’s ultimately successful campaign in 2008.

“The people are blaming me [for Nasheed’s election]; that this and that happened because of what I did. A large number of people are putting the blame on me,” he told the paper.  “How can I be sure of what would happen to me when I try to bring another person to power? I can only do something for my own self.”

After reportedly supporting Nasheed’s candidacy on the back of the “good things” the president said during campaigning, Gasim said that he had resigned as Home Minister after just 21 days into the new administration.

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President underscores progresss on housing pledge

The government has made considerable progress towards fulfilling its pledge to build 10,000 housing units to provide affordable housing for the people, President Nasheed said Friday in his weekly radio address.

The President revealed that the construction of 1,780 housing units was currently underway while work on 25 units each in Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo, Seenu Feydhoo, Gaaf Alif Kolamaafushi, Haa  Dhaal Kulhudufushi and Lhaviyani Naifaru was now 40 percent complete.

While over 20,000 residents of Male’ in recent weeks have applied for housing units to be built in the congested capital, Nasheed announced that construction of 350 housing units in Male’ by Kargwal 18 SG Developers of India was expected to begin in April.

Moreover, said Nasheed, the construction of 180 units in Hulhumale’ by Coral Ville was 35 percent complete.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the government signed an agreement with the Chinese National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation (CMEC) for the construction of 1,500 housing units in the southern atolls.

Of the targeted 10,000 units, the Chinese company has been assigned 4,000 units across the country.

At Thursday’s signing ceremony, Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam explained that the government hoped to secure loan facilities of US$150 million from the AXIM Bank of China, adding that he expected construction work to begin in the next four months.

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Two dead in fatal house fire next door to Sala Thai

Police have confirmed the deaths of two people in a fire that broke out in the Orchid building next door to the Sala Thai restaurant in Male’ just after 9:00am this morning.

Police spokesperson, Sub-Inspector Ahmed Ali, said police were currently unable to identify the victims because the bodies were severely burned.

Howver Haveeru reported the identities of the victims as Iuthisham Adam and Dhon Sitthi of Haaji Edhuru, the mother of both Deputy Health Minister Fathimath Afiya and Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN in Geneva, Iruthisham Adam.

President later Mohamed Nasheed later visited the scene.

“We don’t know how the fire was caused and police are investigating the incident,” said Sub-Inspector Ali. Minivan News observed police forensic officers on the scene.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) firefighters quickly extinguished the initial blaze and took two hours to completely contain the blaze, successfully preventing it from taking hold in adjoining buildings. Minivan News understands that firefighters searching building for the women were obstructed by the weakened second floor and large amounts of smoke.

Large crowds of civil servants from the nearby Velaanage office building gathered behind police tape to watch as successive rescue attempts were made.

The owner of Sala Thai, who was present at the scene, said the restaurant would have to “close for some time” as the fire had damaged the kitchen and destroyed an upstairs storeroom.

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