Police have arrested a man in Seenu Atoll Feydhoo for allegedly robbing an expat teacher working on the island.
SunFM reported that he robbed the Indian teacher of his laptop, jewels, pen-drive and a mobile phone.
Police told the paper that all the items were recovered after the suspect told police where they were hidden.
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(0)A group of unknown assailants have stabbed a 14 year-old boy, after he refused to hand over his mobile phone to the group.
Haveeru reported that the boy was attacked while he was walking home from school.
The boy has now been admitted to hospital for treatment and is in a critical condition, according to reports.
(0)Dislikes(0)Former chief prison warden ‘Isthafa’ Ibrahim Mohamed Manik has issued a statement to the media denying torture allegations made against him by police, after the High Court overruled a court warrant extending his detention.
In the statement, Isthafa said he welcomed police efforts to investigate allegations of mistreatment inside the prison, but said the public had been misled that he had confessed to condoning torture and inhumane activities in the prison.
‘’I regret that police arrested me unlawfully against the constitution and against the laws’’ said Isthafa in the statement. “The High Court’s ruling clarifies that I was arrested unlawfully.’’
Isthafa said that while the state was investigating torture activities conducted in the prisons over a long period of time, “I was in charge of the prison for eight years.’’
“I have never ordered the torture of anyone or acted against the law, and neither did my superiors ever order me to do so,’’ he added.
Police arrested Isthafa over the weekend and took him to the prison island of Maafushi, where the island’s court granted police an extension of detention for 15 days. This was yesterday overruled by the High Court, which determined that the arrest was unlawful and that there were no probable grounds to extend his pre-trial detention period.
Today Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists gathered near the President’s Office, the Justice Building and other areas of Male’ calling for the arrest of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, demanding justice for the prison torture they alleged he condoned.
The activists were holding posters and carrying a coffin, claiming that many inmates had passed away as a consequence of inhumane activities and torturous activities they were subjected to.
Meanwhile the Criminal Court last night issued a warrant on Isthafa, banning him from leaving the country for a month.
The torture investigation committee formed by Presidential decree to investigate torture allegations against former government, led by former Defence Minister Ameen Faisal, has meanwhile established an office inside Velaanage’ to obtain information concerning prison torture carried out during both the current and former administrations.
Police in a press statement appealed for the public to report any information they had to the office on the 12th floor of Velaanage, or to phone +960 333 0584 or +960 333 0585. Outside Male, complaints can be submitted to police posts on the islands.
Police are currently investigating allegations of torture inside prisons under the former administration, claiming that planned, systematic and long-term torture of prisoners had taken place in Maldivian prisons, while records of inmates were incomplete or non-existent.
Allegations of prisoner mistreatment have continued to come from the prisons even after the current administration took power in 2008, and both the government and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) previously expressing concern over a “culture of torture” than continued to pervade many institutions.
On October 14, 2010, Police arrested a 19 year-old man while he was sitting near his house, who later alleged that ‘’the whole duty shift’’ beat him using batons and shoes, before he was taken to solitary confinement where he alleged he was kept in a cross position until his release the next day – without being brought in front of a judge.
On July 21, 2010, a 19 year-old man was arrested in a joint police and Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) special operation to curb crime alleged officers pushed him into a police bus and blindfolded him with his hands tied with clips.
“They took me to a place and removed my silver ear-rings, my bracelets, necklace and sunglasses,” he claimed. “Then they took me to another place and removed the blindfold, and ordered me to remove my clothes. I refused, but I had no other choice so I did, and they told me to bend over. They harassed me verbally and physically.”
A 14 year-old boy arrested the same day near Giyasudeen School claimed that police treated him the same.
“They took me into a small room and removed the blindfold, and took up a trimmer. I asked them why they had to cut my hair, and they said they were getting me into the religion of Islam. I refused them permission to cut my hair, and I looked at the ground I saw blood all over the floor,” he said. “They started beating me when I refused.”
Another 16 year-old boy who was arrested near Ahmadiyya School said the officers blindfolded and handcuffed him, “and told me to sit down,” he said. “I checked with my hands to make sure there was a chair, and when I touched the chair when I turned to sit down they pulled the chair away. Again they hurt my wound and I told them that it hurt.”
He said the officers asked him to show them his wound, and when he removed his shirt they started hitting the wound and asking whether it hurt.
All were released without charge.
One January 24, 2011, a 17 year-old boy was arrested on Boduthakurufaanu Magu before being driven in a police vehicle to a dark spot near Male’s artificial beach, where he was violently beaten by officers with batons.
The 17 year-old said the squad, consisting of “around 22″ police officers beat him simultaneously with their batons.
On December 29, 2010, inside Maafushi prison, inmates and prison officers clashed with one inmate suffering a broken shoulder, another inmate breaking his nose and third suffering injuries to his eyes because prison officers hit and broke the glasses he was wearing, alleged a person familiar with the case.
The clash allegedly occurred after prison officers did not appear when called to respond to the critical health condition of another inmate.
On April 20, 2010, at least 15 inmates were badly injured in a prison riot in Maafushi Prison.
Most of the cases were reported to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) but by far no trial or transparent investigation was conducted into these cases.
Cases of previous custodial torture can be reported to the government’s investigation committee on the 12th floor of Velaanage, or by phone on +960 333 0584 or +960 333 0585.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives has joined Nepal and Palestine in the running to become the host nation for next year’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup finals.
According to the Asian football association, the three nations have been asked to sign the confederation’s Organising Association Agreement (OAA) and agree to its last of requirements in order to stand as possible host candidates for the event, which is held contested every two years among a number of second tier national football teams represented by the AFC.
The hosting decision is expected to be made by June 14, 2011, with all three potential nations standing to hold a major AFC finals event for the first time.
Back in March, the Maldives’ national stadium in Male’ hosted every single Group C qualifying match for the 2012 Challenge Cup finals, with the home team coming out on top to qualify alongside second place Tajikistan.
The last three challenge cups taking place in 2010, 2008 and 2006 took place in Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh respectively.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed has removed the President’s member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Aishath Velezinee, from her post.
“There was no reason given. All I can say is that the President is extremely grateful for the courageous and exemplary work Velezinee has done,” said Nasheed’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair, adding that a new member would soon be appointed.
Minivan News understands that Velezinee’s departure from the JSC may be part of a back room deal not unrelated to impending judicial reform, opposition MPs crossing the floor and the arrest of former government officials on allegations of torture.
Velezinee herself was not commenting on the decision.
One woman army
Velezinee became an outspoken whistle-blower on the JSC last year after claiming that her many letters of concern to parliament – which provides oversight on the independent commissions – were being ignored.
In early 2010, she set about publicly exposing the independent institution she claimed was operating “like a secret society” and serving as a “shield” for a judiciary that was “independent in name only”, and had tabled only several of the hundreds of complaints submitted against judges.
Using her access to court documents, Velezinee revealed that almost a quarter of the sitting judges had criminal records – ranging from theft to terrorism – and that an even greater number had not even completed grade 7 education. The only qualification of many was a ‘Diploma in Judging’ presenting to them by the former Ministry of Justice, Velezinee contested.
For the past 30 years judges effectively worked as the employees of those “hand-picked” by the former government, Velezinee explained – to the extent that failures to extend a particular ruling as required by the Ministry of Justice resulted in a black mark on the judge’s file.
“The only qualification it appears was a willingness to submit to the will of the government at the time – to follow orders,” Velezinee told Minivan News is a previous interview.
“Not everyone has the mindset to follow orders and serve in that kind of capacity. I believe it has excluded people with independent thinking, or the necessary legal knowledge – such people would take it as an insult for someone to order them how to decide a case.”
Velezinee’s concerns – met with noticeable silence from both the JSC and the then-opposition majority parliament – sparked her ‘Article 285’ campaign.
Article 285 was the Constitutional stipulation that the JSC determine before the conclusion of the interim period – August 7, 2010 – whether or not the judges on the bench possessed the characteristics specified by article 149: “the educational qualifications, experience and recognized competence necessary to discharge the duties and responsibilities of a judge, [and] high moral character”.
At the eleventh hour prior to the conclusion of the interim period, the JSC reappointed the vast majority of sitting judges for life in a surrepticious ceremony conducted behind doors that would have remained closed had Velezinee not rushed the podium.
“The JSC decided – I believe with the support of parliament – that the same bench will remain for the next 40 years, retitled as an ‘independent judiciary’,” Velezinee said following the reappointments.
She further alleged that senior members of the parliamentary opposition were present in the JSC office over the weekend prior to the interim period deadline, personally assisting the JSC secretariat with photocopying the letters of appointment.
“I’m telling you: this is big. What we are seeing is all interconnected – it is one big plot to try – in any way possible – to return power to the corrupt,” she told Minivan News in July 2010, noting that her concerns had led to her being labelled “the Article 285 madwoman” by not only the opposition.
Less than a year later, many of her allegations were independently corroborated by a report produced by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), which attended JSC sessions and criticised its independence.
The JSC, the report stated, “was unable to carry out its functions in a sufficiently transparent, timely, and impartial manner. To date, JSC decision-making has been perceived as being inappropriately influenced by a polarised political environment. Also troubling is that members of the judiciary have been subject to threats and intimidation as well as improper inducements by both governing and opposition party members.”
The JSC refused to table the ICJ’s report, and disputed having ever received it.
Towards the end of 2010 Velezinee upped her campaign to incorporate parliament, naming both opposition and independent MPs as being involved in what she described as “a silent coup” to deprive the country of an independent judiciary for the sake of providing continued judicial impunity to senior power brokers of the former administration.
The reason for that failure, she suggested, was a fear among leaders of the former administration “who are continuing with criminal activities they have allegedly been carrying out for a long, long time.”
“There is widespread public perception that certain members of parliament are behind all the serious organised crime going on in this country. This includes serious drug issues, gang violence, stabbings,” she alleged, in a previous interview with Minivan News.
“These are allegations only because they have never come up before a court of law in all this time.”
“It is a much discussed issue, but it has never come up in the courts. I can see now that perhaps it may be true – otherwise why prevent the formation of an independent judiciary? I don’t think they would have confidence that they would get away free,” Velezinee said, observing that former political figures such as attorney generals were now representing these MPs in court as their lawyers, “and, by and large, they win every case.”
“This is not such a far-fetched radical thought coming from me any more because of the things we have seen over the last year to do with politicians and judicial action. The courts are a playground for politicians and are not trusted by the general public. Parliament has failed, and there is no other institutional mechanism in this constitution for the JSC to be held to account.”
In January this year Velezinee was stabbed three times in broad daylight while walking down Male’s main tourist street, on the same day that the High Court judges were due to be appointed.
“My first fear was that I would easily I bleed to death,” she told Minivan News, after she was discharged from hospital. “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.”
Many international organisations, including Transparency International and the ICJ, expressed “grave concern that the attack may be politically motivated.”
“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,” Velezinee told Minivan News, following her recovery. “It was only because of God’s grace that I survived.”
(0)Dislikes(0)Senior figures at Male’s two major hospitals have claimed the institutions could “run into difficulties” supplying certain medicines and services if the current currency crisis in the country continues, although stocks are currently sufficient.
Amidst a controversial government decision to devalue the rufiya against the US dollar in order to address the black market dealings for foreign money, businesses such as flight providers have also claimed to be facing difficulties in providing their services.
In this market place, ADK Hospital Managing Director Ahmed Afaal said that ADK Enterpises, the hospital’s parent company, had raised concerns about the availability of dollars to purchase certain medicines for its pharmacy operations.
“At the moment, the hospital has stock for our needs. Yet if we cannot get enough because of a lack of dollars we may run into difficulties in the future,” he said. “For the time being, we have enough medicines to treat patients, although some medicines may become difficult to find at our pharmacies.”
Cathy Waters, Chief Executive of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), agreed that concerns over the availability of dollars may hamper the hospital’s efforts to purchase medical goods and services in the short to medium-term, though she believed payment of the expatriate workers vital to running health centres was a greater problem at present.
“My biggest concern is how [this financial situation] may impact our ability to employ expatriate workers, as well as pay for certain goods,” she said. “We are particularly dependent on an expatriate workforce at the hospital and these workers are particularly aware of the dollar situation in the Maldives.”
According to Waters, expat staff had already raised concerns about difficulties they have experienced in sending dollars abroad to support their families – a key reason many initially accepted work in the Maldives.
Waters said she believed the hospital could also face ongoing problems in covering the costs of imported medicines and other services, despite supplies currently meeting needs.
Requests had been made to national health authorities to try to find ways to alleviate possible short-term and medium-term supply and payment issues, she added, although she said she had not yet been informed as to what measures might be taken.
The Ministry of Health was not responding to Minivan News at time of press.
However Dr Jorge Mario Luna, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to the Maldives, told Minivan News that at present there had not been any requests from health service providers in the country concerning possible procurement problems as a result of a shortage of US dollars.
Dr Luna said that the WHO itself did not procure drugs or treatments outside of public health medicines for certain illnesses like tuberculosis or filariasis, yet it was ready to assist health services if required.
“As of today, we have not received any request for emergency medicines due to a procurement problem,” he said. “In case we receive a request, we stand ready to assist.
The government has meanwhile claimed that fluctuations caused by the managed float of the rufiya will stabilise in three months as the market adjusts.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police have arrested a third female in connection with the prematurely abandoned baby found inside a Coast Milk Tin in Villingili last week.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that the arrest was made.
‘’She’s an 18 year-old female,’’ said Shiyam, adding that investigation was ongoing.
Shiyam said the six month premature baby was discovered after police were informed about the incident.
Yesterday, Deputy Head of police Serious and Organised Crime Department Inspector Abdulla Nawaz told the press that police had arrested a 30 year old woman from Noonu Atoll who was the suspected mother of the baby, and a 24 year old woman from Kaafu Atoll who was alleged to have assisted her deliver the baby prematurely.
Nawaz identified the suspected mother as Aiminath Shaira, 30 of Manadhoo in Noonu Atoll and the 24 year-old woman who allegedly assisted with the abortion the baby as Fathmath Aniya of Hura in Kaafu Atoll.
According to Nawaz, both women live in Male’ in the same house.
Nawaz told media that Shaira had confessed giving birth three days ago but was unable to tell police where the baby was, and that Aniya had confessed to assisting Shaira deliver the baby.
Meanwhile, islanders on Manadhoo told Minivan News they felt “deep shame” as news of the incident circulated.
‘’The island of Manadhoo has a very low profile in crime and it has remained like that for ages, until we heard that an islander of our island has given birth to an illegal child and thrown the baby away,’’ said an islander.
Shaira was a dancer, he claimed.
‘’Others arrested in connection with this case are not related to our island, we hear that they are members of her dance group,’’ he added. ‘’It’s the first time something like this happened concerning our island, we are all in deep shame, especially because people notice this island as an island that maintains a low crime rate compared to all other islands in this atoll.’’
Having a child out of wedlock remains heavily stigmatised in the Maldives. Previous studies conducted in the country by groups such as the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) have anecdotally pointed to high rates of illegal abortion, while other studies on HIV risk factors have pointed to high levels of promiscuity and limited use of contraceptives.
(0)Dislikes(0)“No man is an island.” That’s what the English poet John Donne said 500 years ago. He meant that people by nature belong together.
So, although we are all individuals, we are one. And even though islands may appear to be separate, they are all part of the same planet everyone shares: Earth. The New7Wonders of Nature campaign, with its goal of generating one billion votes worldwide to select seven icons of nature, represents a noble ideal in which modern communications technologies allow us to create a global community.
This is the background against which Wednesday’s statement by the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has to be seen.
I have good news, however, for Maldivians and fans of the Maldives around the world: the Maldives are still in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign! That’s because the authority to withdraw a participant from the campaign is a decision for New7Wonders alone, not for any government agency. In this respect, New7Wonders adheres to the same principles as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), organisations that do not tolerate any government interference so as to ensure their independence.
So, with the Maldives still a finalist, the critical choice to be made by the key decision-makers in the Maldives is whether to support the campaign or not.
I think that it would be a good idea for all the leaders in the Maldives to be active participants in the campaign for the simple reason that it makes good business sense. After all, this is why so many countries, with their public and private sectors, are enthusiastically involved in this global event. And at a time of such economic difficulty for the Maldives, the return on investment by participating in the New7Wonders of Nature campaign could be enormously beneficial for the country.
Two independent studies support this assertion.
First, an analysis produced last year by Pearson (publisher of the Financial Times) valued the overall economic success in the first campaign to elect the man-made New 7 Wonders of the World as being more than US$5 billion for all the participants. Second, a report last month by the audit firm Grant Thornton in South Africa estimated the economic benefits alone at US$1.012 billion for each of the New7Wonders of Nature winners.
The unfounded complaints by the MMPRC regarding the campaign sponsorship options have to be seen in the light of these extraordinarily positive numbers.
Now, as a rule, New7Wonders does not comment on any reported sponsorship numbers, as it respects the confidentiality of such matters. Unlike the MMPRC, we honour contractual confidentiality. Nevertheless, New7Wonders can confirm that at no stage was the government of the Maldives invited to be a sponsor, nor was any government sponsorship money requested.
As well, leading companies in the Maldives have been, since 2009, invited to be sponsors of the campaign. For the record, New7Wonders has made many practical suggestions for how the sponsorships can be adapted in line with the specific requirements of the Maldives economy.
In a further attempt to delegitimise the New7Wonders campaign, UNESCO and the UN were brought into the debate. Well, as we make clear on our website, the New7Wonders of Nature campaign is not a UNESCO campaign. New7Wonders does not request nor seek the endorsement of UNESCO, nor vice-versa.
There is a very good reason for this: due to its specific remit of cataloguing and listing hundreds of world heritage locations, without being seen to favour some over others, according to its own statutes UNESCO does not have the authority to officially organise or endorse a popular initiative such as the New7Wonders of Nature campaign.
As regards the New7Wonders relationship with the UN, this is at headquarters level in New York. We have successfully cooperated with The UN Office of Partnerships in the past, and look forward to doing so again in the future, for example through such initiatives as making the New7Wonders Global Voting Platform available to promote the UN Millennium Goals.
By the way, when it comes to making comparisons between international organisations, we feel that New7Wonders offers a model that deserves more recognition, especially in times when people are worried about personal and state finances. The fact is that the New7Wonders campaigns are delivered to the world without any government subsidy. The extraordinary economic value that is created for the participating locations is done without the spending of any public money. What is more, when all the costs have been covered at the end of our two global voting campaigns, 50 percent of any surplus will be donated to the New7Wonders Foundation to help make the vision of Global Memory a reality.
It is not for me to say what is best for the Maldives; that is a decision for the people of the republic and their representatives. New7Wonders, however, continues to believe that the Maldives is a worthy participant in the New7Wonders of Nature, and that the potential economic, tourism and image benefits far outweigh the concerns that have been so blatantly misrepresented by the MMPRC.
New7Wonders offers Maldivians and fans of the Maldives around the world the benefits of being part of a global community. It would be a pity not to participate. As the poet said, we are all part of something that’s much bigger than ourselves.
Eamonn Fitzgerald is Head of Communication at New7Wonders.
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]
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