Month: October 2012

Half of former President’s legal team barred from court

Two of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s lawyers have been barred from representing him by the Hulhumale Magistrate Court.

Nasheed is being tried for ordering the detention of Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed during his final days in office, a move Nasheed’s government defended on grounds of national security after institutions responsible for holding the judiciary accountable failed to do so.

Spokesperson for the Department of Judicial Administration Latheefa Gasim was reported as informing local media that lawyer and former Youth Minister Hassan Latheef had been barred from the trial as the state had called him as a witness.

Another of Nasheed’s defence lawyers, Ahmed Abdulla Afeef, was barred as he had not signed new behavioural regulations for lawyers recently issued by the Supreme Court.

This regulation, published earlier this year in June, prevents lawyers from openly criticising discrepancies within the courts, among other restrictions.

Following its publication a number of the country’s top lawyers held a crisis meeting to try and amend the regulations, including Prosecutor General Abdulla Muiz, Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem (now resigned) and Independent MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed.

Nasheed has two remaining lawyers: former President’s Office Legal Advisor Hisaan Hussain and Criminal Court lawyer Abdulla Shair.

Latheef was not responding to calls at time of press, while Hisan told Minivan News that Nasheed’s defence counsel were preparing a statement on the matter.

A legal source familiar with the Nasheed case told Minivan News that Afeef was one of the lawyers who contested the legality of the Supreme Court’s issuing of behavioural guidelines for lawyers, which he had refused to sign in protest.

“He submitted the matter to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) in writing. However in the interest of this trial he has submitted the documents to sign the decree,” the source stated.

Latheef, meanwhile, had been summoned as a witness by the state to prove that Abdulla Mohamed had been kept on the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) training island of Girifushi, “a fact not disputed by anyone,” the source said.

“The court is right – a key witness cannot serve as a defence lawyer because of conflict of interest,” the legal source added, “but it looks like a deliberate attempt by the Prosecutor General to sabotage the defence counsel and make its work difficult.”

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have previously alleged that the trial is a politically-motivated effort to convict and bar the former President from competing in future elections.

During the first hearing, Nasheed’s defence challenged the legitimacy of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court which it alleged had been created by the JSC without constitutional authority.

The JSC has also appointed the three-member panel of judges which overseeing the trial of the former President. The Commission’s members include two of Nasheed’s direct political opponents, including Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid – Deputy of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) – and Gasim Ibrahim, resort tycoon, media owner, MP and leader of the Jumhoree Party (JP), also a member of the governing coalition.

UK lawyers to assist defence

The MDP has meanwhile confirmed that two senior UK-based legal experts – one a specialist in Shariah Law – will be joining the defence team: Sir Ivan Lawrence QC and Barrister Ali Mohammed Azhar.

One lawyer told Minivan News that the appointment of two foreign legal experts in a domestic trial was an “unprecedented” development in the Maldives’ legal history, however Nasheed’s legal team has stated that the foreign lawyers will be unable to represent the former President in court and will instead provide advice and counsel.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Government revokes 24 hour licenses for shops and cafes, “for national security”

The Ministry of Economic Development has temporarily revoked the 24 hour licensing permits issued to businesses across the country, citing concerns over national security.

Deputy Minister for Economic Development Adam Zalif said the revoking of permits – which will affect 44 businesses in the capital Male’ – was a temporary one, the duration of which was yet to be determined.

“It has been done for national security reasons. Crime is increasing daily and Male’ is awake 24 hours a day,” he added.

Deputy Minister for Economic Development Shiham Waheed confirmed that the policy would come into effect as of tonight, with shops able to stay open until 11:00am and cafes until 1:00am.

A Male’ restaurateur told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that the move would create difficulty for businesses which had employed additional staff in order to cover extended opening hours.

He said that people had become used to the current hours, which were particularly useful for many Maldivians who worked unsociable hours. He also questioned the security benefits.

“Whatever people are doing, they will do anyway. People will still be in the streets,” he said. “[The government] don’t know what to do – they have no plans at all,” the restaurateur claimed.

Concerns about crime levels, particularly in the capital, have been heightened in recent weeks following the brutal murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali on October 2.

Afrasheem’s killing was the tenth in the country this year, following previous high profile cases such as the murders of prominent lawyer Ahmed Najeeb and policeman Lance Corporal Adam Haleem.

Following Afrasheem’s murder, parliament’s ’241′ Security Committee summoned Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz to discuss issues including the MP’s murder and politicians’ safety.

Last week saw the cabinet urge President Waheed to take immediate steps to improve safety and security in the country with some MPs issuing a no-confidence motion against Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed.

Less than 48 hours later, the government announced its intention to introduce a bill to the People’s Majlis in order to guide the implementation of the death penalty – a sentence last carried out in 1953 against a man accused of practicing black magic.

President’s Office spokesman Masood Imad acknowledged at the time that the government was coming under “enormous pressure” to reduce the crime rate.

Religious NGO “Muslimunge Gulhun” has meanwhile stated that it would organise a demonstration calling on the state to implement and enact the death penalty on October 19 – a move it believes will reduce crime.

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) also announced that – after requests – it was to provide personal security to half of the cabinet, although Minivan News was informed that this was unrelated to the Afrasheem case.

Police spokesman Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said that in order to reduce crime the police would also be conducting increased vehicle searches between the hours of 6:00pm to 6:00am.

Police crime statistics – last updated on October 15 – show that recorded incidents of theft and robbery have already exceeded last year’s annual figures.

However the current figures for assault suggest that 2012’s recorded incidents will be similar to the previous year’s.

Much of the capital’s criminal activity is blamed on local gangs, the activities of which were recently documented in a recent report commissioned by the Asia Foundation.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Civil court freezes accounts and imposes travel ban on ‘VB’ heirs

The Civil Court has frozen all bank accounts and issued a travel ban for all heirs of late Moosa Faheem, father-in-law of the Minister of Home Affairs, Mohamed Jameel Ahmed.

The Civil Court order stems from a case filed by Mohamed Anees, who had served as General Manager of four AAA Resorts, before the company split up.

The court order was issued on Sunday, based on the heirs’ failure to settle a debt of MVR 559,555 (US$36,300) owed to the plaintiff in accordance with a Civil Court ruling of 2009.

The court had at the time ordered the heirs to pay the specified amount as damages after it had been proven in court that assets belonging to Anees, including a speedboat and a ‘dhoni’ boat, had been wrongfully passed on to the heirs of Faheem following his death.

Anees had told local media that the amount specified was a value proposed by the court itself as the cost of renting his vessels until the 2009 hearing.

“Moosa Faheem’s family was ordered by court to make this payment back in 2009. But then they appealed the case in the High Court without paying up. However, on July 27, High Court ruled in favour of the Civil Court’s verdict,” Anees told local media.

“The Civil Court has been trying to implement this ruling, but Shaveed’s family members never attend hearings. They didn’t even come to this last Thursday’s hearing. Then at a hearing of another case I’ve filed against them I said it’s possible to do things like freeze their accounts or hold their passports. That then I’d get the payments,” Anees further said.

Meanwhile, a member of Faheem’s family is reported in local media as saying that the court had concluded the case while they have appealed it in the Supreme Court and none of the heirs were in the country. He further said, “This is a political move to tarnish our family name.”

The heirs of Moosa Faheem include Haulath Faheem – wife of current Minister of Home Affairs Mohamed Jameel Ahmed – and Mohamed Shaveed, Chairman of VB Brothers Pvt Ltd.

Local media has reported that the Department of Immigration denies having received a court order for withholding the passports of Faheem’s heirs.

Controller of Immigration Mohamed Ali, spoke to Minivan News today on the issue.

“We get lots and lots of court orders to impose travel bans. From magistrate courts, the civil court and many other courts. We implement these orders as they come to us. I will have to check and see if this particular order has been received. But even if it did, to share it with media? I’ll need to seek advice on whether or not to to do that,” Ali said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

‘China – Maldives ties model of friendship’: Chinese President

Speaking on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Maldives and China, President Hu Jintao has described ties between the nations as the “model of friendship between a big country and a small one.”

The Press Trust of India (PTI) reports President Hu Jintao as saying that “China stands ready to work with Maldives to promote the friendship between the two nations to a higher level.”

A Chinese embassy opened in Male’ in time for the opening of the SAARC summit last November, reciprocating the opening of a Maldivian mission in Beijing in 2007.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported Hu as saying that China was ready to take the relationship to a higher level.

China leapfrogged the United Kingdom in 2010 to become the number one source of arrivals for the country’s travel industry.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Criminal Court fines five for obstructing police duty

The Criminal Court has sentenced five men to each pay a fine of MVR 3000 within one month on charges of obstructing police duty.

The case against the five men was based on charges that they had broken through police lines on a protest held on the afternoon of 16th March 2012 near the Republican Square.

The five men who were charged are Hussain Niyaz of Handhaan, K. Huraa, Abdulla Saeed of Zamaanee Villa, G.Dh. Gahdhoo, Hussain Afeef of Dhondhun’burige, S. MaradhooFeydhoo, Ibrahim Ahmed of M. Ogum and Ibrahim Shareef of ShakeeleeHiya, R. Hulhudhuhfaaru.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

First hearing held in unlawful dismissal case of former head of marine police

The Civil Court has conducted the first hearing into former Police Superintendent Ibrahim Adnan Anees’s case of unfair dismissal.

Anees, the former head of marine police, was accused of assisting the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) by providing information to the party for its Ameen-Aslam report into February 7’s controversial transfer of power.

According to local media, Anees’s lawyer Ismail Visham told the court that his client was relived of police duty on criminal charges after police took statements from his client charging him with criminal offences.

Anees’s lawyer told the court that it was against the constitution to take action against a person charged with criminal offences without holding a fair trial.

He also told the judge it was questionable how Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz and Home Minister Mohamed Jameel had determined that the information Anees shared was confidential.

Moreover, he requested the judge determine if the dismissal was unlawful and to reinstate Anees’s job with police.

When the state was given the opportunity to respond the state attorney asked for more time. The Judge decided that the state’s response will be heard during the next hearing.

In August the  Police Disciplinary Board decided to relieve Chief Superintendent ‘MC’ Mohamed Hameed and Superintendent Ibrahim Adhnan Anees of duty.

The Disciplinary Board has also decided to demote Superintendent ‘Lady’ Ibrahim Manik to Chief Inspector of Police, and to remove the disciplinary badge on his uniform.

Hameed, Adhnan and ‘Lady’ Ibrahim Manik were among only a few police senior officers who did not join the events of February 7, which saw mutinying police hand out riot gear to opposition demonstrators and launch an all-out assault on the country’s main military headquarters.

In June, Anees sued the Maldives Police Service seeking compensation for medical treatment of injuries sustained after mutinying police officers allegedly attacked him in Republic Square and inside police headquarters on February 7.

Adhnan Anees, Ibrahim Manik and Chief Superintendent Mohamed Jinah were among senior officers allegedly assaulted on February 7.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

JP MP Jabir raises Maldives investment fears over lack of resolution in GMR dispute

Jumhoree Party (JP) Deputy Leader Abdulla Jabir has criticised attempts to “politicise” the dispute between the government and India-based GMR over an agreement to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) – fearing a negative impact on foreign investment.

The claims were made as the government-aligned Adhaalath Party (AP), which promotes religiously conservative values in the country, has continued to call on fellow coalition partners including the JP to take part in a series of “events” in the capital to protest against GMR’s development of the airport.

Speaking to Minivan News, Jabir, who is also a serving MP, highlighted the importance of maintaining an “investor friendly” atmosphere in the Maldives despite calls by some of the JP’s government coalition partners to re-nationalise the airport.

The MP said he instead advocated for sitting down and trying to find a compromise between the government and GMR, which is contracted to develop and run the airport for 25 years.

The dispute has centred, in part, over concerns like a disputed US$25 Airport Development Charge (ADC) that was to be levied on each passenger travelling through the site. GMR has maintained the the charge was contractually agreed, but later offered to exclude Maldivian nationals from paying it after the matter was contested in the country’s courts.

With the dispute unresolved, Jabir said he had sent a request to the Public Accounts Committee of the People’s Majlis for a review of the contract signed between GMR and the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed to “better understand” the agreement.

Several former opposition parties now serving in the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan have continued to raise allegations of possible corruption behind GMR’s bid to develop INIA – allegations refuted by the company and the former government.

Jabir maintained that discussion and analysis, rather than politicised rhetoric in the media and at public events, would be required to move forward with the issue in a manner that did not damage future investment opportunities.

“We need an investor friendly environment here. Politicians should be here to resolve issues not complicate them further,” he said. “Any allegations of misconduct should be investigated, but we should be able to sit down and discuss a resolution. Yet many people do not know about or even understand the deal that has been signed.”

Jabir claimed that the GMR contract should therefore be viewed as a business issue rather than a political problem, something that he claimed would require greater parliamentary understanding of the agreement signed by the former government.

Under the terms of the agreement – a US$511 million deal that represents the largest ever case of foreign investment in the Maldives – GMR agreed to a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the site, as well as to overhaul the existing terminal by the end of this year.

The document was overseen by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group and the largest global institution focused on private sector projects in developing countries.

However, the Maldives government earlier this month accused the IFC of negligence during the bidding process for INIA – allegations there were rejected by the organisation.

Both the government and GMR are presently involved in an arbitration case in Singapore over the airport development.

Coalition response

The coalition parties making up the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan have at times appeared divided over how to proceed in regards to GMR the contract.  Some parties like the Adhaalath Party have advocated to gather in Male’ as part of a rally next month calling for the airport to be “returned” to the Maldivian people.

Speaking to local media earlier this month, Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla said that a ‘mass national gathering’ would be held at Male’s artificial beach area on November 3 at 4:00pm to coincide with Victory Day.  Victory Day is held in remembrance of a failed coup attempt that was thwarted in 1988.

Sheikh Imran told the Sun Online news service that the gathering was devised as part of ongoing attempts to try and “reclaim” the airport from GMR.  Imran was not responding to calls from Minivans News at the time of press.

Minivan News was also awaiting a response from Abdulla Ameen, Secretary General of the government-aligned Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) at the time of press concerning its response to the proposed gathering.  The DQP had previously published a 24-page book claiming that the former government’s lease of INIA to GMR was a threat to local industry that would serve to “enslave the nation and its economy”.

Meanwhile, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) claimed last month that while it held issues with the overall benefit to the Maldives from the GMR deal, “due process” had to be followed through proper legal channels in order to establish if any wrong doing had occurred with the airport contract.

Parliament review

JP Deputy Leader Jabir himself this week criticised certain high-profile political figures in the country over their response to the GMR contract.  He accused some of these figures of not “knowing what they are talking about” in regards to the deal, highlighting the need for a review of the agreement within the Public Accounts Committee.

Jabir was particularly critical of the Adhaalath Party’s response towards the GMR issue, which he claimed had complicated finding a resolution.

“Sometimes they are religious experts, sometimes they are financial experts. But everyone loves Islam here. Right now, foreign investors are finding it difficult to understand the climate here. This is not a perfect time for this issue to be happening with GMR,” he said. “I think these protests [against GMR] are unrealistic.”

Jabir claimed that from his experience as both a parliamentarian and business owner in the country, there was “no such thing” as a deal that cannot be renegotiated.

“However, if there is no talking then the country is only losing money whilst people take to the streets,” he added.

Earlier this month, INIA CEO Andrew Harrison told Indian media that the company had received no official word from the Maldivian government concerning a resolution to the dispute.

Yet despite MP Jabir’s concerns about the potential impacts the ongoing dispute over the airport development might have on future foreign investment, one national trade body recently played down fears that GMR’s case was proving to be economically detrimental to the Maldives.

The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MNCCI) claimed last month that legal wrangling between the government and GMR over the multi-million dollar airport development was not adversely harming confidence in the country’s “challenging” investment climate.

MNCCI Vice President Ishmael Asif contended that ongoing legal disputes linked to both the GMR agreement and another high-profile contract to manage a border control system with Malaysia-based Nexbis were not among concerns foreign investors had raised with the chamber.

“GMR has nothing to do with the investment climate here, at the end of the day it is a personal concern for the company and more a matter of local politics,” he claimed.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Juvenile Court acquits minor charged over Villingili murder

The Juvenile Court has today ruled that a minor charged with the murder of 25-year old Ahmed Mirzah Ibrahim was innocent, citing a lack of evidence to support a conviction.

Juvenile Court Spokesperson Zaeema Nasheed confirmed that the ruling was made today. but could not give further information to Minivan News as she was not in Male’ at the time of going to press.

Local media has reported that the Juvenile Court ruled that statements given by two witnesses produced to the court were insufficient to prove that the defendant, who could not be named on account of their age, was guilty.

According to the ‘Sun’ Online news service, during police investigations, the two witnesses had told authorities that they saw the minor attacking Mirza.  However, in court both witnesses denied the statements they had given to police, claiming that they have not seen the minor attack the victim.

In April last year, Mirza Ibrahim was struck in the head with an iron bar while he was sitting inside a park in Villingili, the ward of Male’ where he lived.

Mirza did not survive the severe injuries received to his head during the attack and was rushed to Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) where he was declared brain-dead.  He was then put on life support at IGMH.

Police initially suspected that the attack involved a gang, while Minivan News at the time received unsubstantiated reports that the assault was prompted following comments made about a girl.

During the early hours of April 14, Mirza died at IGMH. Police arrested five persons in connection with the case.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Religious NGO plans Male’ protest in support of death penalty

Religious NGO “Muslimunge Gulhun” yesterday told local media that it is organising a demonstration calling on the state to implement and enact the death penalty.

The demonstration, to be called ‘Thanfeez’ – translated as “implement – is scheduled to be held at 4:oopm on Friday (October 19) at the Artificial Beach area of Male’.

The demonstration will mainly focus on advocating for the death penalty, which organisers believe will to bring an end to murders occurring in the Maldives, according to a press briefing held at Muslimunge Gulhun head office. The NGO further stated that the demonstrations would also be used to advocate for the penalties of other crimes to be aligned with Islamic Sharia.

Minivan News was unable to locate contact details for the NGO, while Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed and State Minister for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Didi were not responding to calls at the time of press.

However, one event organiser, Ajnadh Ali, is quoted in local media as saying that participants of the demonstration were expected to range from religious scholars to young people with a love for Islam. He further claimed that the demonstration was being planned by people that did not directly represent any specific organisation.

Organiser Sheikh Azmath Jameel stated, “The country has come to the state it is at now because the penalties laid out in Islamic Sharia have not been implemented. I call on every Muslim to join this demonstration.”

Ali Nazeer, another of the event’s organisers, spoke against opening up issues like death penalty to public debate, adding any such discussions should not be entertained in fear of how the international community may react to the implementation of Islamic Sharia.

Although death sentences are issued by courts in the Maldives, traditionally those sentences are commuted to life imprisonment under the power vested in the President.

From January 2001 to December 2010, a total of 14 people were sentenced to death by the courts. None of these sentences have been carried out.

The last person to be executed in the Maldives after receiving a death sentence was in 1953 during the first republican President Mohamed Ameen. Hakim Didi was charged with attempting to assassinate President Ameen using black magic.

However, the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has announced its intention to submit a bill to parliament to facilitate the implementation of the death penalty.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)