Category: Politics

Former SAARC Secretary General calls for President’s impeachment as husband maneuvers party swap

Former SAARC Secretary General Dhiyana Saeed has demanded that President Mohamed Nasheed be impeached after alledgedly violating the constitution by detaining Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed.

Saeed’s statement follows her five-minute arrest last weekend for refusing to leave Republic Square during a nearby opposition-led protest.

Saeed recently resigned from her SAARC post after criticising the government after the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) responded to a police request to arrest and detain Abdulla Mohamed on January 16, after the judge filed a case in the high court to overrule his police summons.

Saeed, the youngest and first female to hold the SAARC post, demanded that parliament oppose the President.

Speaking to Minivan News following her resignation last week, Saeed said the judge “has to be dealt with within the confines of the law,” and identified his detention as “very clearly unconstitutional.”

“If you look at the how the government has acted these last three years you can see a trend. The government thinks any means to an ends is alright,” she added.

According to the SAARC charter, interference in the internal affairs of other states is a violation of the secretary general’s role.

Saeed’s statement was aired on opposition Jumhoree Party (JP) leader and JSC member Gasim Ibrahim’s television station VTV on January 19. Yesterday, Saeed’s husband and owner of J Hotels, Abdulla Jabir,  announced his switch from the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to JP, of which he is now deputy leader. Saeed herself remains a member of MDP, according to local media.

Saeed told local media that while her need to call for the President’s impeachment was regrettable, she maintained that her aim was to deliver a “strong message” disapproving of the government’s “direct attack on the state of Maldives”.

Suggesting that she speaks for a general public, Saeed told  media that even those who do not attend protests are opposed to the government’s actions, and vowed to not sit quietly on the sidelines. In response to the government’s criticism of her loyalty, she pointed out that no one was more loyal in politics “than was Chemical Ali to Saddam Hussein”.

She added that all Maldivians were obliged to defend the constitution, and maintained that her comments were “not for any political benefit.”

Saeed had not returned phone calls at time of press.

Under the constitution a president can only be impeached with a two-thirds vote from parliament. Parliament currently contains 77 members (MPs), 35 of which are aligned with MDP, 36 represent opposition parties and six are independent.

According to the President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair, Saeed’s request “is the wrong math. Even if all the opposition pulled together they wouldn’t pass the vote.” Zuhair added that the MDP has seen increasing public support in recent years.

Noting that Saeed is “not even a barrister”, Zuhair identified her call for impeachment as “just competitive political talk” which does not threaten the unity of the government. He added that her statement is a larger protective strategy currently employed by lawyers with close ties to JP leader, Gasim Ibrahim.

“You have to go to the chronological beginning,” Zuhair said, stating that Saeed, lawyer Azima Shukoor, Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz, and opposition Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) leader Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed held legal posts under the former regime.

“These are all legal people – birds of a feather so to speak – pulling together to protect their past from exposure,” he said.

“Their interpretation of the law has not been consistent with the government; instead they are protective of the former regime,” Zuhair continued, adding that they had all denied defendants access to lawyers during the judicial process.

Shukoor has consistently defended members of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s family and new political party, Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM). Jameel, who served as Justice Minister under the former regime, recently accused the government of conspiracy with Christians and Jews to spread “vice” within the country.

“Gasim pays a maintenance fee for his lawyers – they receive a monthly fee for staying on his side,” Zuhair said emphatically.

Meanwhile, Abdulla Jabir explained his shift of allegiance last night on Gasim’s VTV.

“The President wanted to make this place into New York overnight,” he said. “It is a good thought but we have to do things based on the resources at hand. [But the President] does not listen to financial experts.”

After stating that the MDP had gained significant public approval, Jabir accused the President of overshadowing party achievements by trying to “destroy the system for his own benefit”.

“President Nasheed cannot be a hero again. He will be a zero. Nobody will respect him,” Jabir said.

Making reference to the government’s use of the military to arrest Judge Mohamed, Jabir warned that tour operators “are dismayed with the Maldives” and listed overspending, nepotism and uninformed financial decisions as chief grievances against MDP.

Jabir’s party change has not surprised the government.

“Jabir was more interested in protecting his business interests,” Zuhair suggested, adding that financial compensation “was a likely factor” in Jabir’s party switch-over. Jabir was recently awarded a mid-market tourism project in Laamu Gan Asseyri, part of the government’s new tourism initiative.

Zuhair said he believed the MDP party’s infrastructure had been “too tedious” for Jabir as well.

“In MDP you have go through various elections, starting with small councils and going up through the national council, in order to get to the top. Other parties don’t operate like that, I believe. The same night [Jabir] joined [JP] he was appointed deputy leader,” he said.

During his VTV address Jabir announced that a candidate from the JP would contest in the 2013 elections.

Swapping political parties in the Maldives plays much like a game of cards, betting included. Recalling Saeed’s resignation, Zuhair said Jabir had requested MDP “not to tarnish his wife’s good name. The next day, the couple was pushing to start their own political party – like  mum-and-dad shops in the UK,” he explained.

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MP rejects authority of Criminal Court after judge releases armed “I was just cooking” civilian

Today’s Criminal Court hearing for a case involving ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Thimmarafushi Mohamed Musthafa was cancelled after the MP refused to accept the court summons on the grounds that the court’s judges were unlawfully appointed.

Musthafa added that Thimarafushi island council had advised against his attending the hearing.

Musthafa’s comment came after the Criminal Court today ordered the release of a man arrested for carrying a knife as protesters spread throughout Male’ on Friday evening.

Hassan Areef, who has prior convictions for violence, was arrested in Henveiru ward by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) before being handed over to police.

Appearing in court today, Areef claimed he had been preparing a meal using a butter knife when he went outside to see the commotion, unintentionally carrying the knife with him, according to local media.

The criminal court accepted Areef’s version and ordered his release. Police have announced their intention to appeal the verdict.

Meanwhile, in a letter to the court, Musthafa justified his refusal by citing President Mohamed Nasheed’s position that lower court judges were not appointed in accordance with Article 149 of the constitution, therefore their rulings held no legal weight.

According to Article 149, “A person appointed as a Judge in accordance with law, must possess the educational qualifications,  experience  and  recognised competence necessary to discharge the duties and responsibilities of a Judge, and must be of high moral character.”

The article further requires judges to be a Sunni Muslim of at least 25 years of age, who has not been convicted of an offence and is of sound mind.

Musthafa has been charged for bounced cheques.

The MP faces multiple charges of cheque fraud, notably over transactions made by his company Seafood International Pvt Ltd.

Citing deception by food supplier General Meat Ltd, Musthafa threatened legal action against the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) in November if it did not pay the US$500,000 that the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) owed Seafood International.

Musthafa alleged that the sum was due to be paid to his company according to a 1991 London court ruling.

Citing MMA as the “live branch of BCCI in the Maldives,” Musthafa previously stated that “the debt of a dead person has to be paid by a living legal parent. If the MMA does not pay us within seven days we will sue the MMA in court and when we sue, we will ask the court to take the amount of money for the loss we have had for the past 20 years as a cause of not having this money.’’

Meanwhile, a case filed in 2009 by opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Vice President Umar Naseer claims Musthafa must be removed from Parliament due to a decreed debt which is in violation of Article 73(c)1.

The Supreme Court was due to rule on a case against Musthafa on October 20, however proceedings were interrupted when MDP called for a nation-wide protest against the judiciary during an emergency meeting.

Speaking to Minivan News at the time, MDP MP and spokesperson for the party’s Parliamentary Group, Mohamed Shifaz, said judges had been blackmailed and that the party would protest the politicised judiciary indefinitely.

This month, the opposition took up the protest baton and demanded the release of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed from military detention. The Judge was arrested on January 16, 2012. Protestors have demonstrated against the government since that date.

Contending that the judge was lawfully arrested, the government has requested international legal assistance to resolve what has been labelled a “judicial crisis”.

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Resolving judicial crisis “a huge challenge” for the Maldives: President Nasheed

Judges in the Maldives were reappointed by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) at the conclusion of the interim period “in conflict with the constitution”, President Mohamed Nasheed has said during his weekly radio address.

The JSC reappointed the vast majority of sitting judges prior to parliament approving a statute establishing the criteria for serving on the bench, Nasheed said.

The consequence – a judiciary almost identical as the one appointed by the former Ministry of Justice under the previous government, but badged as independent – was “a huge challenge” for the Maldives, he added.

Prior to the reappointments, the President’s Office in May 2010 sent a letter to the JSC expressing concern that a large number of judges lacked both the educational qualifications and ethical conduct required of judges in a democracy.

“While the Act relating to Judges was passed in August 2010, and while the Constitution is very clear that Judges cannot be appointed without this Act, to date the JSC has failed to reappoint Judges,” Nasheed said.

“The Supreme Court Judges were appointed in accordance with the Constitution and law. The High Court bench was appointed in accordance with the Constitution and law. However, it is hard to say that the lower court Judges were appointed as per the Constitution and law,” he contended.

The government has faced critcism from the opposition and weeks of opposition-led protests, some of them violent, after the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) took Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed, into custody on January 16.

The government had accused the chief judge of endemic corruption, obstructing police investigations and of links with both the opposition and organised crime. Abdulla Mohamed sought a High Court ruling to prevent his arrest – which was granted – leading police to request the MNDF to take the judge into custody.

The judge was previously under investigation by the JSC – the judicial watchdog body – however he was granted an injunction by the Civil Court which ordere the JSC to halt the investigation.

In his radio address, Nasheed identified four areas of reform under the 2008 constitution: change of regime through multiparty elections, election of a new parliament, introduction of decentralised administration, and election of local councils.

“The major remaining reform envisioned by the Constitution is the establishment of an independent and competent judiciary,” Nasheed said.

The Foreign Ministry has requested a senior international legal delegation from the United Nations Human Rights Commission (OHCHR) to help resolve the current judicial crisis.

Last week, former President’s member on the JSC, Aishath Velezinee, told Minivan News that outside help from an independent and authoritative body such as the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) was desperately needed.

“We need the ICJ to be involved – someone like [former] UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Leandro Despouy. He was here for a fact-finding mission and had a thorough understanding of it, and gives authoritative advice,” she said.

“We need to look for people who understand not only the law in the constitution, but what we are transiting from. Because that is really important. The UN had brought in a former Australian Supreme Court Judge, but he didn’t get any support. There was a lady [from Harvard] but she left in tears as well. There was no support – the JSC voted not to even give her a living allowance. They are unwelcoming to knowledge – to everyone. It is a closed place,” she warned, adding the difficulty was enhanced further because all the documentation was in Dhivehi.

UK MP for Salisbury, John Glen, has meanwhile urged UK Parliament to “urgently make time for a debate on judicial reform in the Republic of the Maldives.”

“Although the judiciary is constitutionally independent, sitting judges are underqualified, often corrupt and hostile to the democratically elected regime,” Glen stated.

Leader of the House of Commons, George Young, responded that Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Alistair Burt, was “in touch with the Maldives President to see whether we can resolve the impasse. The high commission in Colombo is also engaged. We want to help the Maldives to make progress towards democratic reform in the direction that John Glen outlines.”

Several hundred opposition protesters meanwhile gathered last night for the second week running, with police arresting several dozen people and deploying pepper spray after the crowd reportedly began hurling paving stones at officers outside the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) building.

MP Ahmed Nihan of former President Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and recently-resigned SAARC Secretary General Dhiyana Saeed were among those detained by police. Haveeru reported that 17 of the 22 arrested were detained in Dhoonidhoo custodial overnight.

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Opposition protests continue as President calls for return to article 285

Opposition protests on Male’ continued over the weekend against the military’s detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed, and a proposal to withold lower court salaries until the judiciary is lawfully appointed in accordance with Article 285 of the Constitution.

Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested by the military on January 16 after he attempted to block his own police summons. Charges against him include 14 counts of obstructing police duty, “hijacking the court” and other corrupt professional dealings.

For the past two weeks opposition-led demonstrations have taken place outside the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) building, the closest point to the no-protest zone surrounding Republic Square, the President’s Office and other official buildings. After attempting to advance on Republic Square around midnight, smaller protests have spread to other parts of the city.

Activities this weekend have ceased by 1:30 am each evening, Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said.

On Thursday evening opposition leaders including Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Vice President Umar Naseer addressed an attentive crowd – approximately 200 young and old men and a few older women – from atop a van parked outside the MMA building. Starting at 9:00pm, speakers listed their concerns, made allegations against the current government and requested a fair trial for the judge.

“This is a dictatorship, this here, it is all dictatorship,” several protesters told Minivan News, while another claimed “the President is a drunkard and a [drug] addict.”

After a group prayer the crowd retreated in preparation for an advance on Republic Square. Following a swift surge from behind the fish market to the police barricade in front of the MMA building, protesters were held at bay by police forces armed with body-length plastic shields. Civilians shouted, criticised and laughed from nearby alleys as police and protesters retreated from the no-protest zone.

Around 12:30 am police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd, following violent scuffles.

During a clash in which protesters allegedly hurled pavement bricks, Haveeru photographer Ibrahim ‘Dodi’ Faid sustained a blow to his head. He was treated at ADK hospital.

PPM activist Ahmed ‘Maaz’ Saleem was taken to Indira Ghandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) following a blow to his leg, local media reported.

By the end of Thursday evening police had arrested 22 individuals including PPM MP Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik and former SAARC Secretary General Dhiyana Saeed, who recently resigned from her SAARC post after criticising the government’s order to detain Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

As the protestors dispersed, Saeed and two unidentified women sat in Republic Square, Haneef said. After refusing to leave the three women were taken into police custody for approximately five minutes before being released.

Of the 22 individuals arrested 17 were transferred to Dhoonidhoo Detention Centre. All were released on Friday, Haneef said.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) also arrested an individual from Henveiru ward carrying a large knife after the protests on Thursday night. Minivan News was informed that the knife was an ornate “war” knife approximately one and a half feet long.

Haneef confirmed that the individual was in custody and an investigation was underway.

On Friday the protests continued in the same location while ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rallied at party headquarters on Ameenee Magu.

According to local media, PPM MP Saleem returned to the MMA building area in a wheelchair to join protestors who broke through police barricades and sat in an open area nearby.

PPM MPs Riyaz Rasheed and Ilham Ahmed meanwhile were allowed into police headquarters where they requested a meeting with Police Commissioner Ahmed Faseeh, local media reported. An appointment has not been set.

Police report no violence or use of pepper spray during Friday’s protest, however four individuals were arrested and are currently being held at Dhoonidhoo.

As the protests look to stretch into their third week, Haneef said police are “still doing our duties as usual. We are not fatigued.”

He added that MNDF will maintain its position outside state television station Maldives National Broadcasting Company (MNBC), following targeted attacks last week in which journalists were beaten and tasered by protesters. The journalist who was beaten, Moosa Naushad, has been sent for medical treatment in India following injuries to his back and hand.

Protest leaders have pledged to continue the street demonstrations if their demands are not met. On January 26 MNDF rejected a High Court order to produce the judge.

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Allegations against Chief Judge first sent to Gayoom in 2005

The first complaints filed against Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed in July 2005 included allegations of misogyny, sexual deviancy, and throwing out an assault case despite the confession of the accused, Minivan News has learned.

A letter sent to President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom by then Attorney General Hassan Saeed, obtained by Minivan News (page 1, 2), outlined three specific allegations against Abdulla Mohamed.

While presiding over a sexual offence case against Azeem Abdullah of Chaandhaneege, G.A.Kanduhulhudhoo, on May 19, 2005, Saeed told Gayoom that Abdulla Mohamed “made the two children who were summoned as witnesses against the accused stand in front [of the court] and asked them to look at the people present.

“He then made the children identify the individuals they were looking at. Although the children said in court that the accused performed the indecent act he was accused of, the Judge made the children act out the indecent act in the presence of the perpetrator and the rest of the court.”

Saeed’s second allegation concerned the hearing of physical assault case on June 6, 2005, against Ibrahim Ali of H. Saaroakaage.

“The case was submitted based on the admission of the accused that he had committed the assault, but Judge Abdulla Mohamed of the Criminal Court dismissed the case, stating that there was no case against the accused,” Saeed wrote.

In Saeed’s third allegation, concerning a criminal case on June 6, 2005, against Ahmed Naeem of Male’ Municipality Special Register, “after completing the sentencing of the defendant, Abdulla Mohamed said, ‘…very few men ever meet women who love them. You may meet a woman who loves and cares for you. You should not run after a woman who does not love you. It is also stated in Holy Quran that women are very deceptive.’”

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC), the judicial watchdog, eventually formed a complaints committee to investigate the cases against Judge Abdulla in December 2009, which met 44 times but had failed to present a single report as of March 2011.

Speaking at an opposition rally on January 24 against the detention of Abdulla Mohamed, Saeed acknowledged that he was “not satisfied with Judge Abdulla’s actions either.”

“[But] he did not have to do things to my satisfaction. I submitted the legal points I noticed [related to the judge’s conduct] to the head of the judiciary at the time, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. I could have removed Judge Abdulla from the post through pressure. But I did not do it because it was not my responsibility,” Dr Saeed said.

“The constitution today forbids influencing judges. So, looking at the current scenario, the country has gone ten years backward.”

The current judicial crisis was sparked after Abdulla Mohamed filed a case in the Civil Court which granted him an injunction halting his further investigation by the JSC. This was following by a High Court ruling against a police summons on January 16, which prompted police to request the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) take the judge into custody.

Home Minister Hassan Afeef subsequently accused the judge of “taking the entire criminal justice system in his fist”, listing 14 cases of obstruction of police duty including withholding warrants for up to four days, ordering police to conduct unlawful investigations and disregarding decisions by higher courts.

Afeef accused the judge of “deliberately” holding up cases involving opposition figures, barring media from corruption trials, ordering the release of suspects detained for serious crimes “without a single hearing”, and maintaining “suspicious ties” with family members of convicts sentenced for dangerous crimes.

The judge also released a murder suspect “in the name of holding ministers accountable”, who went on to kill another victim.

Vice President of the Maldives Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan opposed the judge’s detention, stating on his blog that “I am ashamed and totally devastated by the fact that this is happening in a government in which I am the elected Vice President.”

The government then requested assistance from the international community to reform the judiciary. Observing that judicial reform “really should come from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC)”, Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem said the commission’s shortcoming are “now an issue of national security.”

“We have been working to improve the judiciary since we came to power, but we have not succeeded,” said Naseem. “We have asked the international community to assist us in this effort several times, and we find that they are willing to help at this point,” he explained.

A group of lawyers have meanwhile sent a case to the International Criminal Court (ICC), appealing that the judge’s detention is an “enforced disappearance” under the ICC’s Rome Statute.

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MDP Parliamentary Group call for Gasim’s removal from JSC

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs have called for the removal of opposition Jumhoory Party (JP) leader and MP ‘Burma’ Gasim Ibrahim from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) – the commission mandated to appoint and investigate complaints against judges.

Gasim is a well-known business tycoon, media owner and leader of the opposition-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP). He was in 2010 accused by the government of treason and bribery after phone calls of his conversations with People’s Alliance MP and the former President’s half-brother Abdulla Yameen were leaked to the media.

Gasim replaced opposition Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Afrashim Ali on the JSC, after Afrashim was dismissed by parliament 38-34 in favour amid claims of misconduct and corruption. Gasim was then narrowly appointed to the judicial watchdog after 38 members of of the 77 member parliament voted in his favour, to 36 against.

Former President’s Member on the JSC, Aishath Velezinee, observed at the time that Gasim “is a man of wealth, and every seat he has ever sat on has benefited him. We can expect the same from the JSC. I don’t think anyone is under any other impression. The people’s representatives have sold out to the devil, and this is a very sad day.”

DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef also expressed reservations at the time, suggesting the Gasim’s extensive business interests could prove a potential conflict of interest when overseeing the Maldivian justice system: “That is a real possibility. I think the judiciary must be totally free from political influence. We have to see how this unfolds – this is a small country and it is hard to have complete impartiality.”

“What is required is sincerity. We need to build a judiciary that is competent, efficient and capable of delivering justice,” Shareef told Minivan News in June 2011.

Speaking at an MDP rally today, several MDP MPs and senior figures accused Gasim and Speaker of the Parliament Abdulla Shahid – both of whom are members of the JSC representing parliament – of not fulfilling their legal duties on the committee.

The MDP called on Gasim and Shahid to carry out the responsibilities at the JSC and conclude cases presented against Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed, to end the current political tensions in Male’. The JSC’s investigation of the judge stalled after the Civil Court issued an injunction to its own watchdog body, which the JSC obeyed.

The MDP Parliamentary Group expressed concern that the judicial watchdog was defunct while the situation of the country was deteriorating, accusing the JSC of taking no action against the judge which had allowed him “to destroy the entire judiciary.”

Speaking to Minivan News, Spokesperson for MDP Parliamentary Group’s Mohamed Shifaz said that they had not officially decided to remove Gasim.

”What we want most is a professional JSC. If removing unprofessional persons to professionalise the JSC is the only way then we will do it,” Shifaz said. ”It is possible that the MDP Parliamentary Group will make such a decision.”

He said that JSC members attending protests and trying to defend a particular judge was not very professional.

”I believe that JSC members protesting is an ethical issue,” he said, in reference to Gasim who has been a key opposition figure throughout last week’s rallies in Male’.

Speaking at the MDP rally last night, MDP Chairperson and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik said that the citizens of the Maldives handed the administration to President Mohamed Nasheed to establish justice.

Gasim did not respond to calls and text messages at time of press.

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India will back Maldives “through upheavals”

Two years after registration the Friendship Association of India-Maldives (FAIM) launched its website last night in honor of India’s Republic Day, pledging new opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue between the two nations.

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed said the country would “continue to get aspirations and lessons from the Indian experience.”

In conjunction with the cultural classes and services available through the Indian Cultural Center (ICC), FAIM aims “to strengthen the relationship, create friendships and build mutual understanding between the peoples of India and Maldives through organizing social, cultural, academic and other activities of mutual interest.”

Highlighting India’s artistic traditions, FAIM staff expressed a strong interest in supporting arts in the Maldives.

“The Maldives has very little internal support for the arts,” said a FAIM secretary. “We would really like to see what we can provide,” he said, acknowledging that the Maldivian community has a lot of hidden talent.

India and the Maldives enjoy close partnerships in education, technology and transportation development; India recently passed a regulation allowing Maldivians visa-free entry for 30 days.

In addition to encouraging cultural exchange, FAIM encourages a greater understanding of the distinct cultures. “Although archaeological finds indicate that the Maldives was inhabited as early as 1500 BC, much of the country’s origin is lost in history – most of which is as much folklore and myth as fact,” states the FAIM website.

While welcoming guests for “a light evening”, Indian High Commissioner and FAIM patron Dynaneshwar Mulay addressed the ongoing political turbulence and judicial crisis in the Maldives by affirming the close ties shared between the two nations.

“A democracy will see upheavals,” he said. “The Maldives is perhaps one of India’s closest partners. The Indian High Commission will always be there to help the Maldives.”

Mulay recollected that the Indian public protested against corruption last year, upholding rights embedded in its 1950 constitution. The protests, triggered by Anna Hazare’s Ghanid-esque hunger strike in April, captured world audiences and was voted one of Time Magazine’s Top Ten Stories of 2011.

Affirming the importance of India’s warm relationship with the Maldives, President Mohamed Nasheed said consolidation of democracy, including establishing a rule of law and an independent judiciary, is “our biggest and most important project.”

Thanking the Indian “people, its government and its institutions for the very necessary and good assistance they continue to give to the Maldives in our work to become a democratic society,” the President assured those gathered that the government shares concerns raised about the nation’s judicial crisis but views them as part and parcel of the task at hand.

“We have heard many criticisms, and we will continue to hear them. Would the end justify the means?” he queried.

“What I am sure of is that the people of this country aspire for a free and fair judiciary. And they want the judiciary to look like them. They wanted the presidency to look like them. They wanted the Parliament to look like them. And therefore the new judiciary has to look like them. They have to look like the Maldives. That is what has been asked of me, and that is what I am going to do.”

“Very often we have to invent, and invent out of the box,” the President said, asking for other powers to understand the Maldives’ current situation as a necessary, if complex, path to a stronger democracy.

Emphasising the value of cross-cultural dialogue in diplomatic matters, the President expressed hope that the traditional Indian thabla music would “broaden our minds and give us means to understand what is happening around us.”

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MNDF dismiss High Court order to produce Judge Abdulla Mohamed

The High Court has ordered the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) to produce Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed for the hearing of the case appealed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), following the Civil Court injunction preventing the JSC from taking action against Judge Abdulla over an ethical issue.

High Court Spokesperson Ameen Faisal told Minivan News that the High Court had ordered the MNDF to produce Judge Abdulla to the court at 4:15pm today, but said the MNDF had dismissed the order. Under the Maldivian Constitution the MNDF is answerable to the President, who serves as Commander-in-Chief.

”At 4:15pm the hearing was to be conducted but the presiding  judge decided that the case could not be conducted in the absence of Judge Abdulla and cancelled the hearing,” Ameen said.

MNDF Spokesperson Major Abdul Raheem told Minivan News that the MNDF had no comment on the matter.

The MNDF was previously ordered to produce Judge Abdulla Mohamed to dispute the legality of his detention, however the MNDF did not respond to any orders.

Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested by the MNDF on the evening of Monday, January 16, in compliance with a police request.

The judge’s whereabouts were not revealed until January 18, and the MNDF has acknowledged receipt but not replied to Supreme Court orders to release the judge.

Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz lately joined the High and Supreme Courts in condemning MNDF’s role in the arrest as unlawful, and requesting that the judge be released.

PG Muizz ordered an investigation by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM), and will evaluate the situation following the commission’s findings.

Lawyers of Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed has requested the Supreme Court not to hear any case related to Judge Abdulla before the court decide on the request made by the lawyers to issue a writ to free the judge.

Former President’s Member of the JSC, Aishath Velezinee, has contended that while the government cannot keep the judge detained indefinitely without conducting an investigation, “releasing him is a threat to security.”

I have heard Vice President Mohamed Waheed Hassan calling for him to be released. Abdulla Mohamed is not under arrest – but his freedom of movement and communication would be a danger at this moment. We are at the point where we really and truly need to get to the bottom of this and act upon the constitution,” she told Minivan News.

“We talking about cleaning up the judiciary, and this is not talking outside the constitution – this is the foundation of the constitution. The constitution is build upon having three separate powers. The judiciary is perhaps the most important power. The other powers come and go, politics change, but the judiciary is the balancing act. When that is out of balance, action is necessary.”

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Religious intolerance sees Maldives drop to 73rd in Press Freedom Index

The Maldives has fallen 21 places on Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s press freedom index between 2010 and 2011.

The country is now ranked 73, level with the Seychelles and below Sierra Leone but still well above many countries in both the region and the Middle East countries, including Qatar, Oman and the UAE.

The Maldives took a giant leap in 2009 to 51 following the introduction of multiparty democracy – in 2008 it had been ranked 104.

RSF has however recently expressed concern at the rising climate of religious intolerance in the Maldives and its impact on freedom of expression.

“A climate of religious intolerance prevailed in the Maldives, where media organisations were subjected to threats by the authorities and had to deal with an Islamic Affairs Ministry bent on imposing Sharia to the detriment of free expression,” RSF stated.

In November 2011 the organisation reacted to the Islamic Ministry’s order to block the website of controversial blogger Ismail ‘Hilath’ Rasheed, stating that “the increase in acts of religious intolerance is a threat to the Maldives’ young democracy”.

“Incidents involving media workers are rare but that is only because most of them prefer to censor themselves and stay away from subjects relating to Islam. The government should not give in to the fanatical minority but must do all it can to ensure the media are free to tackle any subjects they choose,” the organisation said.

Rasheed was subsequently arrested on the evening of December 14 for his involvement in a “silent protest” calling for religious tolerance, held on Human Rights Day. The protesters had been attacked and Rasheed hospitalised after being struck with a stone.

On his release without charge three weeks later, Rasheed expressed concern for his safety.

“The majority of Maldivians are not violent people. But I am concerned about a few psychotic elements who believe they will go to heaven if they kill me – people who don’t care if they go to jail for it. Those people I am afraid of, and I will not provoke the country in the future,” he told Minivan News.

In September 2011 the government published new ‘religious unity’ regulations enforcing parliament’s religious unity act of 1994, with a penalty of 2-5 years imprisonment for violation.

Under the regulations, the media is banned from producing or publicising programs, talking about or disseminating audio deemed to “humiliate Allah or his prophets or the holy Quran or the Sunnah of the Prophet (Mohamed) or the Islamic faith.”

More recently several journalists with the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) were beaten, threatened and tasered after protesters from the opposition and ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) clashed outside the station. Both sides blamed each other for the attacks, while MNBC said it would no longer cover the ongoing protests on scene.

The government meanwhile claimed that its commitment to media freedom is “absolute and unwavering.”

“President Nasheed’s administration never has and never will do anything to undermine the independence, integrity or professionalism of the media,” said President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair.

Zuhair’s comments followed allegations that Communications Minister Adhil Saleem had intimidated journalists by threatening to withdraw broadcasting licenses, which Zuhair claimed was “merely” a reaction to “certain TV news channels acting unprofessionally when airing footage of recent protests.”

Despite the fall, the Maldives was still ranked significantly higher than many other countries in the region.

Sri Lanka fell to 163, continuing a steady decline over the last decade (it was ranked 51 in 2002).

“The stranglehold of the Rajapakse clan [has] forced the last few opposition journalists to flee the country,” RSF said in a statement on the release of the 2011 Index.

“Any that stayed behind were regularly subjected to harassment and threats. Attacks were less common but impunity and official censorship of independent news sites put an end to pluralism and contributed more than ever to self-censorship by almost all media outlets.”

Bangladesh fared poorly (129) – “despite genuine media pluralism, the law allows the government to maintain excessive control over the media and the Internet” – while Nepal (109) showed modest improvement with a drop off in violence between the government and Maoist rebels.

India’s position fell (131) after the government unveiled the “Information Technology Rules 2011, which have dangerous implications for online freedom of expression. Foreign reporters saw their visa requests turned down or were pressured to provide positive coverage.”

Pakistan (151st) meanwhile remained the world’s deadliest country for journalists for the second year running.

Finland, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland were ranked as having the greatest press freedom, while North Korea and Eritrea fared the worst.

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