August 2, 2012 – Minivan News

PIC statement “not authorised by me”: PIC President

“I did not authorise the release of the statement”, Police Integrity Commission (PIC) President Shahindha Islmail has said, a day after the police watchdog released a statement dismissing the reports of police brutality and use of excessive force against Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protesters.

Ismail told Minivan News on Thursday that she did not agree with the point which said police had not used excessive force, and therefore provided clear instructions to revise the draft statement to include the unlawful actions of the police observed by the commission.

However, she confirmed that the statement was released on Wednesday while she was on leave and that none of her suggestions were included, except the point that the protests had turned peaceful since July 21.

“As the protests have changed, I told [the commission members], the time had passed for us to comment on it and it was not a good idea to release the statement now condemning the protesters, as it has a possibility of causing further disruption of the peace,” the PIC President observed.

The contentious PIC statement said that police had not used excessive force to disperse the consecutive protests held by the MDP since early July, and that those protests were only broken up following the “removal of police barricades by the protesters and use of loud speakers after midnight ,and attacks against police with coins, pavement bricks, marble, metal pieces, chili water and plastic water bottles.”

“I did not disagree with the points that the protesters threw water bottles and different things that the police. The main thing I disagreed with was the point that police did not use excessive force. From what I have personally witnessed on the TV coverage and is PIC investigations, it is very clear this is not the case,” said Ismail.

She continued, “There have been several occassions when the police obstructed the protests by putting barricades down, despite the fact that the protests were going on in unrestricted areas. This I believe is a clear violation of people’s constitutional right to peaceful assembly.”

Furthermore, she observed that the “police have been acting in a way it seems to provoke the crowds,” Ismail alleged.

“We saw police officers walk into the crowds [protest] several times. Sometimes, it is to bring the barricades taken by the proterstors or to arrest someone. But, some times it is without any reason. I believe it is a form of provocation from the police side.” Ismail explained.

She added that PIC observers had also witnessed police using foul language with the protesters and sometimes against them: “The police stop it once they realise we are commission observers,” she said.

Asked whether the release of statement reflected attempts by the other commission members to override her authority, PIC President responded: “I don’t think of it as overriding my authority, but they are are trying to undermine me.”

She further claimed that the statement was backed by the commission members who seem to be “biased in favour of the police”. She did not name anyone.

As the watchdog body of the police, Shahinda emphasised that PIC should not take sides between the police and the people, and must always prioritise the role of overseeing whether the police actions were within legal boundaries, and if not, provide instructions of what needed to be improved.

“When the PIC failsto inform police what needs to improved, the police officers who are acting unlawfully will see it as an encouragement to ignore the rule and regulations,” Shahinda contended.

Indicating that it was to late to retract the PIC statement, Ismail noted that the “damage is already done” and “police are likely to participate in further unlawful actions.”

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Protests, roadblocks as Nasheed voluntarily attends police HQ

Former President Mohamed Nasheed attended police headquarters this afternoon, following a request made by police in a letter sent earlier this week.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Youth Wing Leader Aminath Shauna told Minivan News that while the letter was not an official police summons, it accused Nasheed of orchestrating violence against police and vandalism of police property since May 29.

The letter was signed by Deputy Head of Specialist Crime Command, Superintendent Mohamed Riyaz, said Shauna.

She added that Nasheed had decided to attend the station against the advice of both his legal team and the MDP’s National Council, over fears for his safety.

In a statement on July 31, the MDP accused President Mohamed Waheed’s administration of “demonstrating a clear pattern of abuse of power and tactics aimed at removing President Nasheed from the upcoming Presidential race.”

“The letter to summon President Nasheed is baseless and fails to state any specific charges. The letter refers indirectly to attacks on police, vandalising of police property and claims that their observations have led them to believe President Nasheed is responsible for such events,” the party stated. The MDP added that the work of the Commonwealth-sanctioned Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) into the controversial circumstances surrounding Nasheed’s resignation was ongoing.

“Upon assessment of the facts surrounding the summons, we conclude that this summons is an attempt by the Government to thwart the progress of the Commission of National Inquiry and former President Nasheed’s participation in upcoming elections,” the party said.

“In the absence of any specific criminal charge for which he is being investigated, and since the stated purpose of the summons is merely to question President Nasheed and obtain a written statement from him, we are of the opinion that the only safe course of action will be for President Nasheed to provide a written statement without physically entering the police station.”

The party expressed “extreme concern” for Nasheed’s “personal safety”, observing that he had been “assaulted by the police on various occasions since his resignation from office, and these instances are still being investigated by the Police Integrity Commission.”

Police responded by issuing a statement “to clear the allegations of possible torture, inhumane and degrading treatment by police, raised by the MDP and supporters of Nasheed, after a police summon notice was sent [to the former president].”

“The summon notice is for the investigation of a case lodged against Nasheed for inciting violence against law enforcement official since 29 May 2012. It is suspected that the civil disorder and several physical attacks committed against police officers, and the damages to police vehicles and infrastructures are the outcome of the call by Nasheed to commit such offences,” police stated.

“Thereby, Maldives Police Service has commenced an investigation and the summon notice was issued in furtherance of it, for Nasheed to appear on 02 August 2012 at 1000 hours. However, upon a request made by Nasheed, the time on the summon notice is delayed to 1400 hours on the same day.”

“The Maldives Police Service ensures the safety and security of Nasheed from the moment of his arrival to the police headquarters, and has invited the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, Police Integrity Commission, and Maldivian Democracy Network (an NGO) to observe police actions during Nasheed’s investigation process. The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives and Police Integrity Commission have accepted this offer.

“[The MPS] assures concerned parties and individuals that whoever is summoned to the police would be treated in accordance with the law; with dignity, respect for human rights and within police code of conduct and code of ethics.”

Protesters gather

Political tensions on the streets of Male’ rose as word spread of the former President’s impending summons.

Protesters initially gathered outside Nasheed’s family of residence, Canaryge, to block any attempts by police to arrest the former President.

However, by early afternoon Nasheed left for police headquarters in the company of his legal team, flanked by several hundred supporters.

After Nasheed entered Republic Square, police barricaded the surrounding streets leading to the large open area.

MDP supporters quickly gathered on the street of Chaandhanee Magu, a busy road full of stores directly aimed at tourists.

Nasheed left police headquarters around 5:40pm, joining more than a thousand cheering supporters gathered at the police barricades near Seagull cafe.

Reporters from the MDP-aligned Raajje TV meanwhile claimed not to have been allowed past police barricades with other media.

Jailhouse diplomacy

Nasheed resigned on February 7 amidst a police and military mutiny, after several weeks of protests by 300-400 opposition supporters over his detention of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed.

Following his resignation, the Criminal Court quickly issued a warrant for Nasheed’s arrest, however it was not acted upon by police after MDP supporters gathered outside his family residence.

The same day, police claimed to have discovered bottles of alcohol in the Presidential residence. That case, together with Nasheed’s detention of the judge, was sent to the Prosecutor General (PG)’s Office.

Earlier in July, the PG sent the judge case to Hulhumale’ magistrate court for trial, stating that filing it in the Criminal Court would represent a conflict of interest because it concerned the chief judge. However, the case was returned by the magistrate court, which claimed it was outside its jurisdiction.

Last week, police released a tapped phone conversation in which Nasheed was heard to call for supporters to “fight back” against police, after their dismantling of the party’s protest site at Usfasgandu on charges that the area was being used for the practice of black magic.

The arrest of Nasheed ahead of elections – early or otherwise – appears to be a ‘red line’ for many elements of the international community.

Canadian Foreign Ministry John Baird on July 27 accused the Maldivian government of seeking to arrest its political opponents and eliminate Nasheed’s candidacy in the upcoming election.

Baird, a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), noted that “the Maldives has been given the benefit of the doubt by the Commonwealth so far. Continued intimidation, illegal arrests and other authoritarian tactics by the present government may require the Commonwealth to consider a different approach, in our view.”

Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by claiming that the Canadian statement was “misleading”, and insisted that “it is the prerogative of the Prosecutor General to decide on whom and when to charge an individual of criminal offence.”

“Now that these institutions are independent, everyone, including our valuable friends in the international community, should be prepared to accept the decisions of these institutions,” the Ministry stated.

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Suspension of parliament leaves legal void for regulations on freedom of assembly, political parties

Several general regulations without parent legislation, including rules governing political parties and freedom of assembly, will cease to have legal force if an extension is not approved at a parliament sitting before midnight on Sunday, August 5.

Parliament however remains deadlocked and sittings have been suspended indefinitely amidst forced cancellations and escalating political tension.

Prior to the ratification of the new constitution on August 7, 2008, parliament passed a General Regulations Act as parent legislation for over 80 regulations without a statutory basis, or were not formulated under an Act of parliament. These include regulations for criminal justice procedures, companies and finance leasing transactions, insurance, jails and parole, freedom of information and building codes.

Article 271 of the constitution states, “Regulations derive their authority from laws passed by the People’s Majlis pursuant to which they are enacted, and are enforceable pursuant to such lawful authority. Any regulations requiring compliance by citizens must only be enacted pursuant to authority granted by a law enacted by the People’s Majlis.”

The parent act prolonged the lifespan of the regulations – deemed necessary for administrative functions and service provision – for a one year period until new legislation, such as a Criminal Procedures Act, Evidence Act, Freedom of Information Act and Political Parties Act could be enacted.

The act provided for further extensions based on recommendations by parliament’s Rules Committee. The last extension was approved in December 2011 and is set to elapse on August 5, after which the regulations would become null and void.

With the People’s Majlis at a standstill and the outcome of talks between parliamentary group leaders unclear, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim yesterday warned of an impending “legal void” should the parent act be allowed to expire.

Nazim told newspaper Haveeru that the Act included “two very important regulations” for the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

“This problem will become a huge issue,” the People’s Alliance (PA) leader was quoted as saying. “It is therefore of utmost importance that a Majlis sitting is held before Sunday to find a solution. If not, the country will face a big constitutional problem.”

Parliament’s Rules Committee meanwhile met last week and decided to remove six regulations from the General Regulations Act.

According to the Majlis secretariat, the committee also decided to extend the deadline for the remaining regulations to April 2013, following “consideration of legal opinion by the Attorney General’s Office.”

However, article 5(b) of the Act states that extensions must be approved by the Majlis and previous extensions were put for a vote on the floor.

Independent MP for Kulhudhufushi South, Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed, told the local daily today that failure to approve a further extension could disrupt services and raise questions of the legality of government functions.

As the regulations concerned a number of areas and would “directly affect” people from “various fields and arenas”, Nasheed said a sitting of parliament had to be held before Sunday “even for five minutes” to vote to approve an extension.

The formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has meanwhile called for President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik and leaders of political parties represented in parliament to come to the negotiating table to resolve the ongoing political dispute.

A statement released by the MDP parliamentary group yesterday contended that in the wake of the “coup d’etat” on February 7, the Maldivian state, constitution, democracy and economy had “come to a halt.”

The party would cooperate with resuming parliament sittings after a compromise agreement is reached through dialogue, the statement said.

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“Difficulties in getting phone call recordings”: Commission of National Inquiry

In a press conference held this morning, members of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) stated they have been having experiencing difficulties in getting the phone call recordings from the Telecommunications Authority (TAM).

However, the members said that the TAM had provided them with the telephone call logs.

“We are having difficulties in getting the phone call recordings. [TAM] does not see the importance of having a [regulation to release call recordings]. Apparently they can’t forward us the call recordings,” Dr Ibrahim Yasir said.

He further said that the CNI has been discussing with TAM on how they could share the recordings.

Speaking in the press conference, co-chair G P Selvam, a retired Singaporian Judge, stated that he was “trying to release a report that all members of the commission agrees to” but said that it was not “something he can promise”.

He also added that CNI will complete its investigation and send its report to the authorities on August 29, but the report would be publicly released on August 30.

Selvam stated that the press conference was the Commission’s final press conference before the release of its findings. It would not state against whom the state should press charges – this was for the Prosecutor General (PG) to decide, he said.

“This is not a criminal investigation, and we don’t have the authority to call on the PG to press charges against specific people,” he said.

Asked if the report would be released in a fashion that would ease the ongoing political tensions, Selvam said the CNI did not need to see what was going on in the current political situation, as its only focus was to see whether the former President Nasheed was toppled illegitimately or not.

“We will not release a timeline, we will release a full report, and the CNI will not consider what may happen after the report is released,” Selvam said.

“We do not want to omit any names, but it may be we will not be able to include all 260 individuals who were interviewed. We will not keep from disclosing any information with the excuse of national interest,” he added.

Dr Ali Fawaz Shareef in the press conference stated that they would release one report, and that there would not be a separate report for the authorities.

He further stated that the commission has already interviewed 269 people, and only 16 people remains to be interviewed.

The members also highlighted that two institutions had not cooperated with the inquiry, but said that in general most institutions were very supportive.

They also highlighted that the commission had received reports published by others, including the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s report on the transfer of power written by two former ministers, Ameen Faisal and Mohamed Aslam.

During the press briefing, the members of the CNI announced that Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Major General Ahmed Shiyam had shared his bank statement with the commission.

Shiyam had told the CNI that he had no objection to revealing his account details to the public, and therefore Selvam said that the CNI report would include an attached copy of his bank statement.

“Major General Shiyam has told us that he has no objection to revealing the details of his bank accounts to the public,” Selvam said.

He further added that there were several other notable figures who had agreed to share their bank statements with the commission, but did not reveal their names.

CNI deadline August 29

Initially, the commission was mandated to release its findings on July 31, but CNI members stated that their final report will be delayed, after hundreds of people have come forward offering new information.

CNI Co-chair Selvam at the time said that the new date for the report’s completion would be the end of August, which would be discussed with the government. The original deadline was July 31.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s member on the Commission, Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed, said at the time that 244 people had registered to provide information to the commission following the reforming of the CNI.

“There has been a lot of interest. We will speak to each and every single one,” he said.

The new names joined the 87 spoken to by the government’s original three member panel, taking the total number of contributors to 331.

“That’s one contributor for every 1000 of population,” Saeed remarked.

Following the remarks by the commission, President Mohamed Waheed Hassan extended the deadline by which the CNI must conclude its report into February’s transfer of power by August 30, 2012.

President’s Office confirmed yesterday that Dr Waheed had issued a decree approving the extension of the report’s deadline. Once complete, the findings are to be submitted to President Waheed, Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid and the prosecutor general and attorney general.

The first three-member CNI was appointed by President Mohamed Waheed, following a police and military mutiny and Nasheed’s resignation, in what he and his party have described as a coup d’état.

Facing pressure from the Commonwealth and civil society NGOs, the government eventually agreed to reform the commission to include a retired Singaporean judge and a representative for Nasheed.

The former CNI subsequently released a ‘timeline’ into events that took place from January 16 to February 7. The MDP accused the commission of trying to prejudice the work of new commission, and then released its own version of events in response – the ‘Ameen- Aslam’ report based on interviews with the security services. The government described the publication of this report as a “terrorist act”.

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How Nasheed could not sustain a coalition: Dr Hassan Saeed

“No doubt many will be watching some of the sporting events at the Olympics. At the opening ceremony an athlete, judge and coach take an oath on behalf of all the competitors and those involved to abide by the spirit of the Olympics and the rules of the sport,” Dr Hassan Saeed, Special Advisor to President Waheed, writes for Haveeru.

“Whilst there may be a few people who break the rules, by and large the Olympics is full of sportsmanship and fair play. Some watching it might wish that our politics could resemble that sporting outlook more.

This brings me back to the issue of trust. Last week I talked about the inconsistencies in Nasheed’s position in the run-up to the last Presidential elections. He made all sorts of commitments at various points, but then did not deliver on them.

However, having arrived in office by making all sort of quickly withdrawn promises, it meant that there was little trust when it came to sustaining a coalition. It’s important to state this, because the current National Unity Government, whilst having been quickly assembled has now been in office for 6 months – something worth reviewing in a future article.

As I recounted in my last article, we in the New Maldives movement and others had decided to support Nasheed in the second round of the elections after he had come a poor second to President Gayyoom.

Shortly after Nasheed took the oath of office, I met him at Hilaaleege, the current official Presidential residence, to share some thoughts I felt were important. He had just come from a joint press conference with his predecessor President Gayyoom in which the new President told those assembled that democracy in the country will be judged on how well the former President was treated.

As part of his winning coalition I wanted to raise a few points with him.

Firstly, I told him that although coalition governments are not easy to manage it was important to make the effort to ensure that the coalition did not break up.

There was some public goodwill after the change and it was important that those people, who had made a leap into the unknown after 30 years with the same president, were not disappointed.

My suggestion was to set up a coalition committee chaired by the President himself to discuss important policy issues. Perhaps in response to this idea he did set up an informal coalition committee – but only to negotiate on cabinet composition.

In fact even before the cabinet was formed, for all practical purposes, the committee ceased to function. As a result his ill-fated coalition lasted barely three weeks!

Honourable Qasim resigned just 21 days after its formation and I left on the 100th day. Despite all efforts to stay the Adaalath party also did not last long in the coalition either.

Secondly, I suggested that he should get the best economic brain in the country as the finance minister. I told him that I foresaw serious financial and economic trouble – both domestic and international – the signs of which were already visible at the time. He told me that he had Ali Hashim in mind. I told him that he was a decent man but probably not the best choice for that time.

The subsequent huge deficit budgets, mismanagement of public finance and flight of the best brains in the Ministry shows my concerns were right.

My third suggestion was for coalition partners to commit to fight the 2009 Parliamentary election under a coalition banner. He told me that the MDP wouldn’t agree. I told him that it was his job to get the party’s approval.

After all it seemed to me that his own party could agree to him being a Vice-Presidential candidate or a Presidential candidate depending on who he was talking to. It was clear to me then that the MDP could not win that election in its own right and the coalition would face an early crisis. Subsequent events proved that I was right.

Not only did the MDP – that after all had only polled a quarter of the vote in the first round of the presidential elections – not win in the Parliamentary elections; but also allowed the opposition which was battered, bruised and bankrupt, to make a spectacular comeback.

Ever since, Nasheed had to battle with the Parliament that his own arrogance created. And the consequences also contributed to his downfall.

His supporters would regularly harass MPs, stage protests outside Parliament and occasionally invade the building.

Police commissioner designates July 23 as “Police Memorial Day”

The Maldives Police Service has announced that July 23 will be set aside to commemorate the lives of officers who have fallen in the line of duty, according to local media.

Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz said that a Police Memorial Day would be held every year on July 23 in honour of those officers who had lost their lives.

The Sun Online news service yesterday reported that the comments were made during a special commemoration service for Lance Corporal Adam Haleem, who was killed after trying to arrest his suspected killer. The attack occurred on July 23, 2012.

According to Commissioner Riyaz, Haleem’s murder was the first murder of an on-duty officer since 2008. The murder has been politicised by supporters on both sides of the country’s political divide, even as investigations into the death were ongoing.

The commissioner also used yesterday’s ceremony to draw attention to the deaths of other officers killed on duty.

These officers include Lance Corporal Ali Nazim, killed by an accident at sea during a rescue mission on September 21, 2006 and Constable Yoosuf Zameel, who died while travelling on March 13, 2007 as he travelled from Male’ to Dhoonidhoo.

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Applications opened for Broadcasting Commission board role

Applications were opened today to fill a position on the Maldives Broadcasting Commission’s (MBC’s) Board of Directors.

The President’s Office has said it will be accepting applications for the position until August 15. An application form and declaration can be found on the President’s Office website.

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US challenges Maldives’ prosecution of terror suspects, among concerns over rising radicalisation

The US State Department has reported there were no successful prosecutions of suspected terror suspects during 2011 in the Maldives, and raised wider concerns about the potential radicalisation of young people from the country in foreign madrassas.

According to the US government’s recently published “Country Reports on Terrorism 2011”, the Maldives was viewed to have “severely limited” legislation to prosecute alleged cases of terrorism and extremism in the country’s courts.

While the Maldives government said it was presently looking to address several security and terrorist threats, such as piracy and organised crime, through existing legislation and proposed legal amendments, it moved to deny any truth in claims Maldivian citizens were being radicalised at Pakistan-based madrassas.

President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza said that the government was presently collecting information in regards to the issue of radicalisation in the country. He stressed active steps had been taken against permitting clearance for local students to study in any madrassas in the country.

“No Maldivians right now are being trained in Pakistani madrassas. Steps are being taken to ensure this with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and authorities in Pakistan,” he said. “We will not issue visas to go there in this regard. So to say that such a threat exists is definitely not true.”

Key threats

In addressing other key threats to the nation, Abbas claimed that the incursion of pirates from Somalia into the Maldives’ territories on two reported occasions, as well as human trafficking resulting from organised crime were seen as “particular dangers”.

“The threat we currently face from pirates and traffickers is being dealt with via existing legislation, as well as some new amendments that have presently been proposed in parliament,” he said.

Abbas said the new government had not opted to make any drastic changes to existing counter-terror policy enacted under former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration.

“We will not be making a 180 degree reversal on the last government’s stance,” he said, adding that a focus on further legislation would be sought under President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

US State Department view

According to the US State Department, the American government was partnering with Maldivian counterparts in attempts to “strengthen” law enforcement in the Indian Ocean nation. The US was also said to back establishing community outreach schemes based around countering terrorist ideologies, as the state department stressed alleged radicalism remained a concern in the Maldives.

“The government believes that hundreds of young Maldivians attended madrassas in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and was concerned that these students were bringing home radical ideology,” stated the report. Two Maldivians, in separate instances in March and October, were arrested in Sri Lanka on charges linked to terrorism. Their cases were pending at year’s end.”

One of the suspects, Mohamed Ameen, was released from police custody in May ths year by the criminal court after it did not issue an extension to his detention period.

Local media reported that the suspect was released by the court “on the condition that he not get involved in any further terrorist activities, and not leave the country.”

Beyond legislation, the report also pointed to the signing of an agreement signed with Malaysia-based IT group Nexbis to install a new border control system with an integrated database in an effort to try and combat human trafficking into the country.

“However, alleged corruption concerns and subsequent legal proceedings made it unclear when the system would be installed,” the report stated.

The Maldives was last month included on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking for a third year in a row.

The US State Department added that the Maldives, during 2011, had become a partner in its Antiterrorism Assistance programme focused on training in areas such as “counterterrorism leadership”, as well as regional cooperation with other authorities.

The report also noted the Maldives inclusion in the regional Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, where it had been submitting annual updates on its work.

“Maldives underwent a mutual evaluation conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the final evaluation report was adopted by the members in July 2011. Maldivian law does not criminalize money laundering apart from a small provision in the Drugs Act. The Maldives Financial Intelligence Unit took the lead in drafting an Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism act with assistance from the IMF,” the report stated.

“The draft bill was sent to the Attorney General’s Office in July 2010 and was sent back to the Maldives Police Services and the prosecutor general for review and comment. In July 2011, Maldives Financial Transactions Reporting came into effect, which aims to safeguard Maldives financial and payment systems from being used to promote acts of terrorism and money laundering, and to protect financial services and products from being used to conceal the proceeds of crime.”

According to the state department, the UN 1267/1989 and 1988 consolidated lists detailing individuals or entities with associations to the Taliban and al-Qa’ida had also been sent to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The MMA was said to have instructed banks creditors to then take acton on the matter with a set time frame, according to the report.

As part of the US State Department’s findings during 2011, recognition was also given to efforts made by the Maldives government to pursue intiatives and mechanisms designed to counter “violent extremism”.

“The Ministry of Islamic Affairs implemented a programme designed to mobilise religious and social leaders to work against all forms of violence in society, including religious extremism that leads to violence,” stated the report. “The Ministry conducted over 15 seminars and workshops for religious leaders, educators, and local government officials. Several of these workshops included participants from across the country.

“Ideological problems”

Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said in June that he was seeking to counter the “ideological problems” of extremism in the country.

Shaheem claimed that the threat of home-grown terrorism was a key issue needing to be addressed in the Maldives – something he alleged the previous government under former President Nasheed had neglected to assist with through funding.

“The previous government did not give us the budget we needed to run programmes to address these issues,” he said at the time. “There are problems here with extremism and terrorism, these are idealogical problems that need to be targeted through religious awareness campaigns.”

Shaheem himself previously served under the Nasheed government as Islamic State Minister before resigning in December 2010 over differences of opinion with the administration over issues such as claims it was strengthening links with Israel.

However, the now opposition Maldvian Democratic Party (MDP) – to which Nasheed remains the current presidential candidate – was sceptical of the commitments of religious figures attached to the Waheed administration. It contends the government came to power on February 7 in a “coup d’etat”.

Party Spokesperson and MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor claimed that with the MDP failing to recognise the legitimacy of the current government, the same was true for ministerial appointments like Sheikh Shaheem.

Ghafoor also alleged that issues such as Islamic fundamentalism were a well established tool used during the 30 year rule of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to pit different factions in the country against each other, something he believed was once again happening with the present government.

“I see Shaheem as a just a little cog inserted into the larger machine of Gayoom’s political control,” he said.

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Police send CSC Fahmy’s sexual harassment case to Prosecutor General

Police have concluded their investigation into the alleged sexual harassment of Civil Service Commission (CSC) head Mohamed Fahmy, and have forwarded the case to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef told Minivan News that the case was forwarded to the Prosecutor General yesterday afternoon, after closing the investigation into the case.

Haneef said the police requested the PG press charges against Fahmy.

In June, Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee launched an investigation into alleged harassment of a female staff member by the CSC Chair after a senior research officer at the CSC accused him of sexually harassing her.

Both Fahmy and the victim were summoned to committee after the complaint was lodged in the first week of June.

Fahmy was alleged to have called the female staff member over to him, taken her hand and asked her to stand in front of him so that others in the office could not see, and caressed her stomach saying ”it won’t do for a beautiful single woman like you to get fat.”

According to local media, the woman told her family about the incident, who then called Fahmy. Fahmy then sent her a text message apologising for the incident, reportedly stating, ”I work very closely with everyone. But I have learned my lesson this time.”

Speaking to Minvian News at the time, Fahmy said the allegation was false “and a blatant lie.”

“The female staff member concerned did not win a scholarship to Singapore, and that is why she is doing this in return,” Fahmy said.

The Independent Institutions Oversight Committee of the parliament concluded an investigation into the case and found Fahmy guilty, and asked him to resign within 14 days.

However Fahmy decided not to resign and the committee opted to forward the case to the parliament floor.

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