Day: January 9, 2013

Maldives government to review laws that “victimise” sexually abused minors

The Maldivian government has today said it will review and potentially “correct” laws in the country it claims victimise young women and minors who have suffered sexual abuse.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told Minivan News the government would be holding consultations with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and other relevant authorities to discuss how minors who have been sexually abused were being treated in the country.

The comments were made as the Prosecutor General (PG’s) Office today confirmed it had pressed charges against a 15 year-old girl from the island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll for having “consensual sexual relations”.

A spokesperson for the PG’s Office said the charges against the minor were unrelated to a separate case against the girl’s stepfather over allegations he had sexually abused her.

“Protected, not punished”

President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad said that from government’s perspective, the 15 year-old girl was a victim who needed to be protected, not punished by authorities.

“We will be talking with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs over this manner and will review and correct the problem,” he said.

Masood claimed that the Maldives had experienced a number of similar cases of late where young women had been victimised and punished by authorities – a situation he said the government was looking to prevent.

“We are reviewing this right now and if we have to go to the extent of changing existing laws then we would look to do this,” he said.

While unable to comment on specific cases at time of press, Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) Vice President Ahmed Tholal told Minivan News that he was hugely concerned about the number of reports of sexual abuse against minors in the country.

Acting Minister of Gender, Family and Human rights Dr Mariyam Shakeela and Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed were not responding to calls at the time of press.

The reported handling of the case by authorities has garnered significant attention this week in both local and international media.

Charges

A PG’s Office spokesperson today confirmed that the charges against the minor were related to a separate offence of Sharia Law, which had been filed back on November 25, 2012.

The 15 year-old last year gave birth to a baby that was discovered buried in the outdoor shower area of a home on Feydhoo – her stepfather was later charged with sexual abuse, possession of pornographic materials and committing murder without intent.

The spokesperson said that another charge was filed against the girl’s mother over claims she had failed to inform authorities of the alleged sexual abuse of her own child.

Judicial authorities told Minivan News earlier this week that the charges against the 15 year-old were yet to be filed with the Juvenile Court at the time.

Director of the Department of Judicial Administration Ahmed Maajid was not responding to calls at time of press.

NGO criticism

The charges against the 15 year-old girl have been slammed as an “absolute outrage” by NGO Amnesty International.

In a statement released yesterday, Amnesty International’s Maldives Researcher Abbas Faiz stressed that suspected victims of rape and sexual abuse required counselling and support rather than facing prosecution.

“We urge the Maldivian authorities to immediately drop all charges against the girl, ensure her safety and provide her with all necessary support,” the NGO’s statement read.

Amnesty Intentional also raised concerns that should the minor be found guilty of “fornication” as reported in the media, she could potentially be flogged in line with sentencing for similar cases held in the country.

“If found guilty of ‘fornication’ the girl could be punished with flogging. She would likely be kept under house arrest until she turns 18 when, under Maldivian law, the flogging can be carried out. Flogging is a violation of the absolute prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment,” Amnesty International stated.

“The Maldivian authorities should immediately end its use regardless of circumstances. The fact that this time a 15-year old girl who has suffered terribly is at risk makes it all the more reprehensible. Flogging is not only wrong and humiliating, but can lead to long-term psychological as well as physical scars.”

Fornication offence

Back in September 2012, a 16 year-old girl was sentenced to house arrest and 100 lashes for fornication with a 29 year-old man.

Permanent Magistrate of Raa Atoll Hulhudhuhfaaru, Magistrate Abdul Samad Abdulla, sentenced the girl to eight months under house arrest, and for public flogging once she reaches the age of 18.

Ali Rashid, an official of the Hulhudhuhfaaru Magistrate Court, said at the time that the girl had been sentenced for fornication because she had confessed to it. However, the 29 year-old male with whom she was co-accused had denied the charges.

“The man said he hadn’t committed fornication, but he admitted to having hugged and done certain other things with the girl. This amounts to sexual assault of a minor under the law. That’s why he has got the minimum sentence possible under the relevant law, 10 years in jail,” Rashid explained.

The official of the Hulhudhuhfaaru Magistrate Court referred Minivan News to Article 25 of the act detailing special actions to be taken in cases of sexual offences against children (Act number: 12/2009).

Article 25 says: “Unless proven otherwise, it cannot be considered that a child between ages 13-18 had given consent to committing a sexual act. And unless proven otherwise, it will be considered that the sexual act was committed without the child’s consent.”

In November 2011, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, speaking in parliament, raised concerns about the issue of flogging in the Maldives.

Speaking on the issue, Pillay said at the time, “This practice constitutes one of the most inhumane and degrading forms of violence against women, and should have no place in the legal framework of a democratic country.”

Her statements and calls for discussion on the issue were met with outrage from then political opposition and religious conservative Adhaalath party, giving rise to protests and demonstrations. The Foreign Ministry, under the former government, dismissed the calls for discussion on the issue, stating: “There is nothing to debate about in a matter clearly stated in the religion of Islam. No one can argue with God.”

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IGMH operations “back to normal” amidst overcapacity fears

Overcapacity fears at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’ have been temporarily resolved today despite ongoing concerns about its ability to cope with the demand for medical care in the capital, a hospital official has said.

Local media reported yesterday that IGMH staff were trying “desperately” to accommodate patients after every bed within the hospital become occupied after a surge in demand for care.

An IGMH official told Minivan News today that while overcapacity fears had been temporarily resolved – with operations at the hospital having returned to normal – uncertainty remains over whether the same problems could again occur tonight.

The official alleged that the “source” of the overcrowding problem was due to a lack of proper medical services provided on the islands surrounding Male’, which had resulted in more patients coming to the capitol for surgery.

“While it is usually busier during the holiday period, the real problem is that the quality of hospitals and other medical services on these islands is not up to standard. Therefore islanders have no choice but to come to Male’ for treatment,” the source claimed.

“As transportation links between islands and Male’ have increased in recent years, it now means that more people can get here.”

According to the IGMH official, the hospital presently has a maximum capacity of 280 to 300 patients, while its catchment area has a population of 125,000 people.

In order to cope with the recent influx of patients this week, the hospital official claimed that the site had temporarily ceased operating on electives [non-urgent medical cases] in order to focus on those coming in needing urgent surgery.

“Normally we have around five patients waiting for admission in ER, however last night we had 18. We have tried to streamline the whole process by putting non-urgent surgery on wait so we could directly focus on urgent medical conditions,” the source said.

To future alleviate the number of patients coming into IGMH, the hospital source said today that an 11-floor building was to be constructed focussing on “mother and baby” related medical issues.

“About one third of our patients, on most occasions, are to do with paediatrics and gynaecology, so this new building will give us a lot more relief at IGMH,” the spokesperson said.

“The Finance Ministry, President’s Office and the Health Ministry are trying to get the loan [for the construction of the building], and when that comes through it is expected that the construction will take around five months,” the hospital official said.

Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

IGMH concerns

Earlier this month concerns were raised about treatment received at IGMH by relatives of a mother who had given birth to a five-month-old foetus that was alleged to have been incorrectly diagnosed as deceased by hospital staff.

While the hospital maintained it had correctly pronounced the foetus as deceased before sending it to a cemetery in Male’ for burial, relatives expressed concerns about how the hospital had dealt with the matter.

The Ministry of Health told Minivan News at the time that a review would be undertaken of policies at state-run hospitals in the Maldives and their handling of such situations.

This week IGMH was required to commence a separate investigation into the case of a woman who had her uterus removed due to damage caused during the delivery of her baby, local media reported.  The child had been stillborn, according to reports.

A family member told Sun Online that the 24 year-old woman was admitted to IGMH last Friday where, despite advice from specialists at another institution who advised for a caesarean, she was asked to wait to see if she gave birth naturally – despite the umbilical cord being wrapped around the baby’s neck.

Twelve hours later, the family were told the baby had died in the womb.

COO of IGMH Dr Ismail Shafeeu told Sun Online at the time that a case related to a woman whose baby died during delivery was currently under investigation.

“Something like that has happened, we are looking into it. There are plenty of problems related to IGMH, some of which involve negligence by the staff. They’re all under investigation,” he said.

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Executive Oversight Committee summons former intelligence heads

Parliament’s Executive Oversight Committee has summoned the former intelligence heads of both the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and the Maldives Police Service (MPS) as part of an inquiry into the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.

Brigadier General Ahmed Nilam and former Superintendent Mohamed ‘MC’ Hameed were separately summoned today to attend the closed door meetings.

Nilam was summoned first at 12:00pm, with Hameed addressing the committee at 1:00pm.

According to local media, chair of the committee, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Waheed, said that the decision had been taken to hold the meeting behind closed doors to ensure any potentially sensitive intelligence information remained confidential.

The select committee last month agreed, with bipartisan support, to summon Nilam, Hameed and former SAARC Secretary General Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed.

The committee at the time decided that all three individuals would be summoned to parliament separately on January 9.  According to the local media, Saeed was to be summoned at 11:00am today, but requested that her hearing be postponed over personal issues.

Saeed is being summoned over a personal memoir released to the media last month.  The contents of the memoir included allegations that certain figures behind protests leading to the controversial transfer of power on February 7 had also planned to assassinate former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Failure to come to an understanding over issuance of a legal order

Meanwhile, the committee today failed to reach an agreement over issuing a legal order requiring President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik to provide evidence gathered by the Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry (CNI).

The CNI was charged to review the circumstances behind the change of government, concluding that the transfer of power took place constitutionally despite the MDP’s claims of a coup d’état.

The parliamentary committee had called for a vote amongst its members over whether to issue a legal order to obtain statements given to CNI by senior Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) figures and officials of the former government.  However, the vote failed to secure a required committee majority of 6 members to be passed.

Although backed by all five MDP members on the committee, the vote was short of a sixth and decisive supporter with government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan Hassan Manik voting against the motion. His fellow party member MP Ahmed Shareef abstained from the vote.

The statements that the committee had intended to obtain from the government included the accounts given to the CNI of former Defense Minister Tholthath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu, former Home Minister Hassan Afeef and former Chief of Defense Force retired Major General Moosa Ali Jaleel.  The testimonies of former Male’ Area Commander retired Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Didi and former Commissioner of Police Ahmed Faseeh would also have been requested among others.

The committee had previously sent a letter to President Waheed requesting for him to provide it members with the stated documents.  The request was denied.

Some sitting members of the committee at the time expressed their dismay with the president’s response, arguing that the only option left for the committee was to issue a legal order.

However, in order to issue a legal order, the matter should be approved by an absolute majority of at least six committee members.

Following the failure to obtain a legal order today, MDP Spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor questioned the government’s decision not to supply the information.

“There is absolutely no way as per the constitution where the executive can hide its actions from the parliament. The constitution has given the parliament immense powers in terms of government accountability to the extent that the government cannot even take a loan without parliament’s consent,” he said.

Ghafoor added that while the MDP held a parliamentary majority, it was aiming to conduct the inquiry with bipartisan support.

“We don’t want to make this a political issue. This is a national issue. We are trying to confirm the legitimacy of an installed government. Party politics is not what we are interested in,” he added.

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Foreign Ministry launches Blue Ribbon Campaign Against Human Trafficking

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has today inaugurated an initiative targeted at raising awareness of the issue of human trafficking in the Maldives.

The Maldives has come under strong criticism internationally in recent years over its record in trying to prevent people trafficking, with the country appearing on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking three years in a row.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Blue Ribbon Campaign Against Human Trafficking, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla stated that the initiative formed part of a larger plan to try addressing human trafficking in the Maldives.

This strategy is expected to include activities to try and raise awareness among students and the business community. The tourism industry, which employs the largest number of foreign staff in the country, was identified as another key focus of the initiative.

“We have been conducting a lot of work to deal with the issue, though it may be generally a little known fact,” Samad said. “Our intention now is to work together with local media outlets and create more awareness about the issue. I would like to request media for strong cooperation in this initiative.”

The Foreign Ministry also announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today with multiple local media outlets in the country to conduct the Blue Ribbon Campaign.

The MOU states that the media outlets will produce and broadcast programmes aimed at disseminating information on the issue of human trafficking.

The media outlets signed up to the scheme will also be required to report widely on related cases, providing airtime to create awareness on how to combat the issue, as well as reports on measures taken by the government in its fight against the issue.

The media outlets which signed the MOU today are MBC, Haveeru, VMedia Group, RaajjeTV, Miadhu Daily, Channel News Maldives, Sun Magazine, Sun FM, Sun Online, DhiFM and DhiFM Plus.

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would not be answering any questions from media today on its work and other issues affecting human trafficking during today’s press conference.

The ministry itself defines human trafficking as “taking undue advantage of a person through employing him, transferring him from place to place, taking guardianship of him, depriving him of making decisions on personal matters, assuming control over him through threats or abuse of power; or to create dependence, kidnap, or deceive him through any other means and take undue advantage of a person’s weaknesses and to conduct any of these activities in a manner that includes exchange of money from or to oneself.”

Under the new scheme, individuals held responsible for human trafficking offences in future would be officers in government offices mandated to oversee the issue, and yet fail to do so, as well as companies and other groups found to be involved in illegal practices.

Employers who force employees to work with no respect or regard to protecting human rights and persons who obstruct the taking of legal action against people who commit human trafficking offences will also be held responsible, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Late last month, Indian authorities told Minivan News that tightened restrictions on providing medical visas to Maldivians was a “signal” for the country’s government to address a number of concerns about the nation’s treatment of migrant workers.

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Maldives cleric’s murder raises fears of growing religious extremism: The Guardian

“The killers worked quickly. Their victim did not even have time to reach his own front door, only a few yards away. Stabbed repeatedly in the head and back, Afrasheem Ali, member of parliament and a cleric, bled to death in minutes,” writes Jason Burke for The Guardian newspaper.

“The murder in Malé, the capital of the Maldives, in October shocked many. Claim and counterclaim quickly circulated. The police hinted the killers of the cleric, from a party loyal to the former autocratic ruler of the island nation, had political links to the opposition. But according to Ibrahim, a gang leader in Malé, the murderers were from a gang of extremist Muslims angered by Ali’s moderate views. The cleric was slain immediately after a live television show in which he discussed his faith.

“I met the men who attacked him in prison. They are kind of fanatics. They are different to other gangs because they are religiously minded and think anyone who doesn’t think like them is not a true Muslim and can be killed,” Ibrahim said.

To read more click here.

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Equatorial Convention Centre in Addu owes MVR 4 million in electricity bills

The Equatorial Convention Centre (ECC) in Addu City owes MVR 4 million (US$ 259,235) in unpaid electricity bills, local media has claimed.

Head of Southern Utilities Company Abdullah Zuhair was reported to have said that the ECC has not paid any electricity bills since it was opened.

According the Zuhair, both the Finance Ministry and Housing Ministry have been requested to pay the money, but no response has yet been received.

Mayor of Addu City Abdullah Sodig told Sun Online there was nothing the council could do in regard to the unpaid bills as the ECC was not under its control. He further claimed that there are other issues facing the convention centre.

“The problem of unpaid electricity is not the only problem faced by ECC. There is no system to clean and monitor the centre either,” he was quoted as saying.

“The equipment that was initially taken there is also no longer there. The only things that remain are tables and chairs. We fear that the place might end up in ruins”

Over MVR 150 million (US$9.7 million), was spent on the construction of ECC in Addu City by the government of former President Nasheed for the 17th SAARC summit, local media claim.

“We had high hopes associated with ECC. We hoped that Addu City would be proud of ECC, that it would increase job opportunities for Addu City. But we don’t have much hope left now for these things,” Sodig told local media.

Late last month,  Male’ City Council (MCC) Mayor ‘Maizan’ Ali Manik claimed the capital was facing having its street lights “switched off” over an outstanding MVR 3.9 million (US$ 254,569) electricity bill.  The MCC at the time alleged that the Finance Ministry was responsible for the lack of payments.
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Customs cease services at ports failing to meet international standards

Ports that fail to meet certified international standards will no longer have services provided by the Maldives Customs Service, local media has reported.

According to the Sun Online news service, customs authorities have said that services to Thilafushi and other regional ports deemed failing to meet the required standards have already ceased.

Before a port can commence operations it will now be required to obtain a permit, local media has said.

To be eligible for a permit the port must be registered at the Transport Authority as a private port facility and must also meet the requirements stipulated in the laws and regulations of customs.

According to local media, customs authorities have said that ports will be given the permit after they present documents showing how much of the port has been surveyed, as well as a schedule and plan for completing all pending work.

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Married couple arrested over possession of illegal narcotics worth MVR 615,600

Police have announced the arrest yesterday (January 8) of a married couple in connection to the discovery of 270 bullet-sized packets of illegal narcotics.

The drugs were said to have been discovered both at the couple’s home and at the workplace of the male suspect, according to local media.

The Maldives Police Service said that during raids on two separate properties as part of the case, MVR 72,025 (US$4670) and US$121 in cash were discovered. Two empty bottles of vodka were also said to have been found inside the couple’s home.

According to police, the female suspect was aged 22 and the man was aged 28.  Meanwhile, local newspapers have reported that the male suspect was employed at a State Trading Organization (STO) flour storehouse.  However, authorities have opted to withhold the names and other information of the suspects at time of press.

The male suspect was arrested at 2:30pm, while his wife was arrested at 5:30pm, according to police.

Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz said via social media service Twitter that that the street value of the drugs seized yesterday was estimated at MVR 615,600 (US$39,922).

Minivan News understands that the couple were brought before judges to extend their pretrial detention period.

On November 28 last year, authorities uncovered more than MVR 1 million (US$ 64,808) in cash along with other foreign currencies during an operation to thwart a local drug network.

Deputy Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed tweeted at the time that the street value of the drugs discovered during the same operation would reach over MVR 10 million (US$648,000).

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