Month: October 2012

Criminal Procedure Code to be completed by end of week: MP Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik

Chair of Parliament’s ’241′ Security Services Committee, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik, has told local newspaper Haveeru that the country’s Criminal Procedure Code will be completed within a week.

“Even if it means meeting twice a day, the Committee members wish to complete the bill on criminal procedure during next week. There is unfinished work in the Parliament over the strengthening of the judicial system. So we are completing the bill on criminal procedure,” he was reported as saying.

Reeko added that representatives of both the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office and the Attorney General’s (AG) office would be assisting the committee with its work in analysing the current draft of the code.

Both Attorney General Azima Shukoor and Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizz were not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

Reeko added that Parliament’s Independent Commissions Committee will also assist efforts to complete the bill, while expertise of other relevant stakeholders would also be sought if deemed necessary.  He was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

The amendments follow a number of high profile murders that have taken place in the country this year.

In February 2012, a 21 year old man identified as Abdulla Muheeth was murdered by a gang after that allegedly mistook him for someone else.

On May 30, the body of a 16 year-old boy was discovered by police inside the park behind Kulliyathul Dhirasathul Islamiyya.

The following day, a 65 year-old man identified as Hassan Abubakur was found murdered inside his own house on the island of Manafaru in Noonu Atoll.

A month later, Prominent Lawyer Ahmed Najeeb was found brutally murdered.

On the same month, 26 year-old police officer Lance Corporal Adam Haleem was stabbed to death on Kaashidhoo island in Kaafu Atoll while trying to apprehend a suspected criminal.

The latest high-profile nurder was that of religious scholar and MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

The MP, a representative of the government-aligned Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) was found murdered outside his home after returning home from appearing on the TVM show “Islamee Dhiriulhun” (Islamic Life) with Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Qubad Aboobakuru.

Following the deaths, parliament was subjected to public criticism and condemnation over claims it had not passed adequate laws to combat fears of growing criminal activity in the country.

However, responding to the criticism, several parliamentarians claimed that they had passed the necessary bills and it was the responsibility of the authorities to execute the passed laws.

The recent murders have given rise to growing calls from the public to implement death penalty under Islamic Sharia.  The government of President Waheed has stated that it is in the process of proposing a bill on death penalty very soon.

Under Islamic Sharia, the death penalty is the punishment of a murderer (one who kills deliberately) and that he is to be killed in retaliation (Qisaas) unless the victim’s next of kin let him off or agree to accept the ‘Diyah’ (blood money).

In April 2012, the PPM MP Ahmed Mahloof proposed an amendment to the Clemency Act (Act no 2/2010) which would make performing the death penalty mandatory in the event it was upheld by the Supreme Court.

His amendment would require the President to enforce any death penalty if the Supreme Court issued the verdict of death, or if the Supreme Court supported the ruling of the death penalty made by either the Criminal Court or the High Court.

The move would halt the current practice of the President commuting such sentences to life imprisonment.

“I believe nobody would want to die. So if the death penalty is enforced, a person who is to commit a murder would clearly know that if he carries out the act, his punishment would be his life. I believe this will deter him from committing such acts,” Mahloof said following the submission of the amendment.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Rasheed and later MP Ibrahim Muthalib had also previously submitted similar amendments to the Clemency Act, although both men subsequently withdrew the motions.

Although death sentences are issued by courts in the Maldives, traditionally those sentences a 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.

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Belgian ambassador presents credentials to President Waheed

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has today received the credentials of Belgium’s new ambassador to the Maldives, Pierre Vaesen.

The ambassador, who is based in the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi , took part in a ceremony at the President’s Office this morning.

Vaesen discussed measures to increase bilateral ties between the two countries, whose diplomatic relations were established in 1977. The Maldives joint embassy to Belgium and Mission to the European Union was established in Brussels in 2010.

Belgium, which has sent around 3,500 tourists to the Maldives this year, provided over $1.3million to the country in financial assistance following the 2004 tsunami.

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Adaaran resorts chief eyes significant expansion within Maldives

Aitken Spence Hotels has announced plans to expand its operations within the Maldives through its Adaaran resort brand in anticipation of increased tourist interest in the country, according to Sri Lankan media.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Adaaran Resorts, Upul Pieris, told the Sri Lanka-based Daily News publication that the hospitality company was considering creating an additional 400 rooms in the Maldives – either by developing new properties on uninhabited islands or through taking over an existing resort.  Negotiations on the proposed expansion were already said to be under-way in the Maldives.

As well as the potential for developing new resort properties, Pieris said that the company was also looking to expand the amount of high-end accommodation types like water bungalows that it presently offered in the Maldives at properties like its Adaaran ‘Prestige’ Vadoo resort.

The resort, which is the company’s latest property to be opened in the Maldives, consists solely of 50 water villa properties that are all based over the waters surrounding the island.

Having been operating in the Maldives since 1993, Pieris claimed that a decision to re-brand Adaaran’s operations in 2005 towards trying to provide a more high-end travel experience had “exceeded” the company’s expectations in terms of revenue.

Tourist demand

Despite growth in arrival numbers to the Maldives over the first eight months of 2012, the total occupancy rate for resorts, hotels, guest houses and safari boats was down 1.2 percentage points in total to 70.8 percent over the same period.

On a year-on-year basis, total average occupancy for August 2012 fell one percentage point to 68 percent.

Addressing this decline, Pieris said that higher occupancy rates were expected in the Maldives over the next quarter in line with plans to attract one million visitors to the country during 2012.

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Maldives Broadcasting Corporation board member signs for PPM

Nahla Ali, a board member of the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), has signed for the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), local media has reported.

In a signing ceremony reported to have been overseen by PPM Interim Leader and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Nahla handed over 100 membership forms for the party during her signing ceremony, according to the Sun Online news service.

PPM MP and Spokesperson Ahmed Mahlouf was not responding to calls by Minivan News at the time of press.

However, speaking during the signing ceremony, Mahlouf told local media that the signature of the MBC board member, who holds a master’s degree in political science, was “a great leap” for the coalition party.

Back in April, MBC announced it was temporarily halting all political programming on state media outlets, amidst debate over the need for more independent and informative public broadcasting.

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UK-based lawyers to aid Nasheed defence in “unprecedented” legal move

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has confirmed two senior UK-based legal experts – one a specialist in Shariah Law – will be joining the defence team of former President Mohamed Nasheed ahead of his trial over the detention of a senior judicial figure whilst in power.

Party Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor confirmed that Sir Ivan Lawrence QC and Barrister Ali Mohammed Azhar will be working with local lawyers Hisaan Hussain and Hassan Latheef in some capacity to represent Nasheed.

One practising lawyer in the country contacted by Minivan News today said the appointment of two foreign legal experts in a domestic trial was an “unprecedented” development within the country’s legal history, but could not clarify further at the time of press.

The former president, who will next month begin defending himself in court against charges that he illegally detained Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed back in January 2012, has rejoined the MDP in a campaign around the country’s southern atolls in a bid to regain the presidency following February’s controversial transfer of power.

However, while free to campaign in the country, judicial authorities have said that Nasheed remains barred from leaving the country without court approval ahead of the next hearing of his trial in November.

Nasheed was himself presented to court on Tuesday (October 9) after being arrested a day earlier by police.

Speaking in court, he maintained that the detention of Judge Abdulla was justified on grounds of national security following the reported failure of other institutions to hold the judge accountable.

The former president also alleged that the charges are a politically-motivated attempt to prevent him from contesting presidential elections in 2013.

Nasheed, who is now restricted from travelling abroad without judicial approval , is required to return to court on November 4, giving his legal team 25 days to study evidence against him and prepare a defence. A period of 30 days had been originally been requested by lawyers, but was rejected by a three-member judging panel.

The state presented more than 30 pieces of evidence it claimed proved that Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed was detained unlawfully, including the account of the judge himself.  It will also use audio and video of the judge’s detention, as well as speeches given by Nasheed.

Assisting with the former president’s defence will be veteran criminal lawyer Sir Ivan Lawrence QC, whose biography notes experience working within UK and international institutions like the Divisional Court, the Court of Appeal, the House of Lords and a mass murder war crimes trial at The Hague.

Nasheed will also be assisted by Barrister Ali Mohammed Azhar, who is also said to have worked extensively at high level UK institutions like the Court of Appeal and House of Lords, specialising in areas such as international and human rights law.

Azhar, who visited the Maldives back in 2005 along with Ivan Lawrence as part of a fact finding mission dealing with alleged human rights abuses, is also an expert in Sharia Law, according to his own biography.

Minivan News was awaiting a statement from the MDP about the appointments international legal assistance at the time of press.

Nasheed has meanwhile returned to campaigning with the MDP as part of a ‘journey of pledges’ that has seen the party touring a number of islands in the south of the country.

Despite having obtained permission to return to campaigning in the southern atolls following his arrest this week, the Department of Judicial Administration confirmed today that Nasheed was restricted from travelling abroad without court approval.

Department of Judicial Administration Spokesperson Latheefa Qasim that Nasheed’s passport had been withheld by the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court following the issue of a warrant.

When asked about possible restrictions on the role foreign legal experts could have in domestic court hearings, Qasim said she would be unable to comment at present, having not been aware of the reported appointment of UK-based lawyers to Nasheed’s defence team.

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DRP deputy says party offering alternative for disillusioned voters

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Dr Abdullah Mausoom has claimed that his party can offer an alternative to what he calls the divisive and personality-based politics offered by its major rivals.

Prominent party members including Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and Speaker of the People’s Majlis Abdulla Shahid have been in Addu Atoll this weekend to participate in a rally scheduled for this evening. The party will also be conducting door to door campaigning during its visit.

The event will coincide with the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) own rally in the country’s southernmost atoll that is being conducted as part of its ‘Journey of Pledges’ campaign trip.

Mausoom said that the timing of the event was a coincidence, with the date for the occasion chosen by local party members.

The DRP is currently the second largest in the country by membership, and the third largest by representation in the People’s Majlis – with 26,900 members and 13 MPs.

The MDP remains the country’s largest party, with 48,503 members and 30 MPs.  The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has 17,489 members and 17 MPs.

Despite suffering a slight decline in members in recent months as well as some defections to other parties within the Majlis, Mausoom claimed that the drop had not been as severe as expected and that the DRP still remained more settled than either the MDP or the PPM.

The DRP was the second political party to be registered officially in the Maldives after the MDP following democratic reforms introduced at the end of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s thirty year rule.  Gayoom founded the DRP before internal divisions last year resulted in the creation of the PPM.

In an interview with local media, Speaker Shahid has described the DRP as the mother of all political parties in the country, from which the PPM was born.

However, Mausoom believed that many people associated the PPM – now led by Gayoom – as a symbol of the past, whilst simultaneously feeling let down by the MDP who “over promised and under delivered”.

Mausoom said that the DRP was accused both of being a wing of the PPM as well as being on the verge of forming a coalition with the MDP.

“We are the only party taking the aspirations of the people seriously,” he contended.

Dr Mausoom said that the DRP had people with expertise and technical skills who had previously worked within both the governments of Former Presidents Gayoom and Nasheed.

He argued that the downfall of the MDP could be traced to the designation of jobs to its former activists regardless of skill.

“There is a strong culture of personality politics in the Maldives,” added Mausoom. “But Maldivian people are more politically educated than before.”

He described DRP Leader Thasmeen as a “true democrat”, who delegates responsibility throughout the party.

“While the MDP and the PPM are involved in jealous personal fights, the DRP is continuing to work as a responsible political party,” Mausoom added.

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Anantara resorts to debut “unique” Black Ivory coffee

Anantara resorts are offering their guests a unique culinary experience with the Maldivian debut of elephant-refined Black Ivory Coffee, writes Neil Merrett for Minivan News’ spin-off travel review site, Dhonisaurus.

“Taking influence from Kopi Luwak, a coffee variety derived from beans digested by civets that is then harvested from the creatures’ faecal matter, Anantara has claimed that its Black Ivory Coffee is instead refined by Thai elephants consuming arabica beans picked at an altitude of 1,500 metres,” says Merrett.

The beans are ground by hand and sell at $1,100 a kilogramme.

Blake Dinkin, founder of Black Ivory Coffee, said that he came up with idea through necessity after SARS led to the extermination of 10,000 civets in China.

It was reported that, following harvesting, the coffee beans are then refined at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation (GTAEF) in Thailand which provides for street elephants and their trainers.

Eight percent of all the coffee sales goes towards financing veterinary care for the foundation’s elephants.

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FBI assisting with Afrasheem murder investigation: Police Commissioner Riyaz

The Maldives Police Service has said two US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials are providing “technical consultancy” in investigating the murder of religious scholar and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali on October 2.

At a press conference held on Thursday (October 11), Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz also confirmed that two additional suspects have been arrested with regard to the case, increasing the total number of arrests in connection with the murder to six.

According to local media reports, Riyaz confirmed the same day that a total of 80 police officers have been assigned to the case. The police have now questioned 75 persons and are analysing 130 video clips from security cameras around the capital of Male’.

Riyaz further stated his belief that the murder had been committed as a pre-planned, calculated attack.

Talking to local media, Riyaz revealed that police officers had uncovered sufficient evidence, and were further investigating reports of related financial transactions to the case.

He confirmed that police would continue with the investigation until the culprits were found.

In an unprecedented move, the police service also announced that reward money amounting to MVR 500,000 would be granted to any person providing evidence that would lead to a conviction in the country’s courts.

Riyaz added that in cases where threats were made to ‘high-profile’ persons in future, police would be taking necessary precautionary actions to protect them.

Politics and religion

Following the murder of Dr Afrasheem, Maldivian Democratic Party(MDP) activists Mariyam Naifa and Ali Hashim were arrested on Tuesday, October 3 from Dolphin Cafe.

Although police failed to confirm at the time that the arrests were made in relation to the MP’s murder, Naifa’s lawyer confirmed that authorities had arrested her colleague based on ‘intelligence reports’ about the attack.

The MDP has since alleged that the arrests were politically motivated, expressing concerns that the “brutal murder of a respected and elected member of the Parliament” was potentially being used to frame political opponents.

In a press conference held on October 3, Assistant Commissioner of Police Hassan Habeeb stated, “We are not arresting people based on their political affiliations.”

Prior to his murder, Afrasheem had made his last public appearance on a live talk-show on TVM titled, “Islamee Dhiriulhun” (Islamic Living).

In his last broadcast words, Afrasheem said that he was deeply saddened and asked for forgiveness from citizens if he had created a misconception in their minds due to his inability to express himself in the right manner.

Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed later stated that the Islamic Ministry had in no way forced Afrasheem to offer a public apology for anything in his last TV appearance.

Earlier in September, local media had reported that the Islamic Ministry had held a meeting titled ‘Scholar’s Dialogue’ to hold discussions about how Afrasheem’s religious views contradicted those of other local scholars.

Shaheem had stated at the time that they had not been able to reach a common consensus, but that further meetings had been planned.

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Revised penal code to be sent to Majlis

Naifaru MP Ahmed Mohamed has told Sun Online that a review of the Penal Code is due to be sent to the Majlis later this month.

The bill – first sent to the Majlis in 2006 – is set to replace the 1961 code, and includes 1204 articles, reported Sun.

“We are now completing the pending items which were set aside earlier, and obtaining opinions of different groups on these matters. If the Parliament continues without disruption, we can send the bill to the Parliament floor before the end of the month,” Ahmed said.

“The penalties have been revised to suit current times. Exile has been eliminated almost completely,” he added.

Ahmed said the bill was long-overdue, having been delayed due to parliamentary unrest and lack of space. He anticipated that the bill would pass without major debate.

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