MBC orders Medianet to stop airing World Cup matches on channels except TVM and VTV

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) has ordered Medianet to stop airing FIFA world cup matches on any channel besides local state broadcaster TVM and privately owned channel VTV.

In a letter sent to Medianet, MBC stated that the agreement with Sony MSM – which Medianet had shared with MBC – was not made in accordance with the rebroadcasting regulations.

MBC also stated that Medianet had charged an extra fee from customers for viewing the matches on channels 100 and 100 plus against the rebroadcasting regulations.

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Man accused of assaulting a child arrested

A 37-year-old man has been arrested from the island of Dhevvadhoo in Gaaf Dhaalu atoll on charges of assaulting a minor of 13 years.

According to Dhevvadhoo Island Council, the man assaulted the 13-year-old after his son accused him of spitting on him during a fight. They quoted eyewitnesses as saying the man took the boy by the throat and threw him on to the ground.

While the boy was released from hospital after immediate medical attention, he suffered from a ‘seizure’ and lost consciousness on the following day. He was then taken to Thinadhoo Hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit.

He is now being transferred to Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in capital Malé City for further treatment.

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Housing Ministry to stop leasing some Dharubaaruge halls for private functions

The Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure has announced that it will no longer lease Rannaban’deyri Maalan, Hakuraa Maalan, and Hiriya Maalan of Dharubaaruge for any private functions.

Instead, the three halls in the national convention centre will now be leased only for the holding of political party, company, and national functions.

Dharubaaruge has been the source of jurisdictional wranglings in recent years, being forcefully taken from Malé City Council by the government earlier this year. Plans to renovate and eventually replace the convention centre were subsequently revealed to local media.

Dhoshimeyna Maalan, Faashanaa Maalan, and Billoori Maalan halls will continue to be available for private functions.

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ACP Fairoosh appointed as executive officer to Home Minister

Assistant Commissioner of Police Abdulla Fairoosh who previously served as the Maldives Police Services development directorate head has been transferred to the post of executive officer to the minister at the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Although Fairoosh works at the Home Ministry offices, his post remains as a position with the Maldives Police Services.

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Detention of narcotics seller in Kulhudhuhfushi extended by 15 days

A 39-year-old accused of smuggling and selling narcotics on the island of Kulhudhuhfushi has had his detention extended by 15 days by the island’s magistrate court.

The man was arrested on the island on June 27 and the magistrate court initially extended his detention by 10 days at the time. Police caught him while he was receiving a box from a boat that travels between Malé and the island.

Police found him to be in possession of a large number of small packets used to pack illicit drugs in and three packets containing narcotics as well as other contraband. He had also tested positive for illegal drugs.

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High Court upholds Civil Court ruling against Meridian Services

The Maldivian High Court has upheld the Civil Court ruling that the State Trading Organization (STO) had not acted against the law in limiting the credit amount of fuel released to Meridian Services, and decreasing the duration within which the company needs to pay back the owed money to STO.

Meridian Services had appealed the case at the High Court alleging that the Civil Court sentence was against legal principles.

The case was presided over by High Court judges Abdulla Hameed, Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, and Shuaib Hussain Zakariya.

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Criminal Court rules money earned in drug trade to be taken by the state

The Criminal Court has ruled that the money acquired through the sale of drugs by Ahmed Anil from the island of Kon’de in Gaaf Alif Atoll is to be taken by the state.

The money amounts to MVR64,985 (US$4,214). Anil was sentenced to life in jail and fined MVR100,000 (US$6,485) which he has to pay to the Criminal Court within a period of 30 days.

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Candidates threaten boycott after judicial interference in JSC lawyer election

Four of the five lawyers competing in an upcoming poll to elect a lawyer to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) have threatened a boycott after judicial interference.

Lawyers Hussein Shameem, Mohamed Fareed, Anas Abdul Sattar, and Mohamed Faisal expressed concern over reports the Supreme Court may allow judges in magistrate courts in the islands to vote via fax on July 13 – a move, which would violate the secrecy of the ballot.

The attorney general had initially compiled regulations barring judges who have lawyer permits from voting to elect a representative from the lawyer community.

But the Supreme Court on June 23 ruled that all licensed lawyers, including judges and MPs, would be eligible to vote in polls.

Lawyers have said the decision allows judges undue influence in electing a representative from the legal community, pointing out judges already have three representatives on the ten-member commission.

AG Mohamed Anil then extended the initial deadline for candidates to submit applications from June 24 to June 30.

Subsequently, a public relations staff member at the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA), Latheefa Qasim, applied for the position. Latheefa worked at the DJA until she was appointed as President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s representative to the ten-member commission.

Latheefa was replaced when new President Abdulla Yameen took oath of office in November 2013.

The four candidates have said Latheefa appears to be backed by the judiciary.

“There is a conflict of interest when an individual employed with the judiciary to improve its image is running for an oversight body,” Shameem said.

Fareed said Latheefa running in the election is like disgraced Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed standing for the position.

Meanwhile, both Anas and Faisal have raised questions over Latheefa’s eligibility, noting JSC regulations state no JSC member can run for consecutive terms.

Faisal said he believed Latheefa had completed a term as she had sat in the commission as a presidential appointee in the current term.

If Latheefa is eligible to run, any current member could resign now, and run again claiming they have not completed a full term, he said.

“There is doubt over whether Latheefa Qasim is standing on her own initiative or is being fielded by other interests. I say this because she submitted her application after the Supreme Court ruling, when the deadline was extended,” he added.

Latheefa was not responding to calls despite repeated attempts at the time of press.

All four candidates insisted the criticisms were not a personal attack on Latheefa.

The four met last week and discussed whether to field a single candidate against Latheefa, but decided to run separately, claiming they still stand a fair chance of winning elections as long as the secrecy of the ballot is protected.

Polling booths are to be set up in Arabiyya School in Malé and in islands where more than five eligible voters are registered to vote. They are Haa Alif atoll Ihavandhoo, Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhuffushi, Thaa atoll Veymandoo, Laamu atoll Fonadhoo and Gaaf Alif atoll Villingili.

“There is no point of contesting elections if the secrecy of the ballot is affected. There are approximately 136 magistrates court judges – a number than can significantly change the election outcome. If there is a perceived judiciary backed candidate, they will be forced to vote for the candidate endorsed by the judiciary, if the secrecy of ballot is violated,” Faisal said.

Fareed said the four candidates are still ready to field a single candidate or boycott the election if necessary should the judiciary interfere in election procedures.

“We will not blindly obey the Supreme Court’s decisions,” Fareed said.

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Debate on new Elections Commission nominations disrupts Majlis

Monday’s general parliament session has been disrupted after opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members raised procedural issues regarding the election of new members to the Elections Commission (EC).

Opposition members voiced their objections when the new names submitted by President Abdulla Yameen were presented to the Majlis.

Two seats on the five-member commission has been vacant since the Supreme Court stripped former EC President Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz Hassan of their membership in March.

In parliament today, MDP members maintained that the Supreme Court is not authorized to strip independent commission members of their membership, arguing the function falls within the parliament’s mandate.

Electing new members is against the spirit of the Maldives constitution, MDP MPs asserted.

“The circumstances under which EC members can be removed from their post is defined in the constitution,” MDP MP Ali Azim said today, quoting Article 177 of the Constitution.

Article 177 of the constitution says an EC member can only be removed from office on grounds of misconduct, incapacity or incompetence, which must be accompanied by “a finding to that effect by a committee of the People’s Majlis.

“While the constitution clearly states otherwise, neither the Supreme Court nor the President can remove any members from the EC,” Azim claimed.

Maradhoo consituency MP Ibrahim Shareef stated that the problem is that “an unconstitutional matter has been placed on the Majlis agenda”, adding that former Speaker Abdulla Shahid had refused to schedule the matter.

However, incumbent Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Maseeh insisted that the matters raised by the MDP cannot be accepted as procedural issues. He then proceeded to halt the Majlis session claiming it had become “impossible to conduct any form of productive work”.

During the 17th parliament, the parliament’s independent institutions oversight committee  had claimed that Thowfeek and Fayaz remained in their posts despite the Supreme Court verdict to the contrary.

On March 10, the parliament also sent a letter to Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain and Attorney General Mohamed Anil stating that the dismissals were in contrast to the constitutional procedures governing their appointment and dismissal, as well as the Elections Commission Act.

Senior leaders of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives criticised the letter even then, noting it did not represent a parliamentary decision and also that such statements were beyond the parliament’s remit.

The names submitted to parliament by President Abdulla Yameen to fill the posts at the EC are Mohamed Zahid, Malé Municipal Register number 1548; Ahmed Sulaiman of Endheri 7, Hulhumalé; Mohamed Shakeel of Bulbulaage from the island of Veyvah in Meemu atoll; and Fathimath Muna of Sanaroamaage from the island of Mahibadhoo in Alif Dhaal atoll.

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