Day: April 14, 2015

Government to stop flow of Maldivians joining jihad

The government is working on a new law to deter a growing number of Maldivians seeking to join radical Islamic movements in Iraq and Syria.

Home minister Umar Naseer told Haveeru the attorney general’s office had drafted legislation that would criminalize the act of leaving the Maldives to participate in foreign wars.

However, the attorney general’s office said only “discussions had been held on drafting a law.” Naseer was unavailable for comment as he is currently in Qatar for a UN congress on crime prevention and criminal justice.

The police chief in January said there are over 50 Maldivians fighting in foreign wars, but the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party estimates the number to be as high as 200.

At least seven have reportedly died while fighting in Syria in the past year.

Another seven Maldivians were arrested in Srilanka and Malaysia on the suspicion of attempting to travel to Syria for jihad, but were released in Malé as the law does not recognise the act as an offence.

Prosecutor general Muhthaz Muhsin welcomed the move, but said Maldivians going abroad to fight in foreign wars could be prosecuted in provisions in the new penal code.

The penal code was due to come into force on Monday, but the ruling party delayed it by three months claiming more time was needed to raise awareness on its provisions.

“I believe putting a stop Maldivians going abroad to fight is very important. The new penal code would be helpful in these kinds of cases,” Muhsin told Minivan News.

The new penal code criminalizes participation in a criminal organization and contributing money to such an organization.

A counter-terrorism expert, who wished to remain anonymous, welcomed the government’s plans, but cautioned: “As we have seen so many times, legislation alone does not always solve the problem. The government also needs to put together a cross-governmental plan of action to tackle the wider issue incorporating the aspect of prevention.”

The law must criminalize financing and membership of terrorist organizations, and recruiting members and training in such organizations, they said.

The Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed earlier this year said that the police are tracking individuals associated with foreign militant groups.

“We know who the foreign militants are. We are monitoring their activities. My hope is, I believe we will be able to monitor them to the extent they are not able to [present a threat] in the Maldives.”

Maldivians who have reportedly left the country for Syria include immigration officers, hospital workers, members of Malé’s criminal gangs, and entire families including infants.

Suspects in the murder of an MP and the disappearance of Minivan News journalist are also reported to have left for jihad.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Father and daughter injured in hit-and-run accident in Addu City

A father and daughter were injured in Addu City last night in the second accident in the southernmost atoll this week.

Meanwhile, two young men have died in two separate accidents on April 10 and March 30.

According to local media, Mohamed Faiz, 43, was driving on a motorcycle with his daughter, Fazana Mohamed, 23, when it collided with a jeep on the link road around 8:50pm.

Fazana was treated at the operation theatre for internal bleeding at the Hithadhoo regional hospital. Her father’s injuries were not severe.

Police declared a search for the driver of the jeep who “fled the scene.” Police located the jeep, hidden in a garage, this evening and arrested the 40-year-old driver.

Hussein Hilmy, an Addu City councillor, told Minivan News today that work is currently underway to implement recommendations made by a team from the transport ministry on improving road safety.

Hilmy said more police officers are needed to effectively control traffic.

However, police said most accidents in Addu City were caused by speeding rather than traffic congestion.

“With the help of the Addu council secretariat we are trying to raise public awareness on the issue of going past the speed limit and the rule of the use of helmets by both the driver and the passenger on the specified area of the road,” a police media official said.

All motorcycle riders are now required to wear helmets on the Addu City link road, which connects three interlinked islands.

A 22-year-old young man died from injuries sustained in an accident that occurred on the Feydhoo main road after midnight on April 10.

The victim was identified as Mamdhoon Ahmed Ali Didi ‘Mandey.’ He was on the back seat of a motorcycle driven by his 20-year-old friend, Ahmed Sammah.

Police said the accident occurred around 1:20am when the motorcycle attempted to overtake a car at a relatively high speed, lost control, and crashed into a wall.

Mamdhoon was thrown into the air and hit the wall. He suffered severe head injuries and was pronounced dead at the regional hospital around 5:00am.

The second victim is still in critical condition with head injuries and has been transferred to the capital for further treatment.

Mamdhoon was completing a course at Professor Hassan Ugail’s scientific research lab on the island of Vaavaru in Lhaviyani atoll.

He was reportedly planning to leave for Indonesia next month for a dive-master course.

A 16-year-old victim of an accident in Addu City meanwhile died of injuries on March 30 while undergoing treatment at the regional hospital.

An 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl also sustained injuries after the two motorcycles collided in the Hithadhoo link road.

In November, a 33-year-old man died following a motorcycle accident whilst two men died in September after their motorcycle collided with a pickup.

Some 71 accidents have occurred throughout the country in April with 651 accidents so far this year.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

New penal code will ‘bury’ Islamic sharia

A religious NGO has said the new penal code will “bury” the principles of Islamic sharia in the Maldives, as it does not criminalise apostasy or include punishments of stoning for adultery and amputation for theft.

“We note with regret that this law has been formulated on a secular, liberal basis that is alien to the purposes of Islamic sharia, after changing the whole shape of the Islamic sharia that should be enforced upon Muslims in an Islamic country,” the conservative Jamiyyathul Salaf said in a statement on Sunday.

Salaf’s statement was released shortly before the pro-government majority in parliament delayed implementation of the penal code by three months, a day before it was due to come into force.

Ruling party MP Ahmed Nihan said more time is needed to raise awareness among the public and address concerns of religious scholars.

The law was ratified on April 13 last year, nine years after it was first submitted to parliament.

The current penal code was adopted in 1968 and has been widely criticised as outdated, draconian and unsuited to the 2008 constitution. The new law has meanwhile been touted as the first time Islamic sharia has been codified while upholding minimum international human rights standards.

However, Salaf claimed attempts to portray the law as sharia-compliant were intended to “deceive the citizens of a 100 percent Islamic nation”.

As the law currently states that shariah punishments must be meted out only for crimes with a punishment fixed in the Quran, Salaf argued that it “completely does away with” the Sunnah (Prophetic traditions) under a “secular philosophy”.

The Sunnah is one of the “fundamental sources” of sharia law and specifies how punishments prescribed in the Quran must be enforced, Salaf said.

The law will also make it easier for criminals to escape punishment and encourage youth to offend, Salaf contended, claiming it was drafted by lawyers with a view to increasing their income.

The language of the law and criteria for constituting a crime are “alien to the principles of Islamic criminal jurisprudence,” Salaf argued.

The mandatory punishment for wrongfully accusing a chaste Muslim of adultery or homosexuality in the law is a jail term of no more than four years, Salaf noted, while meting out the sharia punishment of 80 lashes is left to the discretion of judges.

The offences of ‘murder and reckless manslaughter,’ ‘involuntary manslaughter,’ and ‘negligent manslaughter’ are based on English common law and is contrary to the degrees of murder in sharia, Salaf said.

Several punishments fixed in the Quran and Sunnah such as amputation of the hand for theft, death by stoning for adultery, death for highway robbery, and death or banishment for apostasy are not enforced in the Maldives.

However, flogging for pre-marital sex is implemented while the current administration has ended a six-decade moratorium on the death penalty.

Codifying sharia

In an op-ed published on newspaper Haveeru on April 7, former deputy prosecutor general Hussain Shameem stated that the Maldives is the first Islamic country to pass a criminal law in accordance with sharia and international standards.

While sharia punishments are specified in laws of other Islamic nations, Shameem said the Maldives’ penal code was drafted on the basis of codifying sharia.

“Therefore, the law will not include parts of principles contrary to Islam,” he wrote.

The law criminalises fornication, eating during daylight hours in Ramadan, consumption of alcohol and pork, and anti-Islamic activities, he added.

All crimes with punishments prescribed in the Quran are included, he continued, including the death penalty for murder.

“Therefore, the new penal code of the Maldives is in line with Islamic sharia and a victory for Islamic sharia,” Shameem asserted.

As a senior legal consultant at the Legal Sector Resource Centre established by the attorney general’s office with assistance from the UNDP, Shameem has been involved in training more than 1,100 individuals, including state prosecutors, lawyers, staff and members of independent commissions, customs officers, and 98 percent of police investigators.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Aminiya principal sacked to ‘avoid further damages’ to school

Aminiya School principal Aishath Athiya Naseer has been fired on orders from the education ministry.

According to local media, the civil service commission told Athiya yesterday that the education ministry believed her continued presence will cause “further damages” to the school.

The education ministry confirmed the sacking, but declined to provide further information.

A senior teacher who wished to remain anonymous told Minivan News today that teachers and students were “shocked and deeply saddened” by Athiya’s dismissal, which most faculty members believe to be politically motivated.

Athiya was appointed principal in 2011 and is the wife of former opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Ahmed Abdulla.

Most teachers have signed a petition asking the ministry to explain why Athiya has been considered a threat to the school.

The senior teacher said Athiya is very professional, diplomatic, and had always followed the education ministry’s instructions.

The ministry’s actions have left teachers unsure of their job security, the teacher added: “Who knows who will get dismissed tomorrow saying they are a threat?”

Ali Sulaiman, treasurer of the school’s parent teacher association, suggested that Athiya’s sacking followed the PTA raising concerns with the ministry over students at the adjacent Centre for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) using Aminiya’s science laboratories.

The parents were concerned about older boys from CHSE interacting with younger girls at Aminiya, Sulaiman said.

“We never denied CHSE students of use of our lab. They should also be given the chance to learn. However, our concern was how to manage all of the students as we also have a similar problems with capacity due to the falling of concrete structures in old buildings,” he explained.

The PTA requested a visit from education minister Dr Aishath Shiham to inspect the state of disrepair of the school’s building.

However, the minister did not say whether or not she would visit the school. The following day, the school received a letter from the ministry with instructions to fire Athiya, he continued.

“It is very difficult to understand the reason the ministry is giving. Our concern is to solve the problems in the school. It does not seem to us that sacking Athiya is the solution,”said Sulaiman.

Last month, at least five employees at state-owned companies were fired and several more were suspended after they attended opposition protests, which have now entered its tenth week. The opposition is campaigning for the release of former President Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim from jail.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Former president’s son given job at president’s office

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son, Gassan Maumoon, has been appointed state minister at the president’s office today.

Gassan was previously state minister at the ministry of youth and sports. He is president Abdulla Yameen’s nephew.

The reasons for the transfer is unclear.

Gayoom meanwhile denied rumours of a rift between himself and his half-brother this week following claims by the opposition that the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives leader is unhappy with the current administration.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Environment agency head demoted

Senior officials of the state environment regulator have been transferred in an apparent demotion.

Environment Protection Agency (EPA) director general Ibrahim Naeem was transferred to the Baa atoll biosphere reserve office while director Mohamed Musthafa was transferred to the water and sanitation department of the environment ministry.

The EPA functions under the ministry of environment and energy.

The move follows a government-aligned MP submitting amendments to the tourism law to transfer powers to authorise developments on resorts from the EPA to the tourism ministry.

If the amendments pass, resorts will have to seek authorisation from the tourism ministry for any development on a resort that could “permanently alter” the island, plot of land, or lagoon’s environment. The ministry must compile an environmental impact assessment before issuing permission.

The EPA currently conducts assessments and authorises projects such as land reclamation.

Following preliminary debate at yesterday’s sitting of parliament, the amendment bill was accepted for consideration and sent to committee for further review.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Dead infant found in Malé lagoon

A dead male infant stuffed into a can was discovered by divers in the Malé lagoon yesterday.

Police said the baby is believed to have been born prematurely at six months and was buried last night.

Two divers reportedly came across the milk can in the lagoon on the western side of the capital, near the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, and alerted police around 3:30pm.

A report titled ‘Maldives Operational Review for the ICPD Beyond 2014′ released by the department of national planning suggested that incidents of infanticide and unsafe abortions are symptoms of a lack of sexual education in young Maldivians.

The report identified, “clear indicators of the imperative need to provide access to information on sexual reproductive health and reproductive health services to the sexually active adolescents and youth population.”

Several cases of infanticide were reported in the media in recent years, including several new born babies and prematurely born infants abandoned in parks, buried in secluded places, or thrown into the sea.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Dhiggaru by-election brought forward to June 6

The Elections Commission has brought forward the by-election for the vacant parliament seat for the Dhiggaru constituency to June 6.

The commission previously scheduled the election for June 13 after ruling party MP Ahmed Nazim was found guilty of defrauding the state of MVR1.4 million (US$91,400).

The Supreme Court sentenced Nazim to 25 years in prison on April 6, overturning lower court rulings that dismissed the corruption charges against the former deputy speaker of parliament.

The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has invited interested candidates to seek the party’s ticket while the opposition alliance has said it will field a single candidate.

The opposition Maldivians Against Brutality coalition, made up of Adhaalath Party, Maldivian Democratic Party, and members of the Jumhooree Party, said they are holding discussions on fielding a single candidate against the PPM.

Adhaalath spokesperson Ali Zahir and a PPM member on the Meemu atoll council, Moosa Naseer, have expressed interest in standing for the vacant seat.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)