High Court upholds lower court’s ruling to jail MP Jabir

The High Court has today ruled that the Criminal Court’s verdict to sentence Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir was lawful.

During today’s hearing, the court told Jabir that the it could not agree with claims that the Criminal Court had not given enough opportunity for Jabir to defend himself.

The court responded to Jabir’s allegations that among the three police officers summoned to the court as witnesses against Jabir, one officer had tortured the defendant. The court noted that Jabir was not able to clarify to the court who among the three had tortured him.

The High Court ruled that, though there may be one officer among the three that had tortured Jabir, the statements of the other two officers will still be valid, which was enough to rule that Jabir was guilty.

Additionally, the High Court responded to Jabir’s claims that the Criminal Court’s verdict did not have the signature of the presiding judge, noted that although the verdict did not have presiding judge’s signature, the case report did.

On February 20, 2014, the Criminal Court sentenced Jabir to one year after finding him guilty of refusing to provide his urine sample to the police to run a drug test, and sentenced him to twelve months under the Drug Act 17/2011 article 123(a)(b).

The Criminal Court ruling stated that on November 16, 2012, Jabir was arrested as a suspect in a drug related case and that police asked him to produce his urine sample to which he clearly refused according to the witnesses produced by the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The verdict stated that, although Jabir had claimed that he was tortured by the witnesses produced by the state and that the police did not follow the correct procedure when asking for a urine sample, Jabir was not able to prove these accusations to the court.

Jabir was taken into police custody on November 16, 2012 along with senior MDP members while they were on Hondaidhoo Island, Haa Dhaalu Atoll – an uninhabited island owned by Jabir.

Police offices raided Hondaidhoo, where they found large amounts of suspected drugs and alcohol upon searching the island.

The prosecutor general pressed three charges against Jabir for refusing to provide a urine sample to run a drug test, possession of cannabis and possession of alcohol.

The Criminal Court on February 27, 2014, ruled that Jabir was not guilty of possessing cannabis and concluded the case, However, the third trial is still going on in the court where the court is to decide if he is guilty for possession of alcohol.

Article 73(c)(2) of the constitution states that a person shall be disqualified from election as a member of the People’s Majlis – or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified – if he has been convicted of a criminal offence and is serving a sentence of more than twelve months.

Article 73(c)(3) states that if a person has been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of more than twelve months, unless a period of three years has elapsed since his release, or he has been pardoned for the offence for which he was sentenced, he will also be disqualified.

Jabir was set to re-contest his Kaashidhoo seat next month after an internal MDP decision to discipline the MP for repeatedly breaking three-line whips was overturned on appeal.

According to the Drug Act, Sections 123(a), 161(a) and 161(b), any person arrested on suspicion of having abused alcohol or narcotics has an obligation to comply with police requests for routine urine examination by promptly providing urine samples, and failure to comply is a criminal offence punishable with a one-year jail sentence.

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Supreme Court gives green light for Majlis polls despite missing candidate signatures

The Supreme Court has advised the Elections Commission (EC) that Saturday’s parliamentary elections can go ahead despite 16 independent candidates not signing voter lists for 13 electoral constituencies.

The court advised that candidates refusing to sign voter lists during the period offered by the commission without raising any concerns through the official complaints mechanism “would not be an obstacle” to conducting the polls, the EC said in a press release today.

“Therefore, the Elections Commission has decided that the 18th parliamentary election will be held as scheduled on Saturday, March 22, 2014,” the press release stated.

The EC sought counsel from the apex court this week after 16 out of 114 independent candidates did not sign the voter lists. All 188 candidates representing political parties had signed the lists by noon on Sunday.

Obtaining signatures of candidates on the voter lists used at polling stations was among the 16-point guideline imposed on the EC by the Supreme Court in its judgment annulling the first round of the presidential election held on September 7 last year.

A revote ordered by the Supreme Court for October 19 was obstructed by the police hours before polls were due to open after Progressive Party of Maldives candidate Abdulla Yameen and Jumhooree Party candidate Gasim Ibrahim refused to sign the voter lists.

On the morning of October 19, police officers prevented EC staff from taking any election-related documents out of the commission’s office.

The police commissioner then informed EC members that the Maldives Police Service would not support an election held in contravention of the Supreme Court guidelines.

The Supreme Court however advised the EC yesterday that submitting complaints regarding the eligible voters registry during the window offered by the commission was the “legal responsibility” of candidates.

A candidate refusing to sign the voter list without officially lodging complaints would not affect either the legitimacy of the election or decisions made by the EC, the Supreme Court stated.

None of the 16 independent candidates who have yet to sign off on the voter lists have reportedly submitted any complaints.

The Attorney General has meanwhile advised police to cooperate with the EC in conducting the polls despite the 16 missing signatures.

The local council elections on January 18 also took place as scheduled despite candidates signing voter lists for just 81 out of 464 ballot boxes.

Of 543 independent candidates, only 147 candidates had signed the lists.

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MDP councillors refute allegations of corruption in Malé city clean-up project

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) councillors have released a counter-statement disputing allegations of corruption in the granting of the ‘Clean Green Malé’ project to Business Image Group (BIG).

The release came in response to a statement released yesterday by three Malé City councillors affiliated with the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

The project was granted to BIG with the support of all councillors – including the three from PPM.

Signed by Malé City Mayor Mohamed Shihab and six MDP affiliated councillors, the statement said the agreement to contract BIG to implement the ‘Clean Green Malé’ project was unanimously voted for at a council meeting attended by the three councillors who had released yesterday’s statement.

It explained that the agreement made with BIG by the previous government was revised and an amended agreement was signed on February 1 this year.

“An agreement was signed between Malé City Council and Business Image Group to conduct the ‘Nala Fehi’ Malé [Clean Green Male’] initiative on October 3, 2011. As this previous agreement did not include the cleaning and sweeping of the streets of Malé, the Malé City Council and Business Image Group held further discussions on the matter and signed a revised agreement inclusive of this on February 1, 2014,” the statement read.

“As one of the main concerns voiced to the newly elected council members by the public regards the levels of cleanliness in the city, we held numerous discussions on the matter,” it stated, adding that the council unanimously decided to expedite implementation of the project contracted to BIG.

Claim and counter-claim

While the PPM councillors’ statement claimed “accommodation for labourers brought in to do the cleaning work needs to be provided by Malé City Council”, today’s response rejected the claims, stating that BIG will be employing 100 Maldivians to do the cleaning work, meaning there is no need to provide accommodation for any of the employees.

The statement released by PPM councillors Ibrahim Mamnoon, Zaidhul Ameen, and Mohamed Sajid claimed that the mayor and deputy mayor were exerting undue pressure to “maintain the agreement with BIG”, and that the Anti Corruption Commission is currently investigating the matter.

Their statement was issued to inform the public of the reasons behind the three PPM councillors’ absence from the project’s inauguration event, adding “we assure you that we will cooperate with any and all efforts made for the good of the people”.

Meanwhile, the council has claimed that the permit to hold the event was withdrawn by the government at short notice.

“While we had spent large funds on the preparation of the Iskandhar School hall for the event, at the last minute the school was asked to cancel the reservation by the government, stating that it is instead needed by the Ministry of Education.”

“When after multiple attempts, we were unable to find another location for the event at such notice, we held the event outside the gates of Iskandhar School, albeit facing many challenges.”

“While STELCO initially agreed to provide us with temporary electricity for the event, and one of their staff members were actively working on doing so, we would like to inform the public that the government exerted influence on this company as well and stopped them from providing electricity for our event,” the statement read.

The council revealed that the event had been held with the assistance of nearby residents, who provided electricity to hold the event.

Local media further reported that no government officials had been present at the event.

BIG rejects allegations

Meanwhile, BIG Sales and Marketing Director Hassan Ismail has also dismissed the claims of the PPM councillors, suggesting they were fabrications targeted to confuse the public.

“I don’t know from where they have gotten the idea that the council has agreed to give us land,” said Hassan.

“We have done a lot of work under the clean up Malé programme even to date. We have even planted over 800 trees. On the contrary, we have only put up about 38 billboards. The billboards are being put up as a means to getting returns, through the funds we get from them, we are paying part of the salaries of the labourers, and other such expenses,” he continued.

Hassan acknowledged that the council had initially been asked to provide accommodation for labourers before the decision to employ Maldivians was made.

“As for the nursery, the council is not ‘giving’ it to us. Instead, the truth behind the matter is, they keep the plants we import to be planted in Malé there. It is their property in the end, and we are assisting them.”

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Police investigating anti-Islamic activity on social media

The police are investigating online anti-Islamic social media activity, officials have confirmed.

A police media official confirmed that the investigation was  initiated by the police, but that they have since received similar complaints from the public.

Minivan News has learned that the police investigation is particularly focused on a Facebook page titled ‘Dhivehi Atheists/Maldivian Atheists’, though police have said that the investigation is not focused on a particular page but all such unlawful activity will be investigated.

Religious conservative Adhaalath party has condemned the page for  insulting the Prophet and God by drawing offensive cartoons. Adhaalath called to block the page and take action against everyone behind the page.

The page, which appears to be run by Maldivians, posts content critical of and insulting Muslims, Islamists, Islam, God, and the Prophet Muhammad. Liked by just 300 users, the majority of the posts are in local Dhivehi language.

According to the page administrators, the purpose of creating it was encouraging Maldivians to leave Islam and “choose the path of science and reason”.

Reacting to the page, a number of people are posting comments with apologetic content and advising those behind the group to repent and accept Islam. Some users are calling to behead the anonymous administrators of the page and praying for God’s wrath upon them.

Several posts made by visitors accused various people of being behind the page and threatened to kill them. Many visitors have stated that the administrator has been identified to be a woman.

The 2008 constitution of Maldives declares that all citizens of the Maldives should be Muslims, while article 32 of the Religious Unity Regulation declares “Insulting or committing any action that may offend Islamic slogans” as prohibited.

This includes anything which “insults Allah, His Prophets and Messengers, the Companions of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH)”. Insulting the Quran, Islamic Mosques and Other Islamic slogans are also prohibited.

The punishments for these offenses are given in the Religious Unity Act of 1994, which allows 2-5 years imprisonment or house arrest, and an additional year for every time such an offense is repeated. Under Islamic Shariah law as interpreted in the Maldives, apostasy is punishable by death.

While discussion of controversial religious issues are restricted by law, much discussions happens online with moderate Muslims, secularists, Islamists, and atheists discussing and debating on religious issues through social media.

Hate speech and threats against contributors are regularly posted by radicals on both sides of the debates.

While many locals identify themselves as non-Muslims online, only a few cases of Maldivians who publicly declared their disbelief in God have been reported in the media.

Among them was 25 year old Ismail Mohamed Didi, who was found hanged from an air traffic control tower in 2010. Didi had been seeking asylum after his colleagues started harassing him for his atheism.

In the same year, Mohamed Nazim announced his disbelief on live television during a public question-and-answer session with Islamic speaker Dr Zakir Naik. Nazim was escorted from the venue by police for his own protection, before announcing his return to the faith after religious counselling received while in detention.

In 2011 a silent protest calling for religious tolerance was attacked by Islamist extremists, the main victim in the attack – local blogger Ismail ‘Hilath’ Rasheed – also faced a life threatening attack the next year before seeking refuge abroad.


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High Court decides to hold closed hearings on appeal case against Family Court ruling

The High Court has today decided to hold closed hearings in the appeal case against the Family Court hearings asking Ahmed Sharuan from Kanmatheege in Seenu Atoll Maradhoo to return his five month baby to the mother.

While the Constitution’s Article 42 (b) states that court hearings must be open to public, courts of law are allowed to hold closed hearings under special circumstances as seen fit by the judges.

Family Court previously ordered Sharuan to return the baby to the mother, and on his failure to comply, ordered police to search for him.

The search has since been called off following the High Court releasing a temporary injunction asking to halt implementation of the Family Court order.

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STO head office robbed

State Trading Organization (STO) head office was broken into and robbed during the early hours of Tuesday (March 18).

STO Managing Director Adam Azim informed local media that a group of people had threatened the office’s security guard with knives and forced their way into the offices.

“They were not able to go up to the main safe. I don’t think they would have been able to steal any money, as we have a practice of depositing our earnings every day,” he is quoted as saying.

However, he stated that there might have been an unidentified amount of money in the office intended for use as petty cash, which might have been stolen.

A police media official confirmed that they are investigating a break in at STO headquarters, while stating that the amount of money stolen is as of yet unknown.

No related arrests have been made at the time of press.

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President Yameen inaugurates land reclamation project in Meedhoo

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom inaugurated a land reclamation project on the island of Meedhoo in Dhaalu atoll on Sunday.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Yameen said he visited the island with a gift for its residents, noting that the people of Meedhoo have been waiting for over 20 years for such development projects.

President Yameen asserted that the Maldives could be developed using available resources, according to the President’s Office.

Yameen urged the people of Meedhoo to utilise the reclaimed land for economic and social purposes.

The current administration would endeavour to ease economic difficulties faced by the public, he added.

The project was awarded to the Nederland’s Boskalis International company to reclaim 17.5 hectares of land and set up 485 metres of revetment in Meedhoo.

Boskalis has also been contracted by the government to reclaim land in Baa Eydhafushi, Dhaalu Kudahuvadhoo, and Kaafu Thulusdhoo.

President Yameen also pledged to make ambulance services available across the country before the end of August. He noted that the project would be funded from savings made from the state budget through cost-cutting and economising.

The Meedhoo constituency is represented in parliament by MP Ahmed ‘Sun’ Siyam Mohamed, leader of the Maldives Development Alliance, a coalition partner of the ruling Progressive party of Maldives.

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Man fined MVR1000 for possession of alcohol

Criminal Court has fined a man who brought in alcohol to the Maldives and kept it in his possession.

The charged Mohamed Vildhaan of Dhemaagasdhoshuge in Henveiru ward of capital city Malé was fined MVR1000.

The Criminal Court verdict reads that Vildhaan had confessed in court to having been in possession of alcohol.

It further states that the sentence against him is a fine because the court was not made aware of the quantity of alcohol that Vildhaan had in his possession.

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Kudahuvadhoo islanders spotted low-flying mystery aircraft in hours after MH370 disappearance

With additional reporting by Ahmed Nazeer and Ahmed Rilwan

Residents of Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaal atoll have reported seeing a low flying aircraft heading in a south-easterly direction in the morning of March 8, prompting speculation that it could have been the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

“It was about 6:30am in the morning, I heard a loud noise and went out to see what it was,” Adam Saeed, a teacher at Kudahuvadhoo school, told Minivan News.

“I saw a flight flying very low and it had a red straight line in the middle of it. The flight was traveling north-west to south-east.”

While Saeed’s sighting has been corroborated by a number of witnesses, others remain skeptical that the aircraft could have been the missing jet, whilst aviation authorities maintain that they have no “credible” evidence to support the claims.

Police have confirmed they are looking into the reports without providing further comment.

Co-author of the original story Ahmed Naif explained that Haveeru had been receiving similar reports since March 9, but had been concerned about the credibility of the sightings.

“Later we were getting so many comments that we contacted the island and they said it was true,” explained Naif.

One islander, who identified himself as Hamzath, told Minivan News that had also seen a low-flying plane heading from north-west to south-east, though he remained wary of jumping to conclusions.

“People started talking about it when they realised that the flight that we saw had the same characteristics as of the missing plane,” he said. ”We are still not saying it is the same plane, we just wanted to report it just in case.”

Another witness – who wished to remain anonymous – confirmed a similar height and direction but did not see the plane’s colours, while another suggested that the reports had been exaggerated.

“A plane did fly near the island,” said the anonymous witness. “It wasn’t that big, as big as people say.”

“These days people will be out fishing every morning. Around thirty people would always be there in the morning – but no one talked about it then. If it was that noticeable, loud and big, people would talk.”

Caution urged

Investigators are currently searching an area spanning 2.24 million nautical miles, with two corridor arcs – one stretching between Thailand and Kazakhstan, the other south between Indonesia and the southern Indian Ocean.

The arcs were determined locational ‘pings’ detected by a satellite revealing the flight’s last known location at 8:11am Malaysian time (5:11am Maldives time). Witness reports received by Minivan News and Haveeru put the time of the sighting between 6:15am and 8am.

While the Maldives appears to have been ruled out of the ever-widening search for the missing Boeing 777 and the 239 people on board, reports this morning brought further mention of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

A simulator featuring five airports in the Indian Ocean region was discovered in the home of flight Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah today, as investigators remain convinced the plane’s disappearance was deliberate. A senior Malaysian police officer told Reuters, however, that such simulators are likely to feature hundreds of runways.

Ibrahim Nasir International Airport was featured on the simulator, as were three runways in Indian and Sri Lanka, as well as the US military base in Diego Garcia.

Although the Maldives receives over one million tourists every year, visitors to isolated islands are normally transported by seaplane from Malé’s airport.

When asked about the possibility of a plane of this size landing on an isolated airstrip in the atolls, Maldives National Defence Force spokesman Major Hussain Ali said this was not possible.

“If you are asking are there any landing strips outside of the main commercial airports, the answer is no,” said Hussain.

Contacted following the emergence of the Kudahuvadhoo sightings, neither Hussain not the President’s Office were responding to calls at the time of press.

Spokesman for the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) Hassan Areef has urged caution regarding the reported sightings in Kudahuvadhoo.

“We have no credible information about the plane in terms of radar or sightings,” said Areef.

“There are so many conspiracy theories – we have no credible information that the plane has come to us.”

One such conspiracy theory has the base at Diego Garcia – which lies around 700 miles south of Kudahuvadhoo – as a potential landing site for the plane, though Malaysian authorities are said to have dismissed this rumour.

Haveeru today quoted a local aviation expert, who considered it unlikely that a commercial carrier would have been flying over the island at that time.

While some witnesses at first assumed that the flight must have come from Maamagili airport, 55 miles to the north, MACL’s published schedule shows no flights from the airport until 7:20am on Saturdays, with all subsequent flights headed to the capital Malé – north-east of Maamigilli.

Maamigili airport is the hub for the domestic carrier Flyme which operates a fleet of 75ft, 50 seater ATR 42-500 aircraft. The Boeing 777 model of the missing Malaysian jet is around 200 feet long with a carrying capacity in excess of three hundred.

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