Month: October 2014

Police advise precautionary measures against theft during Eid holidays

Police have advised residents of Malé to take precautionary measures to avoid theft if they leave their homes unattended during the upcoming Eid holidays.

In a press release today, police advised residents of the capital who plan on leaving for the holidays to secure valuable belongings, lock all cupboards and rooms, and inform both a reliable person and the nearest police station of their absence.

The Eid al-Adha begins tomorrow and government offices are expected to be closed next week.

Police said patrols in the capital would be stepped up to ensure security during the holidays.

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Police arrest Imam of unauthorised independent prayer congregation

No additional reporting by missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan

Police have arrested a 34-year-old man for leading an unauthorised independent prayer congregation and delivering Friday prayer sermons at the Dharumavantha mosque in Malé.

The suspect was taken into custody on Tuesday night (September 30) on charges of “attempting to incite religious strife and discord,” said police, and leading prayers without authorisation from the Islamic ministry in violation of the Protection of Religious Unity Act of 1994 and regulations under the law.

“Despite being summoned to the police headquarters and being repeatedly advised and told to cease [leading the independent congregation], he gave religious sermons without permission at the Dharumavantha mosque and attempted to create religious divisions in the country,” police said in a statement yesterday.

The Criminal Court yesterday granted an extension of remand detention for five days.

“The Dharumavantha mosque is not among mosques designated in Malé for Friday prayers. And those delivering sermons and issuing fatwas there have not sought authorisation from the Islamic ministry,” police noted.

The case is under investigation by the police serious and organised crime department.

At a press conference on September 24, Home Minister Umar Naseer said efforts were underway to stop the independent congregation gathering at Dharumavantha mosque.

“Putting a stop to it is not just physically going there and stopping them sometimes with shields. Due to the nature of the [issue], we want to advise them, explain to them how it is in religion, and do all that,” Naseer told the press.

The Islamic ministry had summoned members of the separatist prayer group and conducted “one-to-one” counselling sessions, Naseer revealed.

“Unless all these efforts fail, we will not use the force of law,” Naseer said.

Religious unity

In February this year, the Malé City Council posted a notice on the Dharumavantha mosque stating that it would be temporarily shut down at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs to stop unauthorised Friday prayers.

The prayer group has been described as “extremist” by Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed.

However, the independent congregation gathered for prayers the next Friday and prayed for God to destroy the government and for victory against the “irreligious” government that was attempting to “obstruct the spreading of Allah’s message”.

The Imam also prayed for God to destroy and send his wrath upon military and police officers who implement the government’s orders.

Despite the notice, the group continued to gather for prayers at the mosque and conduct Friday prayers every weekend at a time earlier than the time set by the Islamic ministry.

Local media reported last month that the Dharumavantha mosque’s Imam accused the government in a Friday prayer sermon of declaring “war” against the congregation.

A prayer was also offered against the government’s alleged efforts against the “true invitation” and for Allah to strike fear into the hearts of police and army officers who might be used stop the unauthorised congregation.

Under the religious unity regulations enacted in May 2010, permission and written approval must be sought from the Islamic ministry to preach, give sermons and issue religious edicts in the Maldives.

Scholars seeking a license to preach are required to have at least a first degree in religious studies from an institution recognised by the government.

In April, President Abdulla Yameen ratified amendments to the Religious Unity Act – which came into force mid-July – outlawing independent or unauthorised prayer congregations.

The penalty for violations of either the law or the regulations is a jail sentence of between two to five years.

A former member of the Dharumavantha mosque congregation told Minivan News in February that shutting down the mosque or arresting the members of congregation would be ill-advised.

“You can’t change what people believe using force. Under [former President Maumoon Abdul] Gayoom, I was arrested and kept in solitary confinement for weeks and sometimes months for praying in separate congregations and being involved with such groups. If anything, my convictions became even stronger and my thinking more radicalised,” he said.

Under the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed, the government’s policy in combating extremism shifted to a rehabilitation model.

In 2010, President Nasheed decided to commute the sentences of 16 people convicted for their part in a violent confrontation between the security services and a separatist prayer group in Himandhoo.

More than 50 people were arrested in October 2007 after islanders donned red motorcycle helmets and armed themselves with batons and knives to defend the Dhar al Khuir mosque.

Police had been searching for suspects in the Maldives’ first Islamist terror investigation following a bomb blast in Sultan Park that injured 12 tourists.

Questioning the success of the appeasement or conciliatory efforts, however, Shaheem – who had earlier advocated for a similar model – had labelled it a failure.

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Asia Pacific Forum urges president to preserve independence of HRCM

No additional reporting by missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan

The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) has urged President Abdulla Yameen to ensure the independence of the Human Rights Commission of Maldives and guarantee immunity from prosecution for its members.

All five members of the HRCM are currently on trial at the Supreme Court, which has initiated suo moto proceedings against the commission on charges of undermining the constitution by allegedly including false information in its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submission to the UN Human Rights Council.

“In expressing its considered opinion to the UPR, the HRCM is fulfilling its official and legal mandate,” reads a letter from APF Chairperson Dr Ali Ben Smaihk Al-Marri sent to President Yameen on September 24.

“With the greatest respect, we urge you to preserve the independence of the HRCM and guarantee the immunity of members of the HRCM. The APF is willing to provide you any assistance you think fit on this matter.”

The APF is a member organisation of national human rights bodies of the Asia Pacific region with a membership of 22 institutions.

In its letter, APF noted that the HRCM was “a highly valued and respected member” of the organisation and expressed “gravest concern” over the Supreme Court’s actions.

The ongoing trial was “a concerning threat to the independence of the commission,” the organisation said.

The APF referred to Article 27(a) of the HRCM Act, which grants members immunity from prosecution for “committing or omitting an act in good faith”.

Moreover, Article 27(b) states that the commission could only be sued regarding published reports following an inquiry which establishes the falsehood of a component of the report.

“In addition, the UN international standards relating to NHRIs, the ‘Paris Principles’ set out, that in terms of a NHRIs independence, competence and responsibilities a NHRI is able to ‘contribute to the reports which States are required to submit to United Nations bodies and committees, and to regional institutions, pursuant to their treaty obligations and, where necessary, to express an opinion on the subject, with due respect for their independence,'” the APF letter stated.

At last week’s second hearing of the suo moto trial, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain slammed the commission for basing its observation – that the Supreme Court controlled and influenced the judiciary to the detriment of lower courts – on a 2013 report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul.

Faiz said the judiciary had rejected Knaul’s report as invalid. In June 2013, the government accused Knaul of undermining the Maldives’ sovereignty and jurisdiction.

On Tuesday (September 30), the European Union (EU) delegation in Colombo and EU member states expressed concern with the Supreme Court trial undermining the HRCM’s independence.

Meanwhile, former Justice Minister Ahmed ‘Seena’ Zahir called on the public last week to speak out for judicial reform and warned of a burgeoning “judicial dictatorship.”

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IS un-Islamic and anti-Islamic, tells Dr Waheed at UN General Assembly

No additional reporting by missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan

The militant organisation Islamic State (IS) is not only un-Islamic but anti-Islamic, former President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik said yesterday (September 30) at the UN General Assembly in New York.

“These are terrorist groups, not religious groups. Islam, our great religion of peace, compassion and tolerance, is being hijacked by radical and extremist elements to perpetuate hatred and violence,” Dr Waheed said in his speech as President Abdulla Yameen’s special envoy to the 69th session.

“We, the government and people of Maldives, condemn in the strongest terms, these groups, their ideologies, and their activities. We join our fellow Muslims around the world in saying ‘not in my name’.”

Ignorance was the biggest challenge to development, Dr Waheed said, and “violence, subjugation and eternal poverty breed ignorance.”

“Misinformed, yet talented, young people can be easily lured into fanaticism, radicalism, and extremism. Islam’s identity as a religion that supports innovation, knowledge, and scholarship is slowly eroding away, the golden era of our religion is almost forgotten,” he continued.

“Today, the world has a choice to make. Should we allow extremists to shape our future? Or should we take decisive actions to defeat these extremist ideologies? Our answer to these questions will define the way in which we deal with the so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups.”

Islamic State

The Sunni jihadist group IS claims religious authority over all Muslims and has declared a caliphate in territory it holds in Iraq and Syria.

In late August, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon issued a press statement condemning “the crimes committed against innocent civilians by the organisation which identifies itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).”

Dunya’s remarks followed Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed’s declaration that the ISIS would not be allowed to operate in the Maldives.

“ISIS is an extremist group. No space will be given for their ideology and activities in the Maldives,” Shaheem tweeted on August 24.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), however, promptly put out a statement questioning Shaheem’s sincerity, suggesting that the words had not been backed up with concrete action by the government.

The Islamic ministry has also provided a meeting hall of the Islamic centre for a religious sermon which was advertised with the ISIS logo, the MDP claimed.

The party claimed to have learned that police and army officers were involved in putting up the banners across the capital.

A Facebook page called Islamic State in Maldives promoting IS in the country was discovered last month, which shared photos of protests calling for a ban on Israeli tourists where protesters carried the IS flag.

Moreover, a new site called Haqqu and Twitter account sprang up recently featuring IS-related news and publications in Dhivehi as well as translations of a sermon by self-proclaimed Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Last week, former President Mohamed Nasheed suggested that radicalised gangs were behind the recent “atrocities” in the capital, referring to the torching of the MDP office.

Several journalist were also sent a text message warning them not to cover “the incidents happening in Malé now.”

“This is a war between the laadheenee [secular or irreligious] MDP mob and religious people. We advise the media not to come in the middle of this. We won’t hesitate to kill you,” read the threat.

Extremist religious indoctrination of youth was a relatively recent phenomenon in the Maldives, Nasheed observed.

The opposition leader claimed that many young men from criminal gangs were seen in a protest march held in Malé on September 5 with participants bearing the IS flag and calling for the implementation of Islamic Sharia.

Of the approximately 150 participants, Nasheed claimed most were “active in gangs.”

“So youth in gangs are turning to ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] ideology. That activities of ISIS are happening in the Maldives is becoming very clear to us. And while this is happening, the government is unable to stop gang activities,” he said.

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Terrorism trials begin for over 80 individuals from Thinadhoo

Terrorism trials began at the Criminal Court yesterday for 81 individuals from the island of Thinadhoo in Gaaf Dhaal atoll accused of setting fire to the island’s police station and court on February 8, 2012.

According to local media, out of 89 individuals facing terrorism charges, 81 were summoned to the court yesterday, all of whom pleaded not guilty. The accused were offered an opportunity to appoint defence lawyers.

The trials began at 10:00am and lasted until 5:30pm as consecutive hearings were held for small groups of defendants. The terrorism trials posed difficulties for other hearings at the court as such a large group of people were summoned on the same day.

The 89 individuals were charged under Article 2 and 6 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1990.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Ali Waheed met a number of the defendants at the party’s office prior to the hearings yesterday.

On February 8, 2012, riots spread across the country following a brutal crackdown on an MDP march in the capital in protest of the controversial transfer of presidential power the day before.

In a press release issued on September 18 after the hearings were scheduled, the MDP contended that the trials against dozens of the party’s members and supporters in Addu City and Thinadhoo were politically-motivated acts of intimidation.

The party also accused the government of threatening to prosecute persons who participate in MDP activities.

The press statement also noted that police officers who committed crimes on February 6, 7 and 8 were not being prosecuted.

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Former justice minister slams “judicial dictatorship”

No additional reporting by missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan

The Maldivian judiciary is not functioning as envisioned in the revised constitution adopted in August 2008 and should be reformed, former Justice Minister and former Speaker Ahmed ‘Seena’ Zahir has said in a scathing critique of the justice system.

“If we don’t want an executive dictatorship from a dictatorship, we don’t want a judicial dictatorship either,” the former speaker of parliament reportedly said at a ceremony held on Monday night (September 29) to inaugurate an association of former students of the private Malé English School (MES).

Zahir’s criticism follows the Supreme Court initiating suo moto proceedings against members of the Human Rights Commission of Maldives over its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submission to the UN Human Rights Council.

The Special Majlis constitutional assembly convened to amend the constitution – of which he was a member – did not envision the judiciary “meddling” in executive affairs, Zahir said.

Judges were offered tenure, job security and high pay, he noted.

He added that the judiciary was misinterpreting constitutional provisions while the mandate of judges was limited to conducting trials.

“That should be brought to an end. It won’t come to a halt by jailing those who talk about this. Someone has to raise their voices on behalf of the people,” he said.

Zahir called on the public to exercise the constitutional right to freedom of expression and raise their voices for judicial reform.

The MES senior student association could take up the call as it should be done in an academic and unbiased manner without politicisation, he advised.

Zahir – who served as justice minister in the cabinet of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and participated in the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) presidential campaign last year – suggested that political parties were unwilling to speak out for judicial reform.

He also noted that the judiciary would have to arbitrate and settle commercial disputes under foreign investment laws.

Such laws, however, would not serve its purpose of attracting foreign investment if the judiciary remained unreformed, Zahir contended.

Zahir advised a bipartisan effort to amend the constitution, noting that the ruling PPM and coalition partner Maldives Development Alliance had a comfortable majority in the People’s Majlis.

“And their supporters also support amending the constitution,” he said, adding that the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) would also back such an effort as it has been advocating for judicial reform.

However, Zahir said he did not see efforts to reform the judiciary through parliament.

The purpose of amending the constitution should not be “removing A from the post and appointing B,” he added.

Suo moto

Less than two weeks before the parliamentary polls in March, the Supreme Court charged Elections Commission Chair Fuwad Thowfeek and Deputy Chair Ahmed Fayaz with contempt of court and dismissed the pair under unprecedented suo moto proceedings.

Subsequent changes to contempt of court regulations made in June authorised courts to penalise individuals for any expression, action, gesture, or piece of writing “inside or outside a courtroom” that could be considered contempt of court.

At yesterday’s trial against the HRCM members, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain slammed the commission for basing its observation – that the Supreme Court controlled and influenced the judiciary to the detriment of lower courts – on a 2013 report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul.

Faiz said the judiciary had rejected Knaul’s report as invalid. In June 2013, the government accused Knaul of undermining the Maldives’ sovereignty and jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, in 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Council, of which the Maldives is a member, said it was “deeply concerned about the state of the judiciary in the Maldives.”

“The state has admitted that this body’s independence is seriously compromised.  The Committee has said the judiciary is desperately in need of more serious training, and higher standards of qualification,” a statement read.

The Supreme Court in particular needed “radical readjustment,” the committee said. “As 6 of 7 Supreme Court judges are experts in Sharia law and nothing more, this court in particular is in need of radical readjustment.  This must be done to guarantee just trials, and fair judgments for the people of Maldives.”

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Hawaiian company acquires resort in Maldives

Hawaii-based Outrigger Enterprises Group has acquired the Konotta Island Resort in the Maldives from Crystal Lagoon Pvt Ltd, reports Travel Weekly.

The resort is due to reopen next July as the Outrigger Konotta Maldives Resort.

“The private island resort, reachable via a one-hour flight from the Maldives’ capital of Male and a 20-minute speedboat ride, will have 27 beachfront villas as well as 21 overwater pool villas. Outrigger plans to add five villas,” reported Travel Weekly.
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Velezinee barred from Supreme Court trial

Former Judicial Service Commission (JSC) member Aishath Velezinee was barred from yesterday’s trial at the Supreme Court against members of the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM).

Although Velezinee registered at the reception to observe proceedings, she was later told by a court officer that she could be let into the court room for “security reasons”.

Other members of the public as well as journalists were allowed to enter after registering.

Velezinee subsequently wrote a letter to Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain in protest of the discriminatory treatment. Noting that she was even given a pass after registering, Velezinee asked for an explanation from the court for depriving her of a constitutional right to observe proceedings.

In 2010, Velezinee turned whistleblower and alleged the JSC was complicit in protecting judges appointed under the Gayoom’s government, and was colluding with parliament to ensure legal impunity for senior opposition supporters. In January 2011 she was stabbed twice in the back in broad daylight.

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Allegations of ties between police and terrorist groups harm national interest, says police commissioner

Allegations of links between Maldivian security services and foreign terrorist organisation are false and intended to bring disrepute to the police and military, insists Commissioner of Police (CP) Hussain Waheed.

“The commissioner of police said no one who wishes well or wants a good future for the country would speak ill of the public and talk either in the Maldives or abroad in a manner that could render the country’s sound institutions powerless,” reads a news item published on the police website yesterday.

The CP argued such claims would not bring any benefit to the country, but instead harm national interest, adversely affect the economy, and incite unrest and strife among the public.

Allegations that damage national interest and threaten national security would be investigated, Waheed warned, and “necessary action would be taken.”

Waheed’s remarks follow former President Mohamed Nasheed claiming that the vast majority of Maldivians fighting in Syria and Iraq were ex-military.

In an interview with The Independent newspaper in the UK last month, the opposition leader warned that radical Islam was growing stronger in the Maldives.

“Their strength in the military and in the police is very significant. They have people in strategic positions within both,” he alleged.

Waheed meanwhile noted that police and army officers had sworn an oath to protect Maldivian sovereignty and ensure the safety and security of citizens.

“Therefore, neither the police institution nor the defence forces would do anything that could threaten national interest and cause harm to the people,” police said, adding that such allegations against the security services was “unacceptable”.

Following the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s claim in May that extremist ideologies were prevalent in the security services, the defence ministry dismissed the allegations as both “baseless and untrue” and intended to “discredit and disparage” the military.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) meanwhile issued a press release on September 18 condemning Nasheed’s allegations in the Independent.

While police estimated that about 24 persons with links to militant jihadist organisations might be active in the Maldives, MPS insisted that none of them were police officers.

“And the police leadership has always been working to ensure that such people are not formed within the police,” the statement read.

As such allegations from a former president could incite fear among the public and damage the economy, police urged all parties to refrain from making false statements “to gain the public’s support, achieve political purposes, or win approval from foreign nations”.

“Islamist threat”

In his interview, Nasheed blamed an influx of Saudi Arabian funds for the conservative turn of Maldivian society in recent years and suggested that President Abdulla Yameen might tacitly encourage radicalism.

“President Yameen feels he can deal with the Islamist threat later but first he wants to consolidate power,” Nasheed explained.

“He has the Islamists with him and he can’t do away with them. He would deny that but I don’t see the government taking any measures against the Isis flag being displayed on the street and all the indoctrination going on. They have allowed the military to grow beards.”

“They are very short-sighted. Their thinking is that Islam has a lot of support and you can whip up more [political] support with religion.”

Nasheed warned that the government’s position was untenable.

“If you look at how at how Mosul fell – the top brass ran away because Isis had already infiltrated the rank and file,” Nasheed said.

“I have a feeling that our police and military are already taken. Eventually the Islamists will create havoc in the Maldives. I have no doubt about it.”

Last week, Nasheed suggested that radicalised gangs were behind the recent “atrocities” in the capital, noting that extremist religious indoctrination of youth was a relatively recent phenomenon in the Maldives.

The opposition leader claimed that many young men from criminal gangs were seen in a protest march held in Malé on September 5 with participants bearing the militant organisation Islamic State (IS) flag and calling for the implementation of Islamic Sharia.

Of the approximately 150 participants, Nasheed claimed most were “active in gangs.”

“So youth in gangs are turning to ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] ideology. That activities of ISIS are happening in the Maldives is becoming very clear to us. And while this is happening, the government is unable to stop gang activities,” he said.

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