Day: March 18, 2014

High Court decides to hold closed hearings on appeal case against Family Court ruling

The High Court has today decided to hold closed hearings in the appeal case against the Family Court hearings asking Ahmed Sharuan from Kanmatheege in Seenu Atoll Maradhoo to return his five month baby to the mother.

While the Constitution’s Article 42 (b) states that court hearings must be open to public, courts of law are allowed to hold closed hearings under special circumstances as seen fit by the judges.

Family Court previously ordered Sharuan to return the baby to the mother, and on his failure to comply, ordered police to search for him.

The search has since been called off following the High Court releasing a temporary injunction asking to halt implementation of the Family Court order.

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STO head office robbed

State Trading Organization (STO) head office was broken into and robbed during the early hours of Tuesday (March 18).

STO Managing Director Adam Azim informed local media that a group of people had threatened the office’s security guard with knives and forced their way into the offices.

“They were not able to go up to the main safe. I don’t think they would have been able to steal any money, as we have a practice of depositing our earnings every day,” he is quoted as saying.

However, he stated that there might have been an unidentified amount of money in the office intended for use as petty cash, which might have been stolen.

A police media official confirmed that they are investigating a break in at STO headquarters, while stating that the amount of money stolen is as of yet unknown.

No related arrests have been made at the time of press.

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President Yameen inaugurates land reclamation project in Meedhoo

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom inaugurated a land reclamation project on the island of Meedhoo in Dhaalu atoll on Sunday.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Yameen said he visited the island with a gift for its residents, noting that the people of Meedhoo have been waiting for over 20 years for such development projects.

President Yameen asserted that the Maldives could be developed using available resources, according to the President’s Office.

Yameen urged the people of Meedhoo to utilise the reclaimed land for economic and social purposes.

The current administration would endeavour to ease economic difficulties faced by the public, he added.

The project was awarded to the Nederland’s Boskalis International company to reclaim 17.5 hectares of land and set up 485 metres of revetment in Meedhoo.

Boskalis has also been contracted by the government to reclaim land in Baa Eydhafushi, Dhaalu Kudahuvadhoo, and Kaafu Thulusdhoo.

President Yameen also pledged to make ambulance services available across the country before the end of August. He noted that the project would be funded from savings made from the state budget through cost-cutting and economising.

The Meedhoo constituency is represented in parliament by MP Ahmed ‘Sun’ Siyam Mohamed, leader of the Maldives Development Alliance, a coalition partner of the ruling Progressive party of Maldives.

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Man fined MVR1000 for possession of alcohol

Criminal Court has fined a man who brought in alcohol to the Maldives and kept it in his possession.

The charged Mohamed Vildhaan of Dhemaagasdhoshuge in Henveiru ward of capital city Malé was fined MVR1000.

The Criminal Court verdict reads that Vildhaan had confessed in court to having been in possession of alcohol.

It further states that the sentence against him is a fine because the court was not made aware of the quantity of alcohol that Vildhaan had in his possession.

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Kudahuvadhoo islanders spotted low-flying mystery aircraft in hours after MH370 disappearance

With additional reporting by Ahmed Nazeer and Ahmed Rilwan

Residents of Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaal atoll have reported seeing a low flying aircraft heading in a south-easterly direction in the morning of March 8, prompting speculation that it could have been the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

“It was about 6:30am in the morning, I heard a loud noise and went out to see what it was,” Adam Saeed, a teacher at Kudahuvadhoo school, told Minivan News.

“I saw a flight flying very low and it had a red straight line in the middle of it. The flight was traveling north-west to south-east.”

While Saeed’s sighting has been corroborated by a number of witnesses, others remain skeptical that the aircraft could have been the missing jet, whilst aviation authorities maintain that they have no “credible” evidence to support the claims.

Police have confirmed they are looking into the reports without providing further comment.

Co-author of the original story Ahmed Naif explained that Haveeru had been receiving similar reports since March 9, but had been concerned about the credibility of the sightings.

“Later we were getting so many comments that we contacted the island and they said it was true,” explained Naif.

One islander, who identified himself as Hamzath, told Minivan News that had also seen a low-flying plane heading from north-west to south-east, though he remained wary of jumping to conclusions.

“People started talking about it when they realised that the flight that we saw had the same characteristics as of the missing plane,” he said. ”We are still not saying it is the same plane, we just wanted to report it just in case.”

Another witness – who wished to remain anonymous – confirmed a similar height and direction but did not see the plane’s colours, while another suggested that the reports had been exaggerated.

“A plane did fly near the island,” said the anonymous witness. “It wasn’t that big, as big as people say.”

“These days people will be out fishing every morning. Around thirty people would always be there in the morning – but no one talked about it then. If it was that noticeable, loud and big, people would talk.”

Caution urged

Investigators are currently searching an area spanning 2.24 million nautical miles, with two corridor arcs – one stretching between Thailand and Kazakhstan, the other south between Indonesia and the southern Indian Ocean.

The arcs were determined locational ‘pings’ detected by a satellite revealing the flight’s last known location at 8:11am Malaysian time (5:11am Maldives time). Witness reports received by Minivan News and Haveeru put the time of the sighting between 6:15am and 8am.

While the Maldives appears to have been ruled out of the ever-widening search for the missing Boeing 777 and the 239 people on board, reports this morning brought further mention of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

A simulator featuring five airports in the Indian Ocean region was discovered in the home of flight Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah today, as investigators remain convinced the plane’s disappearance was deliberate. A senior Malaysian police officer told Reuters, however, that such simulators are likely to feature hundreds of runways.

Ibrahim Nasir International Airport was featured on the simulator, as were three runways in Indian and Sri Lanka, as well as the US military base in Diego Garcia.

Although the Maldives receives over one million tourists every year, visitors to isolated islands are normally transported by seaplane from Malé’s airport.

When asked about the possibility of a plane of this size landing on an isolated airstrip in the atolls, Maldives National Defence Force spokesman Major Hussain Ali said this was not possible.

“If you are asking are there any landing strips outside of the main commercial airports, the answer is no,” said Hussain.

Contacted following the emergence of the Kudahuvadhoo sightings, neither Hussain not the President’s Office were responding to calls at the time of press.

Spokesman for the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) Hassan Areef has urged caution regarding the reported sightings in Kudahuvadhoo.

“We have no credible information about the plane in terms of radar or sightings,” said Areef.

“There are so many conspiracy theories – we have no credible information that the plane has come to us.”

One such conspiracy theory has the base at Diego Garcia – which lies around 700 miles south of Kudahuvadhoo – as a potential landing site for the plane, though Malaysian authorities are said to have dismissed this rumour.

Haveeru today quoted a local aviation expert, who considered it unlikely that a commercial carrier would have been flying over the island at that time.

While some witnesses at first assumed that the flight must have come from Maamagili airport, 55 miles to the north, MACL’s published schedule shows no flights from the airport until 7:20am on Saturdays, with all subsequent flights headed to the capital Malé – north-east of Maamigilli.

Maamigili airport is the hub for the domestic carrier Flyme which operates a fleet of 75ft, 50 seater ATR 42-500 aircraft. The Boeing 777 model of the missing Malaysian jet is around 200 feet long with a carrying capacity in excess of three hundred.

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Nasheed “slaughtered” democracy: Gayoom

The Maldivian people saw “democracy being slaughtered” during the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom reportedly said last night at a ‘Progressive Coalition’ campaign rally in Malé.

“During those three and a half years, things reached the point where we feared Islam could disappear from the country. It reached a state where we feared we might lose our independence,” the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) leader and figurehead said.

“We saw the economy devastated, ruined and fall into a deep pit. We also saw democracy being slaughtered.”

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government “hijacked” the People’s Majlis, locked the Supreme Court, detained a sitting judge, and arrested politicians “in the name of democracy” during its three years in office, Gayoom contended.

“We saw many such inhumane and undemocratic actions,” he added.

Gayoom also criticised Nasheed for resigning on February 7, 2012 halfway into his five-year presidential term.

The country has faced “more difficult, burdensome, sad and tragic events” in its history than the circumstances that led to Nasheed’s resignation, Gayoom continued, but leaders had not stepped down “for the sake of the nation and religion.”

Referring to the failed coup attempt on November 3, 1988 by Tamil mercenaries, Gayoom noted that no senior government official resigned despite threats to their lives.

“They did not go home. They stayed resolute,” he said.

Gayoom urged voters to choose pro-government candidates in the March 22 parliamentary polls to ensure that the PPM-led coalition government secures a majority of parliamentary seats, which he contended was necessary to carry out development projects and implement policies.

“The cooperation of the People’s Majlis can be assured by the Progressive Coalition securing a majority,” he said.

“The tree called MDP”

The opposition MDP has meanwhile been campaigning on a platform of reforming the judiciary, empowering local councils, and consolidating democracy.

In a speech at a campaign rally in Malé last week, Nasheed contended that Gayoom had retained his influence over the judiciary when sitting judges – the vast majority of whom were appointed during Gayoom’s 30-year reign – were controversially reappointed en masse in August 2010.

Nasheed entreated voters to study the recent past of the Maldives and consider current trends, suggesting that “you certainly don’t need to be an expert to know what could happen to this country in light of that.”

“The country is being rolled back to autocratic rule. President Maumoon is taking one step after another down that path,” he said.

Gayoom’s longstanding opposition to allowing political parties in the Maldives was elucidated on page 123 of his biography, “A Man for All Islands,” Nasheed said.

“I want to ask you, are you really confused about who President Maumoon is? Are you really going to accept him today as a man of democratic principles who loves freedom? What I want to tell the people of Malé is, don’t let yourself be stung twice from the same burrow,” he said.

Meanwhile, speaking at a rally in Baa Eydhafushi last night, Nasheed said the MDP’s objective was securing financial independence for local councils.

Councils should be able to generate revenue from publicly-owned land in the island as well as nearby uninhabited islands, he said, which would enable councils to undertake infrastructure projects.

“Our pledge is not having to make any more pledges. God willing, we will provide the [financial] wherewithal for you to fulfil your own pledges,” he said.

He added that the MDP was the only party pledging to reform the judiciary.

“I want to tell other candidates, and the many candidates participating in this election – this tree called MDP has not yet blossomed. It has to be watered. It is not yet time to cling to it and spread vines under its shade. We have to let this tree grow.”

“I won’t talk about this in the next election. God willing, by then our political system will have matured,” he said.

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PPM councillors allege corruption involved in “Clean Green Malé” project

Three Malé City councillors affiliated with the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) have released a statement alleging that corruption is involved in the council’s ‘Nala Fehi Malé’ (Clean Green Male’) initiative.

“Under the ‘Clean and Sweep Male’ program inaugurated on March 16 in an event held in front of Iskandhar School, half of the ‘Thaisey Block’ [the land behind the Male’ City Council offices] has been unduly granted to the contractor Business Image Group (BIG) to conduct this work,” read the statement.

“The agreement further requires additional land to be provided to store vehicles brought in the name of being necessary for cleaning. Additionally, even accomodation for labourers brought in to do the cleaning work needs to be provided by the Malé City Council,” it continued.

“Furthermore, we condemn this act that has been done despite repeated orders from the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure asking us to not conduct any agreements regarding any land in Malé.”

The statement also said that the granting of the contract to BIG is currently being investigated by the Anti Corruption Commission of the Maldives.

“Malé City Mayor and Deputy Mayor has challenged this institution, and regardless [of the investigation] gone ahead with the project. Two years after the granting of the contract, despite the contract with BIG being for making Malé clean and beautiful, what we are seeing is the putting up of a large number of billboards which are becoming a nuisance to the daily lives of people,” the statement continued.

“We further condemn the efforts of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Malé City Council to maintain the agreement made with BIG.”

The statement concluded by saying that the press release has been issued to inform the public of the reasons behind the thee PPM councillors being absent from the ‘Clean Green Malé” inauguration event, adding “we assure you that we will cooperate with any and all efforts made for the good of the people”.

The inaugural ceremony for the programme was held on Saturday (March 15) outside Iskandar School, with the council reporting that permission to hold the event inside the school was suddenly withdrawn at short notice.

According to Haveeru, no government invitees were present at the ceremony held by the opposition dominated city council.

Today’s statement is signed by the three PPM councillors – Mahchangolhi Dhekunu councillor Ibrahim Mamnoon, MedhuHenveiru councillor Zaidhul Ameen, and HulhuHenveiru Councillor Mohamed Sajid.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party councillors in the council have stated that they will issue a written response to the PPM’s press release.

An official from BIG declined from commenting on the matter.

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Murrath requests court to summon police officers as appeal continues

Ahmed Murrath – currently appealing his Criminal Court conviction for the murder of lawyer Ahmed Najeeb – has today asked the High Court to summon police officers who investigated the case.

Local media reported that Murrath told the bench he had not seen Najeeb being murdered and that he was not in the room at the time.

Murrath’s lawyer told the court that in murder cases the defendant was permitted under Islamic Shariah to retract a confession. After this was queried by the bench, Murrath’s lawyer was not able to specify where in Quran or Sunnah it was mentioned.

Murrath is said to have told judges today that he confessed to the murder in order to escape punishments he received during the investigation period, claiming that his family members – including his mother – were arrested in connection with the case, and that he was prevented from sleeping.

Prosecutor General’s Office lawyers also spoke in the court, arguing that scholars have said the strongest evidence against a criminal is his own confession and that confessions made in cases concerning the rights of another individual cannot be retracted, reported local media.

The state lawyer said that being under the influence of an illegal drug was not a reason to commit a crime and that the defendant must take full responsibility for his actions if he willfully abused drugs.

Murrath and his girlfriend Fathimath Hanaa, were arrested and charged with Najeeb’s murder after the lawyer’s body was discovered by police at Maafanu Masroora house, (Murrath’s residence) in early evening of July 1.

The body was stuffed inside a dustbin, badly beaten up and with multiple stab wounds.

Sentenced

In July 2012, the Criminal Court sentenced the pair to death before the ruling was appealed at the High Court.

During the trial held in the Criminal Court, Murrath confessed to killing Najeeb out of anger and under the influence of drugs, alleging that the lawyer attempted to sexually assault his 18 year-old girlfriend while he was at Masroora House.

He told the Criminal Court that Najeeb visited Masroora House on June 30 to provide legal counsel on a case related to cash missing from Murrath’s mother’s account, and the issue of dividing the house.

Murrath said that he tied Najeeb to a chair, gagged him and taped his hands, feet and face while threatening him with a four-inch knife he had brought from the kitchen. He said that his girlfriend Hanaa had no role in it and was sleeping while he killed the lawyer between 6:00am and 7:00am during the morning of July 1.

Hanaa confessed in the Criminal Court to “helping” tape and bind the victim to the chair. She did not confess to killing him and said at the time she was sleeping, intoxicated from drinking alcohol.

Last month, Haveeru reported that Murrath’s lawyer Abdul Hakeem Rashadh told the High Court his client’s confession had been coerced, that his client’s responsibility was diminished due to the influence of drugs, and that he had the right to retract his confession as there were no witnesses to the crime.

Murrath is currently facing the death sentence for Najeeb’s murder – a sentence that the current administration has pledged to reintroduce after a 60 year moratorium.

Following orders by Home Minister Umar Naseer to begin preparations for reintroducing executions, the cabinet advised President Abdulla Yameen last month that there were no legal obstructions to carrying out the sentence.

The order closely followed the conclusion of the Dr Afrasheem Ali murder trial, in which Hussein Humam was sentenced to death. Similarly, Humam also claimed that his confession was obtained under duress.

President Yameen last week revealed that the government had formulated regulations for the implementation of the penalty. Calling the decision a “historic day”, Yameen vowed he would not bow to international pressure to reverse the decision.

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Oil drilling and Maldives’ tourism “cannot coexist”, says NGO Bluepeace

Oil drilling and sea-based tourism “cannot coexist”, says Executive Director of local NGO Bluepeace Ali Rilwan, who has suggested that drilling for oil will create a number of problems.

Rilwan’s comments follow further confirmation this week from President Abdulla Yameen that that the government will commence work on locating crude oil in the Maldives.

According to local news outlet CNM, Yameen said that if the government is indeed successful in finding oil in the Maldives, the outlook for the entire country would change for the better.

These statements were made at a land reclamation ceremony held on Sunday (March 16) on the island of Meedhoo in Dhaalu atoll. Speaking at the launch, President Yameen suggested that the Maldives could be developed using available resources.

When asked which would be more beneficial to the Maldives, Rilwan said “it’s a choice of the government.”  He noted that with the large income from tourism and the spread of guest houses in local isands, the oil drilling “won’t have benefits for the people as a whole.”

“We can’t afford to go into that dirty energy,” he concluded. “When you take up the issues of drilling, we are concerned about the oil container tanks with unrefined fuel passing through.”

With this in mind,  Rilwan asked, “can we avoid a distaster in the Maldives? The Maldives is a tiny island and this can have a very negative impact, the tanks are a worrying thing.”

Famed for its luxury resorts, the Maldives has relied on tourism for an estimated 70 – 80% of its GDP. Plans to look for oil in the past had aimed to diversify the nation’s economy.

There are currently no confirmed plans for the location of the drilling, should it take place – an uncertainty which has made it difficult for environmentalists to comment on the matter.

Rilwan noted that the fact that it is not known whether drilling will be coastal or off-shore makes it difficult to predict environmental issues.

The renewed interest in the search for oil was prompted by the results of seismic reports conducted in 1991– the recent findings of which have caused authorities to seek foreign assistance.

The Maldives National Oil Company (MNOC) was founded in 2003 to take direct responsibility for the development of oil and gas industry in the Maldives.

“The fact that two leading oil exploration companies in the world had invested in exploration drilling in the Maldives, keeps up the glimmer of hope for commercial success of oil and gas exploration in the Maldives,” the MNOC has said previously.

“Today, with the remarkable improvement of technology in the area of oil and exploration such as three or four dimensional seismic survey systems etc., the Maldives National Oil Company is hopeful that oil or gas can be discovered in Maldives.”

Managing director of the MNOC Ahmed Muneez told local media last month that the government intended to start work on new exploration within a few months.

“We have contacted a Norwegian company and a German company to help us better understand the findings of the study. Based on this report, we’re hopeful of advertising the Maldives as a new destination of oil exploration,” Haveeru quoted Muneez as saying.

He explained that an outside company would be hired to conduct a global advertising campaign in order to market the country as an oil source.

Under the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives – famously vulnerable to the effects of climate change – had pledged to become carbon neutral by 2020.

Nasheed stated that the Maldives was a key model for other countries seeking to become more sustainable, and that an inability to meet the unilateral commitments would prove detrimental to wider arguments around the globe for adopting law carbon initiatives.

The government of Nasheed’s successor Dr Mohamed Waheed also said that it was committed to “not completely” reversing the Nasheed administration’s zero carbon strategy: “What we are aiming to do is to elaborate more on individual sustainable issues and subject them to national debate,” said Waheed.

Speaking to Minivan in October 2012, the government assured that they were adhering to their commitment to become carbon neutral by 2020 in spite of political uncertainty.

“We are continuing with the carbon neutrality program,” she said. “We are giving it our best shot,” said then Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela.

Minivan News was unable to obtain comments from the Ministry of Environment and Energy at the time of press.

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