Police recover 330 beer cans drifting near presidential retreat of Aarah

Police have recovered 330 cans of beer found drifting near the presidential retreat of Aarah.

According to police, the beer cans were first seen by the crew of a passing boat and were reported it to police this morning at about 9:30am.

A team consisting of the police Drug Enforcement Department (DED) and marine police went to the area following the report and searched for the cans.

Last month, police discovered 52 cans of ‘Bintang’ beer drifting in the sea near Male’s West Park restaurant.

In March, police claimed to have discovered some beer cans and locally brewed alcohol at Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protest camp near the surf break.

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Six men charged with murder of Ali Shifan deny allegations in court

The six suspects in the murder case of Ali Shifan, who was stabbed to death by a group of men in April, were produced before the Criminal Court yesterday and all of them denied charges.

A group of men arrived on motorbikes and stabbed 33 year-old Ali Shifan,of Maafannu Fairy Corner, while he was waiting outside the West Park Restaurant.

Police arrested six suspects and their names were forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution. The six suspects were identified by the police as Ali Nabeeh, 22, of M.Nalahiyaa Manzil, Mohamed Shaifan, 18, of Male’ Dhaftharu no 3912,  Razzan Abdu Rahman, 19, of Kaanimaage house in Thulhaadhoo island of Baa Atoll,  Abdul Thilmeez, 20, of M.Thilmeez,  Mohamed Asif, 19, of Maafahi house inKurendhoo island of Lhaviyani Atoll and Mohamed Mishaan Abdul Haadhy, 20, of M.Silver Nest.

Today at court the prosecution lawyer submitted the charges against the six suspects and the judge determined that they were serious criminal offenses under the constitution and inquired as to whether the respondents would like to have a lawyer with the assistance of the state, which the six refused.

According to local media reports, the suspects requested the judge grant them the opportunity to appoint lawyers, and the judge gave them a period of three days to do so.

Newspaper ‘Haveeru’ reported that the judge told the six men that they had to produce witnesses in their defense to the next hearing.

The judge also said witnesses from the prosecution will be produced to the court on the same day, reported Haveeru.

A friend of Shifan told Minivan News at the time that the victim was attacked while he was waiting in front of West Park Restaurant for a friend.

‘’He was having a coffee inside West Park Restaurant and went out because a friend was coming to see him,’’ he said. ‘’He was waiting with another friend and this group shows up with sharp weapons.’’

‘’It was a long bladed knife and he is a very slim man. He was stabbed from behind and it went straight through his back and came out the other side,” the source said, claiming that Shifan had been stabbed twice.

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MDP MP Ilyas Labeeb summoned to police over charges of disrupting public peace

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ilyas Labeeb has been summoned by police regarding allegations of “disrupting public order” on August 31.

Labeeb told local media today that police claimed he had unlawfully passed police barricades set up in Orchid Magu during protests.

“In the chit police sent to me it did not state the reason for my summoning. So at the police station, I did not answer to any questions and exercised my right to remain silent,” he said.

He also dismissed the allegations of police stating that he had never done anything in contrast to “the constitution or any law”.

The MDP MP, representing one of six seats from Addu City, also alleged that police had summoned him after finishing the investigation of the case.

“They said that they would send the case to Prosecutor General within a week. It gives the idea that they’ve already finished the case,” he said.

Police Media Official Sub inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed Labeeb was summoned for unlawfully passing the police barricade and disrupting public order.

On the same day, former State Minister of Foreign Affairs Aslam Shakir was also arrested on the same grounds and his case has now been forwarded to the Prosecutor General (PG).

Labeeb is the latest addition to the series of MDP MPs being summoned to police following the controversial transfer of power on February 7 in which the MDP led government was ousted.  Almost all now face criminal charges, which may potentially result in them losing their seats.

Arresting of opposition MPs

On June 21, police concluded a case involving MDP Spokesperson MP Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy and sent it to the PG requesting Inthi be charged with disobeying orders, obstructing police duty and physically assaulting a female police officer during an MDP demonstration on May 29, that followed the dismantling of the former ruling party’s protest camp at Usfasgandu.

However in a statement condemning “excessive use of force” against demonstrators, Amnesty International reported that according to MP Imthiyaz, “police in Dhoonidhoo told him he was arrested for ‘disrupting peace’. The next day, in court, police stated that he had been detained for ‘physically attacking a woman police officer.”

Former MDP Chairperson MP Mariya Ahmed Didi was summoned to police police for questioning today regarding confrontations that took place after police entered the MDP protest camp at Usfasgandu on May 29. Didi was also questioned for her alleged involvement in a “plot to attack police officers”, said police at the time.

Police also sent cases involving MDP MPs Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and Ibrahim ‘Bondey’ Rasheed to the PG, requesting the public prosecutor to press charges against MP Hamid for obstructing police duty and requested MP Rasheed be charged for obstructing police duty, assaulting police officers, threatening and creating unrest.

On August 4, Ibrahim Rasheed was arrested and the Criminal Court placed him under house arrest for five days on charges of threatening and attacking a police officer and obstructing police duty.

According to a statement issued at the time by the MDP, Rasheed was taken into custody from a popular cafe in the capital Male’ by “20 militarised police.”

“MP Ibrahim Rasheed was arrested under a warrant obtained by the police relating to an incident two days back on 30 July when it was reported that the MP was “bitten” by a policeman while in the process of being arrested for participating in a protest rally,” the statement read.

Photos surfaced on social media showing bruises on the MPs’ back and the prescription letter from private hospital ADK where he was treated.

On July 22, MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor was arrested after he broke through the police barricades near the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

“We warned him and let him go as he first broke through the police barricades. We arrested him for obstruction of police duties after he broke through again,” police said in a statement.

In a statement following Hamid’s arrest, the MDP said Hamid and other protesters were arrested in violation of the laws stipulated under the constitution and international covenants Maldives is party to.

On August 18, PG pressed terrorism charges against over 40 individuals accused of setting the Seenu Gan police station on fire on February 8, including MDP MP Mohamed Rasheed and Addu City Councillor Ahmed Mirzadh.

Terrorism charges carry a jail term of 10 to 15 years.

Also, Police this Wednesday concluded an investigation in to a case submitted to them by the Judicial Administration and Prosecutor General, regarding Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik’s pronouncement last year that he was opening his own court.

Minivan News tried contacting MP Labeeb and MDP Spokesperson MP Imthiyaz Fahmy, but they had not responded at time of press.

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Minister of Islamic Affairs calls for “restraint” over anti-Islamic film

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has held a public meeting to condemn the tarnishing of the Prophet Mohamed’s character in anti-Islamic films.

“This meeting was organised to condemn the making of anti-Islamic movies which attempt to tarnish the Prophet Mohamed’s character,” explained Head of the Department of Religious Affairs, Moosa Anwar Hassan.

“We had a number of Islamic scholars speak at the meeting. They each covered one aspect of Prophet Mohamed’s exemplary character,” Hassan said.

Speakers at the meeting included Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali, Deputy Minister Mohamed Qubad AbuBakr, and State Minister Mohamed Didi, among others.

At the meeting, Shameem said although anger at the Prophet being mocked was justifiable, it had to be expressed in a calm manner through productive action. He shared an anecdote about American Muslims refraining from burning bibles even though an American priest had burned the Quran. He said they had instead distributed 1000 free copies of the Quran.

Shaheem said that this was a better cause of action in times of anger, calling it “a strategic and sensible decision.”

A crowd of protesters gathered in front of the UN Building last week, expressing anger after the release of the controversial movie ‘Innocence of Muslims’.

Speaking on the issue, Moosa Anwar Hassan told Minivan News today that the ministry would on no account encourage unrest, rioting or causing damage to property. He said the ministry calls on everyone to show restraint and control anger.

The National Bureau of Classification has announced that it is an offence to own or watch the offending movie on Tuesday, while the Communications Authority of Maldives has previously said it is working on blocking the offending video from being viewed in the country.

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Maldives ex-dictator back on Delhi radar: Telegraph India

“South Block is tired of ousted Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed’s ‘maverick’ approach and violent street protests, and is busy reviving its three-decade-long ties with former dictator Maumoon Abdul Gayoom,” writes Archis Mohan for India’s Telegraph newspaper.

“Events over the past week reflect a decisive shift in India’s approach towards the eight-month-old political crisis in the Indian Ocean archipelago since Nasheed’s resignation under pressure in February.

First, India invited Gayoom to New Delhi. The former dictator, who ruled Maldives for 30 years before losing the country’s first multi-party elections in 2008 to Nasheed, discussed the Maldivian political situation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday for nearly an hour.”

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“Our democracy is being suffocated”: Former President Nasheed

“The Maldives stand on a knife edge. At stake is its hard-won liberal democracy, forged from the ruins of a brutal, 30-year dictatorship – a period that was synonymous with serious human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings and torture,” writes former President Mohamed Nasheed for the Guardian newspaper.

“President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s rule was eventually ended in 2008, by a democratic vote in which I was elected. But it is important that the outside world clearly understands that Gayoom, his allies and his henchmen are back.

It was they who established, late last year, the ‘December coalition’ of Islamic extremists who accused my government of being controlled by ‘Jews’ and ‘Christians’ and used incitement to religious hatred and violence as political tools. It was they who orchestrated February’s overthrow of the Maldives’ first democratically elected government.

And it is they who control the current administration as well as the police and armed forces. From this position of strength, they are slowly squeezing the life out of the democratic fabric of my country.

Despite this, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which met last week, is considering removing the Maldives situation from its agenda. A decision is expected in late September later this month. The choice before the group, comprising the foreign ministers of Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Jamaica, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago and Vanuatu, could hardly be more important.

Thousands of pro-democracy protesters in the Maldives have been brutalised by the police, arrested and imprisoned. Many of them have been tortured, or charged with terrorism – the favoured means, post 9/11, for repressive states to dispose of opponents. Journalists have been beaten and arrested and media outlets threatened with legal action and closure. Freedom of speech is being strictly curtailed – people can now be arrested for calling members of the current government ‘traitors’. And the country’s independent oversight bodies are being staffed with friends and relatives.

Moreover, a growing sense of impunity is taking hold. Key agents of February’s coup d’etat, and the police officers responsible for the violence that followed, know they cannot be touched. A grotesquely one-sided report into the coup, by the Commission of National Inquiry, was co-chaired by Gayoom’s former defence minister. Despite gross and systematic human rights violations since February – all catalogued by NGOs such as Amnesty International and the International Federation of Human Rights – not one police officer or state representative has been prosecuted. Indeed, many of those responsible have been promoted.”

Read more…

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Four Seasons Maldives wins prestigious Conde’ Nast travel awards

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts CEO Katie Taylor yesterday received two prestigious Conde’ Nast World Savers Awards, on behalf of the company’s resorts in the Maldives.

Four Seasons Kuda Huraa and Landu Giraavaru resorts have been awarded the Conde’ Nast World Savers Awards in the categories of ‘Wildlife Conservation’, as well as the overall ‘Doing it all’ award.

“It’s in Four Seasons’ DNA to take steps to support the local community and environment in every destination where we operate; our social and environmental efforts in the Maldives date back to 1998,” said Regional Vice President of Four Seasons Resorts Maldives, Armando Kraenzlin.

Four Seasons Maldives also came runner up in the ‘Education’ category, one of six areas of social responsibility judged by an independent panel, which also include ‘Preservation (Environment and Cultural)’, ‘Health Initiatives’ and ‘Poverty Relief’.

A record 111 applications which were received this year for the luxury travel magazine’s awards, which are now in their sixth year.

A press release from Four Seasons explained that the company’s coral reef regeneration project, now in its 15th year, had become one of the most successful in the world.

The project started after 1998’s major El Niño–event destroyed most of the country’s shallow reef coral and has been assisted by marine consulting firm Seamarc since 2004.

Four Seasons also runs a Hospitality Apprenticeship Scheme in the Maldives which this year will offer 50 young Maldivians a year’s vocational training in food and beverage preparation, service, maritime transport, housekeeping and guest services, PADI dive master and water sports.

The program, which has been operating for a decade, is open to young Maldivians aged 17-20, with O-level certifications and has seen more 265 young Maldivians graduate, said the company’s release.

Earlier this year Four Seasons Kuda Huraa worked with the local community of neighbouring Bodu Huraa and pest control consultant Trudy Rilling-Collins to introduce sustainable and environmentally-friendly mosquito control procedures.

Four Seasons stated that they had also contributed to projects involving two resort water-bottling plants, plant nurseries, local education and awareness outreach programs, health initiatives in support of local islands, support for local artisans, teachers and the Manta Trust charity.

Whilst the company was receiving its awards at the Lincoln Center in New York, Four Seasons Kuda Huraa were conducting a climate change workshop focusing on coral reefs and tourism, hosted by Seamarc marine biologist Patrik Svensson.

“Moving forward, the team at Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru is committed to working closely with local communities and agencies to ensure that the Baa Atoll World Biosphere becomes a world-class example of its kind, while at Kuda Huraa, the focus is very much on continuing to develop the Maldivian Sea Turtle Conservation Programme,” continued the release.

Earlier this week, Sylvia Jagerroos – a marine biologist working with Four Season’s partner Seamarc – discovered a dismembered turtle on the uninhabited island of Funadhoo in Baa Atoll, one of the country’s 14 priority nesting beaches legally protected under Maldivian law.

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Maldives bans controversial anti-Islamic movie

The National Classifications Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday announced a ban on watching or bringing in copies of the controversial “Innocence of Muslims” movie to the Maldives.

The NCB is reported as saying that watching or sharing the movie is an offence under the law defining material which is not allowed to be brought into the country (Act No. 4/74). Such material includes other contraband such as pork, alcohol, and religious items not for personal use.

According to Article 4 (a) of the said Act, bringing into the country, creating, owning, selling, sharing or spreading material which is against the principles of Islam is an offence. The penalty for the said offense, as defined in Article 13 (c) is a jail sentence, banishment or house arrest for a period between 3 to 8 years.

Meanwhile, the Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM) has announced on Sunday that it is working to block the offending trailer from the online video sharing channel YouTube.

CAM Chief Executive Ilyas Ahmed said at the time that they were attempting to just block the video alone, instead of the site itself, as blocking YouTube was ‘not practical’.

Pakistan is reported in international media as having blocked access to YouTube in the country after the owners of the site refused to block the offending video.

Following similar protests across the globe, protesters in the Maldives gathered in front of the UN Building on Friday September 14. Protesters carried placards with messages ranging from “Maldives: future graveyard to Americans and Jews” to “May Allah curse America”.

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MMC to investigate Raajje TV dispute despite channel’s defiance

The Maldives Media Council (MMC) has said it intends to continue its investigations into the police’s refusal to cooperate with Raajje TV despite the channels refusal to work with the MMC, reports local media.

The MMC statement said that it was constitutionally obliged to look into the case and to ensure a stable and free media environment in the country.

Haveeru reported that Raajje TV had sent the MMC a letter accusing it of incompetence, having – in its view – failed to resolve the issue previously.

The station said that it would not comment on the case further until the Civil Court had finished deliberating on the issue.

Raajje TV has filed cases against both the police and the President’s Office alleging that the station had been boycotted as well as not receiving appropriate protections from the authorities.

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