Month: April 2015

Ex-president kept in ‘inhumane prison conditions’

Former president Mohamed Nasheed’s lawyer say he is being kept in an isolated and filthy cell at a maximum security prison, but the home ministry maintains Nasheed is treated as a VIP and given special comforts.

Following a visit with the opposition leader at Maafushi Island jail on Tuesday, lawyers said the ex-president’s cell is adjacent to the prison garbage dump and is infested with flies and mosquitoes.

Nasheed, who is serving a 13-year sentence on terrorism, is forbidden from exercising, while the food is “barely edible.”

“The cell is situated far from the main prison and other inmates –nobody would be able to hear President Nasheed should he call out for help,” lawyers said.

Nasheed’s family and the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party have repeatedly expressed concern over alleged plots by the government to assassinate the opposition leader. But the government has dismissed the allegations as slanderous and baseless.

Meanwhile, Nasheed’s international legal counsel Jared Genser described the conditions in which Nasheed is held as “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment” in violation of international anti-torture laws.

President Abdulla Yameen and home minister Umar Naseer may be “held legally responsible for the use of torture – we will take all necessary measures to hold the government to account for this treatment,” he added.

Nasheed was transferred to Maafushi Jail, on an island three hours from the capital, last week from a minimum security prison. Lawyers alleged security officers threatened to use force against Nasheed when he asked for time to pack before the transfer.

Speaking to Minivan News, a home ministry official said Nasheed “is afforded benefits no other prisoner receives.”

The opposition leader is allowed to see seven members of his family for two hours every week and he is given a ten minute phone call with his family for ten minutes every week, spokesperson Thazmeel Abdul Samad said.

Other prisoners are only afforded one family visit a month and one phone call a month.

Nasheed is given a menu to choose mildly-spiced meals and include fruits on the doctor’s advice. The special apartment has a flatscreen TV, a refrigerator, he continued.

The former president is allowed to read books sent by his family, and there are always a team of security guards within eyesight if he needs any help, said Thazmeel.

Nasheed’s arrest has sparked international outrage, with the European Union parliament today passing a resolution urging the government to release the former president immediately.

The resolution also calls on European countries to warn tourists on Maldives’ human rights record on their travel advice websites.

The opposition is meanwhile planning a 25,000 strong march in Malé tomorrow over Nasheed’s jailing and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim’s imprisonment.

The government has labeled the rally as an attempt to overthrow President Abdulla Yameen, but opposition coalition insists the demonstration will be peaceful.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

European parliament to vote on travel advisory for Maldives

Parliamentarians of the European Union have expressed concern over the imprisonment of former president Mohamed Nasheed and will vote on a travel advisory for the Maldives on Thursday in Strasbourg, France.

Europeans make up nearly half of the tourist arrivals in the Maldives, and a travel advisory may have a devastating impact on the country’s economy as it depends largely on revenue from tourism.

Nasheed’s 13-year jail term on terrorism charges in a rushed trial last month sparked international outrage over lack of due process. The charges relate to the detention of a judge during his tenure.

The seven parliamentary groups in the EU parliament have each submitted a motion for a resolution, all of which noted a lurch towards authoritarianism in the Maldives.

In addition to the imprisonment of opposition politicians, MEPs also raised concern over growing radicalization, a crackdown on the freedom of speech, press and assembly, deteriorating conditions for migrant workers, slow judicial reform and the reinstatement of the death penalty.

At Wednesday’s debate, UK MEP Charles Tannock said human rights were deteriorating in the Maldives at an “alarming rate” and urged the Maldives to “unconditionally release former president Nasheed, and take the necessary steps to reform the judiciary in order to restore confidence in the rule of law.”

Tannock said the resolution by the conservative MEPs calls “for warnings to be given to EU tourists visiting the Indian Ocean tourist destination,” and said he hoped the Maldives as a commonwealth country could be brought back from the brink.

The resolution also calls on the EU to freeze the assets abroad of Maldivian government officials if democratic gains backslide further.

Netherlands MEP Marietje Schaake said Nasheed’s charges were politically motivated and expressed concern over the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan in August last year.

Rise of Islamic radicalization in the Maldives and recruitment for the Islamic State is “very troubling,” she continued, and said the liberal MEPs also support a travel warning for tourists on the “possible risk of instability.”

UK’s Richard Howitt, MEP of the alliance for socialists and democrats, called for “European tourist advice to be explicitly used to apply pressure for change.

“The Maldives may be small dots in a large ocean, but we will not stand by when its democracy and respect for human rights is disappearing beneath the waves.”

The vote comes ahead of a major antigovernment protest on Friday.

The opposition has vowed to hold a 25,000 strong march in the capital Malé, but police have threatened a crackdown saying they’ve received reports protesters are planning to attack the security forces and residences of government officials.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Thousands arrive in Malé for May Day protest, police threaten crackdown

Thousands of people from Maldives’ remote atolls are traveling to Malé this week for a mass antigovernment protest on Friday, but the police have threatened a crack down claiming opposition supporters are planning to attack the security officers and the residences of government officials.

The Maldivians against tyranny coalition has vowed to bring out 25,000 people on to the streets of Malé after the government turned down calls for negotiation over the imprisonment of ex president Mohamed Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

Ilyas Labeeb, a former MP with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), said over 2000 people have arrived in Malé by noon today and said an additional three thousand islanders are expected to arrive by boat over the next 48 hours.

The coalition says at least 15,000 people from Malé, where one-third of the Maldives’ 350,000 population live, will join the historic march.

Speaking to Minivan News, 47-year-old Mohamed Arif from southern Thaa Kimbidhoo said: “I came from my island today to bring an end to the tyranny the Maldivian people are facing. I want the current disobedient ruler, who does not seem to hear us, to listen to what we have to say.”

Arif was accompanied by 95 people from Kimbidhoo island.

The coalition is bearing the cost of travel and food for supporters from the atolls. Many have made their own arrangements for accommodation with family members, while others will be sleeping on the boats, the coalition has said.

Opposition leaders had been traveling across the country in recent weeks canvassing for support.

The coalition has meanwhile launched a website for the May Day protest and introduced a hashtag for social media – #EkehFaheh15 – referring to the date of the protest.

MDP supporter Mariyam Zulfa, 42, who lives in Malé says she will attend the protests with her family, “but our leaders must make sure we end the government’s tyranny this time.”

The police held separate meetings with members of the coalition, the MDP, the Jumhooree Party and the religious conservative Adhaalath Party on Tuesday and Wednesday to raise concerns over the threat of violence.

Opposition leaders including Adhaalath’s president Sheikh Imran Abdulla have told the police that the demonstration will remain peaceful.

But the Maldives Police Services at press conference this evening said intelligence reports indicate opposition supporters are planning to attack the residences of government officials and are sharpening iron rods and pipes and gathering lead balls to attack security forces.

The police say they will allow peaceful protests to proceed, but said the army and the police are ready to crack down on any violence.

The police’s riot control exercises continued in Malé today with officers carrying guns practicing arrest procedures. Hundreds of officers also ran through Malé’s streets at noon.

Police May day prep

 

Minivan News journalists observed several police officers tearing up May Day posters from the walls of Malé residences today.

Meanwhile, president Abdulla Yameen said he had appointed the tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb as his representative to speak with Adhaalath Party’s Sheikh Imran to jeers and laughter at a government function last night.

“I find Imran’s work to be obsolete,” he said and called on Adhaalath Party members to join the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Imran has called on the president to dismiss Adeeb who he accuses of corruption and illicit connections with gangs.

Referring to Imran, Adeeb said last night: “hypocritical scholars will be exposed at the end of the times.”

The PPM also issued a statement today dismissing rumors that PPM leader and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is involved in the May Day protest. Gayoom is president Yameen’s half-brother.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Government takes control of state media

The government has seized control of the state television and the radio stations through a new law, in a move journalists and the opposition say will undermine press freedom in the Maldives.

President Abdulla Yameen today ratified the Public Service Media Act and dissolved the old Maldives broadcasting corporation and its five member board.

The president has proposed seven individuals to a new governing board, who are expected to gain approval from the ruling party dominated parliament. Umar Manik, the chairman of the former broadcasting corporation board, is the only incumbent who will sit on the new board.

Others nominated include Ibrahim Khaleel, CEO of private Villa TV, Ikram Abdul Lateef, former official at Villa TV, and Aiminath Shayan, a TV presenter and the wife of a ruling party activist.

A parliamentary committee today approved the nominations without an interview.

A senior editor who wished to remain anonymous said the new law is an attempt by the government to take control of the public broadcaster.

“The new law does not accept the concept of a public broadcaster. It will now simply act as a mouthpiece for the government,” he added.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) says the new law is aimed at spreading “government propaganda.” Opposition MPs continued their daily protests inside the parliament during the vote.

The opposition has been protesting since Majlis reconvened on March 2 over the imprisonment of former president Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges. The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has pushed through several pieces of legislation without significant debate amidst protests.

According to parliament minutes, PPM MP Riyaz Rasheed during a brief debate on the new bill said a new body to govern state media is necessary as the former broadcasting corporation had provided coverage of the campaign to free Nasheed.

“But all the events, overseas trips of the president and the services the government is providing each and every day is completely ignored by the state media,” he said.

The new law also requires the state to distribute a printed daily newspaper and use social media to disseminate programmes.

“The law requires public service media to establish and run their news and programs through social media. This is an attempt to spread propaganda at all levels of the media,” said MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy.

The managing editor of local daily Haveeru, Ismail Naseer, expressed surprise at the decision to start a government newspaper saying: “Even in other countries, we don’t see the state distributing a printed newspaper. If you look at it newspapers are a thing of the past, this is the era of digital journalism. So I don’t understand why the public media service has to run a print edition.

“Also the cost of running a newspaper will be very expensive. And I believe if the state is running a paper it has to be made available for every person including the people in the atolls. We have been in this business for 35 years and still find that task to be impossible.”

Former chairman of the broadcasting corporation, Umar Manik, however, defended the new law saying it would improve the day to day running of the state media.

“I take this as a positive move to further improve the public broadcaster. We were not influenced before and I am very confident that we will not be influenced by the government in the future as well,” he said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President calls on army to defend government as international pressure increases

President Abdulla Yameen has urged the armed forces to defend his administration claiming international pressure is undermining the Maldives’ sovereignty and weakening the rule of law.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark the 123rd anniversary of the military on Monday, the president said: “I do not believe my government must seek permission from the international community in enforcing a court’s verdict. Maldivians will protect our interests. In protecting Maldivian citizens, remind yourselves of the the oath you’ve taken.”

President Yameen’s remarks come amidst a political crisis triggered by the arrest and the imprisonment of ex president Mohamed Nasheed and ex defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

The opposition has called for a 25,000 strong march in the capital Malé on Friday after the government shunned calls for negotiation.

President Yameen said the Maldives is facing foreign pressure, but said the military must not allow foreigners to collude with local parties to obstruct a lawfully elected government.

“As long as there is a lawful government, and as long as that government acts within the law and enforces the law, Maldivian soldiers must remain steadfast to their vows, to defend and maintain that lawful government. Otherwise, there is no dignity, honor or Allah’s blessings for Maldivian soldiers.”

The Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) must follow the military ideology of the US president Barack Obama, he continued, claiming Obama in a speech to the American armed forces had said he will respect the international community’s opinion, but will not seek it’s permission in saving American lives abroad.

The Maldives is a small state, but the international community must afford the Maldives the same rights as larger, more power countries, president Yameen said.

“If we are treated as second class, there is no use in us being part of international bodies. This is what my government believes.”

He said larger states did not allow foreign governments to meddle in domestic affairs. “No foreign country – as long as we do not breach international conventions – can come and tell us that kidnapping and holding hostage do not amount to terrorism in their view, and that this cannot be written in our laws.

“They cannot dictate this to our government. [They] cannot tell our government that since the Maldives is part of the international community, we must allow freedom of religion as allowed by foreign philosophies.”

Nasheed was convicted of terrorism over the military detention of a judge during his tenure. The rushed trial was criticized widely by foreign governments, international rights organizations and the UN for lack of due process.

President Yameen blamed Maldivian “enemies of the state” for foreign interference.

Powerful countries “will pressure us, and through various bodies, international organizations, they will attempt to obstruct us. On whose invitation does this happen? That of Maldivians like us, these acts are to heed their invitations,” he said.

Calls for foreign intervention are “dangerous” and encouraged disorder, but the military must stand ready to defend the state, he continued.

The international community cannot “come and see if the change of government was lawful here” or “if ballot boxes were counted right,” he added.

President Yameen described the Maldives’ sovereignty as scared, and claimed previous governments had allowed for foreign interference in domestic affairs. But the Maldives must now “unlearn” such acts, he said.

He pledged to uphold the “Maldivian laws, traditions, and enforce our court verdicts,” and said his government’s first priority is to maintain stability.

Defence Minister Moosa Ali Jaleel meanwhile said he will not “abandon” the president, while chief of defence forces Major General Ahmed Shiyam said there were attempts to “destroy” the army and said soldiers must be strong enough to counter such forces.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Revised law strips Nasheed of MDP’s presidency

MPs of the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives have passed a law which will effectively strip former president Mohamed Nasheed of the presidency of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

The amendment to the Prisons and Parole Act was passed today with 40 votes and prohibits inmates from holding high level posts in political parties.

Nasheed, who co-founded the MDP, will lose his party presidency because of a terrorism conviction last month relating to the detention of a judge during his period in power.

He was jailed for 13 years after the Criminal Court found him guilty of terrorism in a case his party says represented a politically-led campaign against him by the government of President Abdulla Yameen.

The bill was previously passed by the People’s Majlis on March 30. However, president Yameen vetoed it as the original proposal prohibited all prisoners from holding membership in political parties and non governmental organisations.

The Attorney General’s Office has reportedly said the original amendment infringes on the constitutional right to freedom of association.

The law was passed amid protests by opposition MPs, who had draped a large yellow banner behind the speaker’s desk calling for Nasheed’s release.

MDP MP Eva Abdulla told Minivan News today that the new law is proof the “government is using its majority in parliament to amend laws specifically targeting President Nasheed.” 

“They have done all but name him in this new amendment. It shows just how personal and political the arrest and sentencing of President Nasheed is,” she said.

Ruling coalition MPs also revised the Majlis regulations yesterday, preventing any MPs who protest inside the Majlis from receiving a MVR20,000 (US$1,290) allowance.

Opposition MPs have been disrupting parliamentary sittings since the Majlis reconvened this year on March 2 over Nasheed’s arrest and alleged constitutional breaches by the government.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

PPM councillor to contest Dhiggaru by-election as independent

A Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) atoll councillor is contesting the upcoming by-election for the vacant Dhiggaru constituency parliament seat as an independent candidate.

Moosa Naseer Ahmed, also vice president of the Local Government Authority, had sought the ruling party’s ticket earlier this month, but withdrew his candidacy before last Friday’s primary.

Ex-president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son, Faris Maumoon, won the primary with a margin of 147 votes after competing against a Meemu atoll councillor.

Gayoom, also leader of the PPM, told the press yesterday that the Dhiggaru seat was important for the party as cooperation from parliament is necessary to implement president Abdulla Yameen’s policies.

PPM deputy leader Ahmed Adeeb said the party’s goal was to win the by-election with a large margin of victory. The whole government was behind Faris, he added.

Naseer meanwhile told online news outlet CNM yesterday that he decided to contest as an independent at the behest of Dhiggaru constituents, who he said wanted a Meemu atoll or Dhiggaru native as their MP.

Naseer had represented Meemu atoll in the Special Majlis from 1983 to 1996 and served as the Meemu atoll member of the People’s Majlis from 1996 to 2000.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) candidate, Ahmed Razee, meanwhile filed his candidacy papers today.

Razee won the MDP ticket by default yesterday after the only other contender – ‘3A’ Ibrahim Jihad – in the primary scheduled for Monday dropped out.

According to newspaper Haveeru, a second independent candidate, Shameem Ali, has also submitted candidacy papers at the Elections Commission before a 3:00pm deadline lapsed today.

The by-election, triggered by a 25-year jail sentence handed down to former ruling party MP Ahmed Nazim, is scheduled to take place on June 6.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Housing ministry to install energy saving street lights

New energy saving street lights in Malé’s outer ring road and the Republic Square will save the government MVR28,000 (US$1,815) a month.

Speaking at a ceremony held at the environment ministry today to hand over the lights to the housing ministry, environment minister Thoriq Ibrahim said replacing 100 street lamps in the capital will reduce electricity costs by 68 percent.

“That is about 1,700 litres of oil that is being saved,” he was quoted as saying by newspaper Haveeru.

Housing minister Dr Mohamed Muiz said the ministry will install the energy saving lights within the next two weeks.

Thoriq said the environment ministry will be replacing street lamps in the capital and other islands under the ‘Fahi Ali’ energy efficiency programme.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Three injured in Addu City accident

Two young men have sustained serious injuries in an accident in Addu City this afternoon.

According to Haveeru, Hussain Riyaz, 28, and Abdulla Naveel, 22, are undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit of the Hithadhoo regional hospital.

Arrangements are being made to transfer the patients to the capital.

The pair’s motorcycle reportedly collided with a pickup on the Hithadhoo main road while making a turn at high speed.

The pickup’s Bangladeshi driver, Thalib Ahmed, 21, also sustained injuries in the crash.

Three young men have died after road accidents on March 30 and April 10 in the southernmost atoll, where several fatal accidents occur each year.

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.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)