Month: February 2013

Case against two people accused of stealing alcohol from resort sent to PG’s office

Cases against two people accused of stealing large amounts of alcohol from a resort bar have been sent to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office.

A police media official told local media that 21 bottles of alcohol were stolen from the Gan Island Retreat bar on August 15, 2012.

The two suspects are 25-year-old Ibrahim Hameed of M. Lily Park and Sajah Rasheed, 21, of Raalhu S. Feydhoo, local media reported.

The case was forwarded to the PG’s Office on January 27, 2013.

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Scholarships worth MVR 1.5 million awarded to students by Villa College

Scholarships worth MVR 1.5 million (US$97,656) have been awarded to eight students chosen in a lucky draw by Villa College, local media has reported.

Five students were chosen in the lucky draw after the open day at the campus in Male’, and three more students were chosen from campuses in Fuvahmulah, Eydhafushi and Funadhoo in Shaviyani Atoll, Villa College told local media.

The college is to take care of all course-fee related expenses for those who were awarded the scholarships, and every student will have the opportunity to study up to a master’s degree, local media reported.

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Former Defense Minister denies charges in Hulhumale Magistrate Court

Former Defense Minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu has denied the charge of arbitrary detention of Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdullah Mohamed, during the first hearing of his criminal trial held in the controversial Hulhumale Magistrate Court.

The Prosecutor General has charged Tholhath for arresting the judge in January 2012, during his tenure as the minister of defense under former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration.

Others facing the same charges include former President Mohamed Nasheed, former Chief of Defense Force retired Major General Moosa Ali Jaleel, former Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Male Area Commander retired Brigadier General Mohamed Ibrahim Didi and Colonel Ziyad.

During the first hearing of the trial held on this Monday, State Prosecutor Abdulla Raabiu claimed that following orders from the Commander in Chief – President Mohamed Nasheed – Tholhath had orchestrated the plan to arrest the judge and had arbitrarily detained Judge Abdulla Mohamed from January 16, 2012 until February 7, 2012.

Tholhath should therefore be charged for the offense of arbitrarily detaining an innocent individual as stipulated in article 81 of the Penal Code, Raabiu added.

The article 81 of the Maldives Penal Code states: “It shall be an offense for any public servant by reason of the authority of office he is in to detain to arrest or detain in a manner contrary to Law innocent persons. Person guilty of this offense shall be subjected to exile or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding MVR 2,000.00”.

Denying the charge, the former defense minister claimed that charge pressed against him was “not legitimate”, but did not state his reasons for the claim.

Speaking on behalf of Tholhath Ibrahim, his defense lawyer Mohamed Ibrahim argued that the trial lacked the necessary impartiality, contending that same charges should be pressed against former Home Minister Hassan Afeef and Commissioner of Police Ahmed Faseeh, as they were responsible for maintaining law and order within the state.

Detention of the judge

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

Afeef accused the judge of “deliberately” holding up cases involving opposition figures, and barring media from corruption trials, ordering the release of suspects detained for serious crimes “without a single hearing”, maintaining “suspicious ties” with family members of convicts sentenced for dangerous crimes, and releasing a murder suspect “in the name of holding ministers accountable”, who went on to kill another victim.

Afeef also alleged that the judge actively undermined cases against drug trafficking suspects and had allowed them opportunity to “fabricate false evidence after hearings had concluded”.

Judge Abdulla “hijacked the whole court” by deciding that he alone could issue search warrants, Afeef alleged, and had arbitrarily suspended court officers. He also accused the judge of “twisting and interpreting laws so they could not be enforced against certain politicians” and “accepting bribes to release convicts.”

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) itself had investigated Abdulla Mohamed but stopped short of releasing a report into his ethical misconduct, after the Civil Court awarded the judge an injunction against his further investigation by the judicial watchdog.

JSC whistleblower Aishath Velezinee has also contended that the JSC’s blanket reappointment of all interim judges and magistrates in 2010 violated article 285 of the constitution guaranteeing an ethical and qualified judiciary, and that as such, the case “is based on a false premise, the assumption that Abdulla Mohamed is a constitutionally appointed judge, which is a political creation and ignores all evidence refuting this.”

The JSC itself had investigated Abdulla Mohamed but stopped short of releasing a report into his ethical misconduct after the Civil Court awarded the judge an injunction against his further investigation by the judicial watchdog.

Military assisted police

During Tholath’s trial, his lawyer argued that the military did not conduct intensive legal reviews of requests for assistance from the police, and said his client fully believed that the military should act as quickly as it could to assist the police when required.

When the judges sought to clarify as to what part of the charge Tholthath was denying, his lawyer stated that his client had not done anything against the law.

In response to Tholhath Ibrahim’s denial of the charges, the state produced witnesses in support of its claim.

This list of witnesses included current Chief of Defense Force Major General Ahmed Shiyam, former Police Commissioner Ahmed Faseeh, former Vice Chief of Defense Force Farhath Shaheer, former Military Intelligence Chief Brigadier General Ahmed Nilam, former Deputy Commissioner of Police Ismail Atheef, Colonel Wise Waheed and Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Media Official Colonel Abdul Raheem.

Along with the witnesses, the state also produced as evidence a list of text messages sent from Tholhath Ibrahim’s mobile phone, video footage of the arrest of the judge and a transcript of a cabinet meeting in which the issue was debated.

State prosecutor Raabiu said the state was willing to produce more witnesses and evidences to court if the need arises as the trial progressed.

When the evidence was produced in court, Tholhath lawyer requested the court give a period of one month to review the evidence put forth against his claim.

Dismissing the request, the sitting judges stated that the trial had been put on hold for a long time and that certain documents had already been shared with the defendants, therefore the next hearing would be scheduled for March 13, giving the defendant a period of 23 days.

An investigation led by Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) found the former President Nasheed as the “highest authority liable” for the military-led detention of the Judge. The HRCM also identified Tholhath Ibrahim as a “second key figure” involved in the matter.

In July 2012, Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizz pressed charges against the parties who had been identified in the HRCM investigation as responsible for the arrest.

Following the charges, former President Nasheed’s legal team challenged the legitimacy of the Hulhumale Magistrate Court in High Court, but the Supreme Court intervened and dismissed the claims by declaring the magistrate court was legitimate and could operate as a court of law.

The trial was heard by all three judges of Hulhumale Magistrate Court appointed to look into the case. The panel consists of Judge Shujaau Usmaan, Judge Hussain Mazeed and Judge Abdul Nasir Abdul Raheem.

Contentious court

The Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, which is also trying former President Nasheed for his detention of the Chief Criminal Court Judge during his final days in office, was created by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

The JSC, which includes several of Nasheed’s direct political opponents including rival presidential candidate Gasim Ibrahim, also appointed the three-member panel of judges overhearing the trial.

Parliament’s Independent Institutions Oversight Committee has previously declared that the JSC’s creation of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court was unconstitutional.

However, the Supreme Court declared parliament overruled, issuing a statement that “no institution should meddle with the business of the courts”, and claiming that as it held authority over “constitutional and legal affairs” it would “not allow such interference to take place.”

“The judiciary established under the constitution is an independent and impartial institution and that all public institutions shall protect and uphold this independence and impartiality and therefore no institution shall interfere or influence the functioning of the courts,” the Supreme Court stated.

A subsequent request by the JSC that the Supreme Court bench rule on the court’s legitimacy resulted in a four to three vote in favour. The casting vote was made by Supreme Court Judge Adam Mohamed, also President of the JSC.

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Aasandha opens new customer service office in Male’

Universal health insurance scheme Aasandha has opened a new customer service office to provide improved services to the public, local media reports.

The new office is located on the third floor of STO Trade Centre and will work to solve problems faced by Aasandha customers abroad, medical evacuation issues and checking insurance balances.

The office was opened by Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed.

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PPM opens applications for presidential primary

The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has called for applications of those wishing to compete in the party’s presidential primary.

Application submissions opened yesterday (February 18) and will continue until February 28.

The party’s elections committee member Mohamed Tholal told local media that members included in the party’s registry will be eligible to vote in the primary.

“Starting today, we have opened applications for those who want to compete in the party’s presidential primary. The applications will be handed and collected from the main party office, from today until 3:30pm on February 28,” Tholal said.

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MVR 85 million sanitation facility to be established in Laamu Gan

An agreement has been signed to establish a sanitation facility in Laamu Gan, local media has reported.

Ministry of Environment and Energy’s State Minister Abdul Matheen Mohamed signed the agreement with Male’ Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) Mohamed Ahmed Didi.

The project, which is funded with loan aid from French Development Agency, is to be completed within 18 months of the signing date of the agreement.

“Today we have signed an agreement with MWSC to implement the work to establish a sanitation facility in Laamu Gan. This is a project worth MVR 85 million (US$5.5 million).

Funding for the project was obtained from France with the assistance of the French government,” Matheen was quoted as saying in Sun Online.

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India getting tough on Waheed government: Business Standard

There is much more energy this February in doing the right thing by the Maldivians, unlike last February when Delhi deemed the transfer of power or coup from Mohamed Nasheed to Mohamed Waheed to be legitimate, writes Jyoti Malhotra for the Business Standard.

Certainly, the ongoing struggle for power in Maldives constitutes one of the most interesting stories in South Asia. A former bureaucrat in the United Nations and the first Maldivian to have studied at Stanford University, Waheed inveigled himself to the top job last year by allowing the former Maldivian president, Abdul Maumoon Gayoom, to play puppeteer.

When Nasheed, a charismatic and democratically elected president, had a judge arrested for a repeatedly biased record in January 2012, Gayoom had Waheed waiting in the wings to replace Nasheed. The Maldivian security forces played their part by overthrowing Nasheed.

A whole year later, Delhi has sought to make amends. Nasheed was invited to visit India on an official visit earlier this month, when he met National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon. On his return from Argentina, external affairs minister Salman Khurshid has been in regular touch with him, as well as other actors in Maldives. Last week, the ministry of external affairs stated the Waheed government should hold a free, fair and credible election in September, implying Nasheed should be allowed to participate in it; if he was arrested, he would be effectively eliminated from the election.

Rumours are afoot that India’s outgoing high commissioner, D M Mulay, was summoned to the Maldivian foreign office and scolded for allowing external interference inside the high commission, a reference to hosting Nasheed. A second and more important rumour is about a possible compromise between Nasheed and the judiciary; either charges could be withdrawn against Nasheed or these could be deferred until after the elections are held on September 7 or Nasheed could be tried in absentia and sentenced.

Some say the Indian government could press Waheed and the power behind the throne, former dictator Gayoom, to drop charges against Nasheed because they have seen through the game both have played over the past year. India and the world know Maldives has barely enough money to import a month’s worth of foodstuff and other essential commodities. The idea of economic sanctions has sometimes been known to work wonders.

Read more

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Government asks India to hand over Nasheed, as MDP slam arrest warrant from “kangaroo court”

The Maldivian Foreign Ministry has asked the Indian High Commission to hand former President Mohamed Nasheed to police ahead of his trial on Wednesday.

Police requested the Foreign Ministry to approach the High Commission on Tuesday, after the Hulhumale Magistrate Court ordered them to produce Nasheed for his court hearing at 4:00pm on February 20.

President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad said “I wouldn’t call it an arrest warrant. It’s a court order for police to summon him to court.”

Asked whether this order would involve police using force to produce Nasheed, Masood stated that “I’m not a policeman but presumably they will ask him to come with them, and if he does not they will put him in a police vehicle. The actual strategy is a police function. I hope they don’t do anything excessive.”

“As far as the police are concerned, we will make sure they do not break the diplomatic rights of the embassy. Having said that, police may not have to use force to take him out,” he said.

“Police have asked the foreign ministry to advise the high commission that they have a warrant to present Nasheed in court. If [Indian High Commissioner] Mr Mulay does not budge, they will report back and it ends there,” Masood said.

Nasheed would be free again after Wednesday 4:00pm when the current warrant would expire, “until another warrant is issued”, he added.

The High Court also on Tuesday ordered the Foreign Ministry deliver a court order to Nasheed, concerning an appeal hearing of the first – now expired – arrest warrant for the February 13 hearing. The High Court appeal is scheduled for 1:00pm on Wednesday, three hours before his second hearing.

Nasheed sought refuge in the High Commission – which is protected diplomatic territory under the Vienna Convention – after the court earlier issued a warrant for his arrest and presentation in court on February 13. The scheduled hearing was canceled in his absence and the warrant expired.

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) issued a statement slamming the arrest warrant issued by the “kangaroo court”.

“The MDP believes that the Hulhumale Magistrate Court is, de facto, controlled by Dr Waheed and his allies, and that the sole purpose of the court case against President Nasheed is to prevent his candidature in the upcoming presidential elections,” the party said.

“Waheed, in collusion with allies in the judiciary, has established a kangaroo court to convict President Nasheed. The Judicial Services Commission that set up the court comprises Waheed’s appointees as well as Nasheed’s political rivals, including those running for president. Waheed hides behind so-called judicial independence but his fingerprints are all over this trial,” said MDP Spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.

“India, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United Nations, and the Commonwealth have all called for free and fair elections in which all candidates are freely permitted to stand. Waheed is defying the world by continuing his political persecution of President Nasheed,” he said.

The President’s Office Human Rights Ambassador Ahmed Ibrahim “Sandhaanu” Didi told a press conference yesterday that the MDP “shouldn’t be allowed to exist” as it was an “unlawful organisation which commits terrorist activities”, and called on the Elections Commission to dissolve it.

Indian position

The Indian High Commission has so far made no indication that it intends to hand over Nasheed to the Maldivian police ahead of his scheduled trial.

Indian Minister of External Affairs Shri Salman Khurshid said on Monday that the former President “is a guest in the mission. He came and we extended courtesies and that’s it. This was explained to the [Maldives] foreign minister. We are not taking sides with anyone. We are not engaged or involved in the internal politics,” he said.

“As friends of the Maldives, our only expectation, and this is the expectation of the democratic world, is that elections which have been announced will hopefully be free and fair. As friends we obviously have advised anything that detracts from the perception of free fair elections is obviously not good for Maldives,” Khurshid said.

“The people of the Maldives have India’s support. Whoever the people of the Maldives elect will have India’s support. The Maldives can’t change its history. The Maldives cannot deny the history of somebody who was President of Maldives. And we cannot deny the Maldives’ present by saying that whatever there is at present is not to our liking. It’s the people of Maldives who decide and whoever they decide as their elected leadership, we will respect,” he added.

Meanwhile, the website of the Indian High Commission in the Maldives was hacked and a message displayed stating “Give us Nasheed or we kick the embassy!”

High Commission officials confirmed the website had been targeted twice in the past week, but was quickly repaired.

Ten arrested as protests continue

Demonstrations continued last night in the captial Male’, with a crowd of almost 1000 people beginning a march around the city from near the tsunami monument.

Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said ten people were arrested, including one minor, for throwing objects such as glass bottles at police.

No police were injured, and no force or pepper-spray was used to control the crowds of 250-500 people at the barricades, Haneef said.

Police have meanwhile released a video of demonstrators throwing objects at police lines during the recent protests, and requested public assistance in identifying the five people highlighted.

“Police request public assistance in identifying the five individuals marked in the video who have committed various felonies which have caused varying degrees of property damage and injured officers and media personnel,” police said in a statement.

“Anyone with any information about the identity or the whereabouts of these five individuals, please contact the Maldives Police Service Hotline at 3322111 or the Criminal Investigation Department at 9631696,” the statement added.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sA3UtrgiCvA

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Former CSC head claims dismissal was politicised

Former Head of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Fahmy Hassan has told the Supreme Court that his dismissal was politically motivated.

According to local media, Fahmy told the Supreme Court that he was dismissed because he had refused to decrease the number of civil servants to 15,000 from 32,000 and because he had raised his voice to reinstate the salaries of civil servants.

Fahmy’s lawyer told the court that the parliament conducted a criminal investigation into Fahmy despite not having the jurisdiction to conduct such investigations.

Parliament’s Counselor General Fathmath Filza was present at the court to represent the parliament.

The Supreme Court has previously ordered parliament’s independent commissions committee to send it all minutes relating to Fahmy’s case.

However, the committee decided not to send the minutes to the court the sources who spoke to the committee spoke on condition that their names would not be disclosed.

Chair of the Committee MP Mohamed Nasheed told the press at the time that if documents containing confidential information were sent to a court open to the public, the information would also be open to the public.

On November 20, parliament voted that Fahmy be dismissed from his position as the President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), on charges of sexual harassment against a female employee.

The incident occurred on May 29, 2012, when Fahmy allegedly called the female staff member over to him, took 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.”

Local media at the time reported that 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.”

In response to the allegations Fahmy told Minivan News at the time that the female staff member had invented the allegations after she discovered she had not received a scholarship to Singapore offered by the CSC.

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