Day: May 17, 2015

Prosecutor general to charge 30 May Day protesters

Prosecutor General Muhthaz Muhsin says he will press charges against 30 of the 193 protesters arrested from a mass antigovernment protest on May 1.

“Out of the 128 cases we accepted from the police, we’ve forwarded around 98 cases to the committee on reviewing first time offenders. That means we will press charges against only about 30 people. That includes repeated offenders and the people suspected of attacking police officers at the protest,” he said.

Over 20,000 opposition supporters took to the streets on May 1 over the imprisonment of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim. Police cracked down on protesters at dusk when they attempted to enter Malé’s restricted Republic Square.

Nearly 200 were arrested and scores were injured, including two police officers.

Muhsin at a press briefing today said his office will uphold the rights of the accused, but said he had noticed protesters were committing serious crimes at the opposition’s demonstrations.

“Article 32 of the constitution guarantees the right to peaceful assembly. The law does not allow attacking and inciting violence against law enforcement agencies, and causing terror in society. This is terrorism under Maldivian law,” he said.

Muhsin warned of harsh penalties for individuals who commit such acts and advised political parties to refrain from encouraging terrorism.

Charges against protesters at present range from disobedience to order to assaulting police officers.

Muhsin also said public prosecutors are looking at charging individuals over libel and slander following allegations by recent defectors from the ruling coalition accusing President Abdulla Yameen and tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb of links with the brutal murder of MP Afrasheem Ali in 2012.

The ex police chief Abdulla Riyaz was summoned to the police last week over comments he had made in an interview with opposition aligned Raajje TV on Afrasheem’s death and the torching of the station in 2013.

“People are acting however they want. They are trying very hard to defame state institutions in front of the public. The constitution does not give us the right to commit crimes hiding behind a political party,” he said.

“People in responsible posts are publicly accusing others of murder. We are researching on pressing charges against individuals who accuses some one of a crime and which the punishment is had.”

Muhsin said the PG office will appeal cases where the criminal court releases protesters from remand on the condition they avoid further protests: “My stand is the court cannot release a detained person imposing conditions barring him from attending protests. If I know of such a case and the subjected person do not have the ability to appeal, the PG office will appeal the case.”

The criminal court in March imposed such conditions on dozens of protesters. MP Ahmed Mahloof spent weeks in police custody and house arrest when he refused the criminal court’s conditions to stay away from protests. The high court brought the practice to an end when Mahloof appealed the criminal court’s ruling.

Muhsin also dismissed the opposition’s claim that the police is now imposing restrictions on freedom of assembly, by requiring prior permission for protests and banning the use of four wheeled vehicles in protests without prior notice.

“I don’t believe the right to protest has been narrowed in Maldives. I believe the right to protest and freedom of assembly is much wider in Maldives compared to other countries, to the extent that we eventually end up violating rights of others,” he said.

The opposition has criticized Muhsin over the rushed trial of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges and for accepting a discounted luxury flat by the government. The flats were also given to the five Supreme Court judges, and several heads of independent institutions.

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Court extends detention of Adhaalath Party leader, MDP chairperson

The criminal court has extended the remand detention of Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla and main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Ali Waheed by 10 days and seven days, respectively.

The pair were arrested in the wake of the May Day anti-government demonstration with court warrants and accused of inciting violence.

The criminal court subsequently ordered police to the opposition leaders in remand detention for 15 days. The 15-day period expired today.

Ali Waheed and Imran were brought to the remand hearing at the criminal court today and escorted back to the Dhoonidhoo detention centre.

The High Court last week rejected appeals from the pair challenging the legality of the criminal court’s remand detention orders.

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Over 1,900 illegal expatriates deported

The department of immigration has deported over 1,900 illegal migrant workers so far this year.

The department revealed in a press release last week that 1,953 expatriates were identified and deported in 12 operations conducted in 2015. More than 8,800 undocumented workers were deported last year.

Some 36 migrant workers were meanwhile denied entry this year due to medical reasons.

The immigration department media officer told CNM the migrant workers do not have their passports with them, which forces the department to make new passports through embassies.

Embassies in the Maldives are able to make about 30 passports or travel documents a week, while the number of illegal migrant workers the department plans to deport were higher than 30.

The police meanwhile caught 33 undocumented workers last week in a joint operation conducted by the immigration department at the T-jetty and auction shop areas in Malé.

According to the 2014 census, there are 58,683 expatriates residing in the Maldives. However, the department of national planning has said the figure was much lower than numbers recorded by the immigration department.

NGO Transparency Maldives (TM) estimates there are 200,000 migrant workers in the Maldives – two-thirds of the country’s population.

A government report in 2011 revealed human trafficking to be the Maldives’ second most lucrative industry after tourism – worth an estimated US$123 million a year.

The Maldives ratified an Anti-Trafficking Act in December 2013, but TM says implementation, monitoring and enforcement of laws and regulations are crucial to prevent human trafficking.

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MP Riyaz refuses to apologise for ‘discriminatory’ tweets

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Riyaz Rasheed has said his tweets about prohibiting “islanders” from traveling to protest in Malé were misinterpreted.

“Raajje therey meehun [islanders] will no longer have the opportunity to come to Malé, protest on the streets of Malé, assault and harm police,” the MP for Thaa Vilifushi had tweeted on Thursday.

The security forces will no longer allow “islanders” to protest in the capital anymore, he tweeted the following day.

Riyaz’s tweets sparked an outcry on social media. An online petition was also launched calling on the MP to “publicly apologise for his discriminatory and bigoted views against people who are not from Malé.”

The PPM parliamentary group’s deputy leader told Haveeru today that he will not apologise as he did not consider the phrase “raajje therey meehun” to be derogatory.

Riyaz said he meant the opposition alliance will not be allowed to deceive people from the atolls and bring them to Malé for violent protests.

Responding to outrage over Riyaz’s remarks on Twitter, PPM parliamentary group leader Ahmed Nihan said the MP has been told to change the phrases used in his tweet.

“I hope he will apologise soon!” the majority leader tweeted yesterday.

President’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali meanwhile tweeted today: “Under this government, from HA Thuraakunu to Addu City will be first class Maldivians. There will be no discrimination.”

 

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28 senior citizens under state care

Some 28 elderly persons are under state care at the centre for persons with special needs in Kaafu Guraidhoo, attorney general Mohamed Anil revealed last week.

Speaking at a ceremony on Thursday night, Anil said the 28 senior citizens were in reasonably good health, but their families are refusing to take them in despite repeated pleas.

“The government is telling their families repeatedly to take them back to live with their families, but they are not complying,” he was quoted as saying by Haveeru.

Anil is also in charge of the ministry of law and gender.

He added that the government is seeking legal remedies through the courts as the family law states that children must take care of their elderly parents.

While citizens above the age of 65 are currently 4.8 percent of the population, Anil said the figure will rise to 6.5 percent in 10 years.

In 30 years, the elderly will be 13 percent of the population.

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Pension fund collects MVR3.5bn in six years

The pension fund collected MVR3.5 billion (US$226.9 million) during the past six years, the CEO of the Maldives Pension Administration Office (MPAO) has revealed.

Mohamed Hussain Manik told the press at a function held on Wednesday to mark the fund’s sixth anniversary that the pension office has been investing in government treasury bills. The office has purchased the highest number of T-bills so far, he added.

Manik said the MPAO is planning to launch a housing scheme and a disability insurance scheme.

Under the housing scheme, an employees’ savings with the pension fund will be “securitised” or used as mortgage.

A 20 percent downpayment is usually needed to buy a home or apartment, he explained, and the pension office “will give guarantee to the bank that if the [home owner] is unable to pay the 20 percent, the money kept as a mortgage can be given to the bank under an arrangement.”

The pension office is consulting with the relevant authorities and banks to finalise the scheme, he said.

Manik said the office estimates 3,000 employees could benefit from the housing scheme.

The disability scheme is meanwhile aimed for employees who suffer debilitating workplace injuries. The employee will be able to withdraw from the pension fund if he or she is unable to continue working.

The MPAO has also filed several lawsuits against employers who do not contribute to the retirement pension scheme as mandated by law. The Pensions Act require a monthly contribution of seven percent of pensionable wage from both the employer and employee.

Manik said some employers owe the state “huge sums of money” in unpaid contributions, adding that signing up to the scheme was the responsibility of employers, even if a business has only one staff member.

At last week’s ceremony, he MPAO also launched a new rebranded website, hotline (1441) and mobile app to improve services.

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“Help me gain my freedom”: ex-immigration chief’s passport held in stalled corruption charge

The criminal court has held former controller of immigration Ilyas Hussein Ibrahim’s passport for a third consecutive year over stalled corruption charges, preventing him from visiting his family in New Zealand or sending them money through banks.

Ilyas, who served as the controller from 2008 – 2012, is accused of abusing authority for undue financial gain in a US$39 million border control system project. The charge carries a penalty of imprisonment, banishment or house arrest not exceeding three years.

“But my liberties have been constrained for a period nearly as long as a guilty verdict. I’ve been deprived of seeing my family, of spending on them. I cannot send them any money,” Ilyas told Minivan News.

Ilyas’s wife and two daughters have been residing in New Zealand since 2011.

At the case’s last hearing in 2012, chief judge Abdulla Mohamed said a verdict would be delivered at the next hearing, but three years later, Ilyas was told a new judge was now in charge of the case.

Judge Abdul Bari Yoosuf met with Ilyas and told him Judge Abdulla had failed to keep any record of case proceedings.

The case is symptomatic of the severe delays in completion of trials in the Maldives’ criminal justice system. In February this year, an Indian woman, arrested over the death of her child was released after four and a half years in pre-trial detention.

“I appeal to human rights organisations, both local and international, to empathise with my plight and help me gain my freedom,” Ilyas said.

He says he was threatened with death by anonymous sources when charges were first filed in 2012: “I cannot bring my family back here. If I do, I fear they too may be targeted.”

The criminal court was not responding at the time of going to press.

The prosecutor general’s office says it has no influence in expediting cases once charges are filed at the criminal court.

“We can only order the police to speed up investigations and file charges at the court promptly,” public prosecutor Ahmed Hisham Wajeeh said. “In a majority of criminal cases, liberties and freedoms are held. We would like to see cases reach completion as soon as possible. But there are delays with the criminal court, they do have a lot of challenges.”

Human rights NGO Maldivan Democracy Network said Ilyas’ case was an example of lack of justice in the Maldives. Serious corruption charges must be swiftly investigated and prosecuted, the organisation’s executive director Shahindha Ismail said, adding: ‘The court’s incompetence is no reason for the accused to suffer.”

Ilyas’ charges relate to the 2010 agreement signed between the Maldives and Malaysia-based Nexbiz Pvt Ltd for a border control system.

Under the agreement, the government has to pay Nexbiz US$2 for every foreigner processed through the system and US$15 for each work permit over the project’s 20-year life span.

The Anti-Corruption Commission ordered a halt to the project, claiming it would cost the Maldives US$162 million in potential lost revenue over the lifetime of the contract.

The ACC filed for an injunction and the Supreme Court in 2013 ruled the watchdog has no authority to suspend contracts. But by then, the parliament had voted to terminate the contract and replace it with the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) provided by the US government.

Ilyas was appointed as the state minister for defence months after his brother Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan assumed the presidency in 2012.

“My wish is to be free of the torture this brutal government is inflicting on me. To be able to live a dignified life with my wife and children,” Ilyas said.

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100 housing units built in Gaza with Maldivian aid

The International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC) has completed 100 housing units in Gaza with the US$1.9 million raised by the Maldivian media.

According to a video report by the Qatari red crescent, Palestinian families took up residence at 27 housing units at the ‘Maldives sheltering centre’ completed in February while the remaining 73 shelters are now also occupied.

Each unit has a bedroom, kitchen and toilet. Water and electricity services have also been provided at the centre.

The housing units were built with funds raised through the ‘Help Gaza’ telethon carried out by local media in response to the destruction caused by last year’s Israeli military offensive.

The telethon raised a record MVR29.4 million (US$1.91 million), which was handed over to the Qatari red crescent in August last year.

The red crescent also used donations from the Maldives to repair water and sewerage systems and provide supplies to health centres.

The 100 units, estimated to provide housing for 700 Palestinians, are built in areas where Israeli airstrikes destroyed housing, schools, and other infrastructure during the heavy raids in mid-2014.

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Ameen resigns as chairman of Vmedia

Jumhooree Party (JP) deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim has resigned as chairman of Vmedia, saying he wants to “devote every second to the opposition cause” against government authoritarianism.

Ameen was arrested in the wake of the May Day anti-government demonstration and accused of inciting violence against the government. He was released on Thursday after the High Court overturned the criminal court’s order to hold him in remand detention for 15 days.

“It is with deep regret that I submit my resignation as executive chairman of [Island Broadcasting Company] and Vmedia. My colleagues [Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran,] [Maldivian Democratic Party chairperson Ali Waheed], and [JP member Sobah Rasheed] are still in jail,” Ameen tweeted yesterday.

Ameen was appointed chairman of Vmedia and parent company IBC – owned by JP leader Gasim Ibrahim – last year after President Abdulla Yameen dismissed him from the cabinet.

Ameen was appointed transport minister under the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ coalition agreement with the JP. The coalition was dissolved after Gasim stood for the speaker of parliament.

Ameen also served as Vmedia’s CEO before his appointment as transport minister in November 2013.

The JP formed an alliance with the main opposition MDP in February and launched protests against the government.

 

Ameen is a member of the opposition ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ alliance’s steering committee and has been active in opposition protests.

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