Tag: Adhaalath Party

Dr Bari rejoins Adhaalath Party

Former Islamic minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has rejoined the Adhaalath Party.

According to local media, Bari signed for Adhaalath Party on Monday, but the religious scholar has not publicly spoken about the move.

Bari served as Islamic minister under former President Mohamed Nasheed. He left the Adhaalath Party in June 2013 and signed for the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) ahead of the presidential election in November 2013.

Following the imprisonment of former President Nasheed in March, the Adhaalath Party formed an alliance with the MDP and launched anti-government protests under the ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ banner.

The Adhaalath Party leader, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, remains meanwhile under police custody. He was charged with terrorism and accused of inciting violence at a mass protest on May 1.

Bari has also been active in the opposition alliance.

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Adhaalath raises concern over Imran’s health as court rejects detention appeal

The High Court has rejected an appeal challenging the criminal court’s decision to hold Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla in police custody until the conclusion of his trial on terrorism charges.

The High Court reportedly informed Imran’s lawyers last week that the appellate court could not review decisions of judges to hold defendants in custody for the duration of a trial.

Imran’s lawyer Husnu Suood told local media today that the High Court’s decision not to accept the case will be appealed at the Supreme Court.

The religious conservative party’s leader is accused of inciting violence at a mass anti-government protest on May 1.

The criminal court ordered police to hold the opposition politician in custody pending the outcome of the trial. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial has been stalled after two of the three judges were promoted to the High Court on June 8.

The Adhaalath Party has meanwhile said that Imran’s health is worsening under police custody. Imran is being held at the police detention centre on Dhoonidhoo island.

The Adhaalath Party said in a statement today that Imran has diabetes and high blood pressure. Tests conducted after his arrest show high blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as high urine acidity, the party said.

He is also suffering back pains as a result of having to sleep on a hard surface, the statement added.

Imran’s continuing incarceration is a “planned and shameful atrocity carried out to psychologically and physically weaken him,” the Adhaalath Party said.

The party also said Imran’s wife has written to the home minister and the Human Rights Commission of Maldives to express concern over his health.

He has been brought to Malé several times to consult specialist doctors.

Imran was first arrested on the night of May 1 and held in remand detention for 26 days. Hours before the criminal court ordered his release on May 27, the High Court overturned the criminal court’s May 17 ruling to keep Imran in police custody for 10 days.

The appellate court ordered his transfer to house arrest, noting that Imran has diabetes and that tests conducted following his arrest showed high levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, and urine acidity.

A doctor had also recommended that Imran should not sleep on hard surfaces due to a spinal injury.

Imran was arrested again on the night of June 1, a day before the terrorism trial began.

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JP leader backs law that would bar him from presidency

The leader of the Jumhooree Party (JP) Gasim Ibrahim has urged MPs to back a constitutional amendment that would bar him from contesting the presidential elections in 2018.

In a message to JP MPs on Sunday, the tourism tycoon and MP, said: “I request you to vote for the proposal to set age limits on presidential and vice-presidential candidates.”

Gasim has been in Bangkok since late April.

The amendment – proposed by a ruling coalition MP – proposes setting an age limit of 30 to 65 years for the presidency. The constitution at present only says that a candidate must be 35 years of age.

“Gasim Ibrahim called some MP’s on their phones and requested that they support the amendment. He also texted some MP’s requesting support for the amendment. However the JP parliamentary group is yet to make a decision,” the JP spokesperson Ali Solih told Minivan News today.

In 2018, Gasim will be 66.

The amendment bill was accepted with 44 votes in favour, five against, and sent to a parliamentary committee for review.

A three-quarters majority or 64 votes will be needed to amend the constitution. The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and coalition partner MDA controls 48 seats in the 85-member house.

The ruling coalition will need the backing of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party and JP MPs to pass the amendment. Several JP MPs voted in favour of the bill.

The bill has fueled speculation of President Abdulla Yameen planning to replace Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed with tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb, who is now 33 and ineligible for the position.

JP MP Abdulla Riyaz was not available for comment at the time of going to press.

The criminal court has meanwhile said they are not aware of an arrest warrant for Gasim. Newspaper Haveeru in early May reported the court had issued an arrest warrant for Gasim on charges of funding the opposition’s May Day protest.

A second meeting between JP representatives and the government on Sunday has also been postponed.

JP MPs met with cabinet ministers on June 9, to begin talks proposed by President Abdulla Yameen, and proposed conducting talks with all the opposition parties and the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

MPs also asked for the release of imprisoned politicians including ex-president Mohamed Nasheed, judicial independence and investor protection.

President Yameen called for separate talks with the three allied opposition parties, days after the tax authority froze the accounts of several tourism companies that belong to Gasim. The government claims Gasim’s Villa Group owes the state US$90.4million in rent and fines.

The opposition says the claim is politically motivated, and the Villa Group is contesting it at the civil court.

Gasim in several tweets on Friday distanced himself from the opposition’s June 12 sit-in, and urged Villa employees not to participate.

The JP deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim and council member Sobah Rasheed have been charged with terrorism over the May Day protest. Nearly 200 people were arrested after violent clashes broke out between the police and protesters.

The pair are abroad. Sobah has said he is seeking political asylum.

The JP split from the ruling coalition in January citing authoritarianism, and allied with the MDP in a campaign to “defend the constitution.”

Ex-president Mohamed Nasheed was arrested a week after the two parties launched daily protests. He was swiftly brought to trial over the detention of a judge during his tenure and sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges.

Since the tax authority issued the US$90.4million claim, Gasim has not been seen at opposition protests and has remained silent on the jailing of several politicians.

MPs and senior officials of the JP, however, formed a new coalition with the MDP and the religious conservative Adhaalath Party in March.

The Villa Group has struggled to pay salaries for some 5000 staff. Some have been dismissed.

 

 

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MDP vows to continue protests until demands are met

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has vowed to continue protests until the opposition’s demands to release “political prisoners” are met after police cracked down on last night’s sit-in protest.

Some 12 protesters, including former ruling party MP Ahmed Mahloof and Adhaalath Party deputy secretary general Ahmed Shareef, were arrested from the protest. The MDP had said the sit-in on Malé main thoroughfare Majeedhee Magu could last three days.

MDP vice president Mohamed Shifaz told Minivan News today that the party organised the protest because President Abdulla Yameen’s administration was not heeding the opposition’s demands despite two previous mass protests.

“We will continue protesting till our demands are heard by the government. The purpose of our protest was to call to end to government tyranny. So we will protest till our purpose has been achieved,” he said.

Riot police dispersed the crowd of around 2,000 protesters after 12:00am last night. The police had declared the protest was not peaceful after organisers refused to stop using loudspeakers after 11:00pm.

Specialist Operations (SO) police officers chased protesters into side streets and cleared Majeedhee Magu, but protesters regrouped and continued protesting after 3:00am.

The protest ended after MP Mahloof and several others were arrested.

Meanwhile, home minister Umar Naseer said last night that the low turnout was a “clear indication that people prefer peace and stability.”

“Official estimates of less than 2000 [people] took part in the latest [demonstration]. A clear message to the opposition that their lies have failed them,” tweeted housing Dr Mohamed Muiz.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Riyaz Rasheed announced that a fireworks display will take place tonight to celebrate the “MDP’s weakening” and the opening of two futsal pitches in Thaa atoll.

The government also held a fireworks display to celebrate the “failure” of the May Day mass anti-government demonstration.

PPM MP Nihan meanwhile suggested that opposition supporters from other islands had accepted Riyaz’s advice and decided not to travel to the capital for the June 12 protest. Riyaz’s tweets about not allowing “islanders” to come and protest in Malé stirred controversy last month.


“Assault on democracy”

The June 12 demonstration was the third mass protest calling for the release of imprisoned former President Mohamed Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, whose arrests in February triggered the ongoing political crisis.

The turnout at last night’s protest was significantly lower than the mass protests on February 27 and May 1. Some 20,000 people took to the streets on May Day and nearly 200 protesters were arrested in a police crackdown after protesters attempted to enter Malé’s restricted Republic Square.

The opposition is also demanding the withdrawal of terrorism charges against Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla, Jumhooree Party (JP) deputy Ameen Ibrahim, and JP council member Sobah Rasheed. All three were arrested after the May Day protest and accused of inciting violence.

Meanwhile, despite JP leader Gasim Ibrahim’s tweets last night distancing the party from the sit-in protest, Shifaz said that the JP’s level of support and cooperation for the opposition ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ campaign remains unchanged.

JP MP Ali Hussain and some senior members participated in last night’s protest.

Gasim has been out of the country since late April while Ameen and Sobah left shortly after their release from remand detention. In a video message this week, Sobah said he is seeking political asylum.

President Yameen had called for separate talks with the three allied opposition parties after the May Day protest, but ruled out negotiations over the release of Nasheed and Nazim.

Talks with the JP began last week while the government rejected Nasheed and Imran, respectively, as the MDP and AP’s representatives.

The MDP meanwhile said in statement today that the jailing and prosecution of opposition leaders represented a “continuing and sustained assault on the Maldives’ democracy.”

“Many opposition politicians, including most of the JP leadership, have fled abroad to avoid arrest and the likelihood of a biased and politically-motived trial,” the statement added.

Ameen posted a video message on YouTube last night declaring solidarity with the opposition protesters.

“Rule of law has been abandoned in Maldives and we are now governed by rule by law,” MDP parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said in the statement.

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Adhaalath party president denies terrorism charges in court

The criminal court has ruled tonight to keep the president of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, in police custody until a verdict is issued in a terrorism trial.

Sheikh Imran is charged under the 1990 Anti-Terrorism Act with threatening to harm police officers and inciting violence at a historic antigovernment protest on May 1.

Imran has denied charges at the case’s first hearing tonight.

The Prosecutor General has also filed the same charges against Jumhooree Party’s deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim and council member Sobah Rasheed. Hearings were scheduled for Ameen at 8:30pm and Sobah at 9:00pm tonight, but cancelled as the pair are out of the country.

Imran is represented by lawyers Ali Zahir and former Attorney General Husnu Suood.

Citing a secret police intelligence report, state prosecutors claimed Imran was a threat to society and requested the three-judge panel detain Imran until the end of his trial.

Defence lawyers asked for five days to answer charges and requested Imran be kept under house arrest, noting the high court had last week overturned a May 17 criminal court order and transferred Imran from police custody to house arrest because of his diabetes.

Judges Abdul Bari Yoosuf, Abdulla Didi and Sujau Usman rejected the request.

They adjourned the hearing after saying Imran will be allowed time to answer charges, but did not specify the date for the next hearing.

Imran was kept in cuffs throughout the hearing.

He was arrested last night from his home on a criminal court warrant.

The same three-judge panel overseeing Imran’s trial had sentenced ex-president Mohamed Nasheed to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges, relating to the arrest of a judge during his tenure.

Foreign governments and international bodies, including the UN and Amnesty International, have criticized the trial for apparent lack of due process.

Nasheed was not given adequate time to prepare defence, denied the opportunity to call defence witnesses and at times denied the opportunity to seek legal counsel, observers have noted.

The three judges had also sentenced ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim to 11 years in jail on weapons smuggling charges.

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the Adhaalath Party had allied after the ex-president and the ex-defence minister’s arrest. Imran had been at the forefront of the ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ campaign.

The May Day rally – the largest protest in Maldivian history – was the second mass protest staged by the opposition calling for Nasheed and Nazim’s release.

Nearly 200 people were arrested from the May Day demonstration following a police crackdown after protesters attempted to enter the restricted Republic Square at dusk.

Imran was arrested at 11:00pm on May 1 and held in police custody for 26 days.

The criminal court authorized his release shortly after the high court ordered police to transfer Imran to house arrest.

“I have never encouraged anyone to create unrest, fear, harm anyone, at any time,” he said on his release.

Photo from social media

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Terrorism trials for Adhaalath, Jumhooree Party leaders set to begin

The terrorism trials of opposition Adhaalath Party and Jumhoory Party (JP) leaders are set to begin at the Criminal Court tonight.

Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla’s trial is set for 8:00pm, while trials for JP deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim and council member Sobah Rasheed have been set for 8:30 pm and 9:00pm, respectively.

The three are charged with inciting violence at a mass antigovernment protest on May 1. If convicted, they face between 10 and 15 years in jail.

At tonight’s hearings, state prosecutors will read out charges against the three and judges are expected to give them a three-day period to appoint lawyers.

Imran is in police custody at present. He was arrested from his home at 11:00pm last night on a criminal court warrant.

“The warrant stated Imran should be brought to court tonight under police guard,” a police spokesperson said.

A warrant is usually issued only if the accused repeatedly fails to attend court, or if the accused may abscond or flee from trial. The Adhaalath Party said Imran only found out about the hearing at the time of his arrest.

It is not yet clear if a warrant has been issued for Ameen and Sobah’s arrest. The police declined to comment on the issue. The criminal court was not responding to calls at the time of going to press.

Minivan News understands Imran, Ameen and Sobah are charged under Article 2 (f) of the 1990 Anti –Terrorism Act that states inciting fear and issuing threats to harm individuals or damage property is an act of terrorism.

Imran and Ameen were arrested after the May Day protest and accused of encouraging violence in their speeches, which police contends led to protesters assaulting police officers, damaging property, and disrupting public order and safety.

Sobah Rasheed was arrested from an opposition street protest on May 3.

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Ali Waheed was also arrested on May 1, but the PG office has reportedly not made a decision on prosecuting the former MP.

The police had also accused the opposition leaders of threatening President Abdulla Yameen and other senior government officials.

The terrorism charges follow the president’s invitation for separate talks with the three allied opposition parties. Imran, Ameen, and Ali Waheed are among the representatives of their respective parties.

Following his release last week after 26 days under police custody, Imran denied the allegations.

More than 20,000 people took to the street on May 1 calling for the release of imprisoned former President Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim, whose arrests sparked the ongoing political crisis.

The May Day demonstration was the largest anti-government protest in Maldivian history. Some 193 were arrested and scores were injured.

Nasheed was charged with terrorism over the detention of a judge during his tenure and sentenced to 13 years in prison in March.

Nazim was sentenced to 11 years in jail on weapons smuggling charges. The retired colonel maintains the weapons were planted at his home by rogue police officers.

Foreign governments and international bodies including the UN criticized Nasheed and Nazim’s rushed trials for apparent lack of due process. The parliament of the European Union has called for Nasheed’s immediate release.

The opposition alliance has meanwhile called for a mass protest on June 12.

The terrorism charges against Sheikh Imran also comes after President Yameen threatened to prosecute the religious conservative party’s leader over allegations linking the president to the murder of MP Afrasheem Ali in October 2012.

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Funds for political parties delayed

The Elections Commission has delayed disbursing funds allocated for political parties in the 2015 state budget due to a delay in verifying the exact number of members in each political party.

A former MP for the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, has alleged the commission is delaying funds to obstruct political party activities.

The MDP, the Adhaalath Party and members of the Jumhooree Party have launched an antigovernment campaign over the imprisonment of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

Some MVR19million (US$1.2million) has been allocated for political parties in the 2015 budget.

The 2013 Political Party Act states the state must allocate 0.1 – 0.2 percent of the budget for political parties. Funds must be disbursed within the first three months of the year according to the number of members in each party.

The parties must submit an annual report and an audit report before funds can be disbursed.

A spokesperson for the Elections Commission denied Thasmeen’s allegations and said the deadline for disbursing funds and the deadline for submitting the required documents to the commission fall on the same date.

“There was a delay in the verification of members of political parties as per the numbers stated in their annual reports. But we are now in the process of handing out the funds,” media officer, Fazla Ahmed said.

Commission member Ahmed Akram told CNM: “We are supposed to complete these two procedures within the first three months. So we need some time to check the reports. The commission doesn’t want to withhold the funds.”

There are 15 parties registered in the Maldives. Many are dysfunctional.

The commission in March fined the MDP and the opposition Adhaalath Party by MVR47,000 and MVR33,000 respectively on the charge of inciting violence in their then-daily protests.

The two parties have refused to pay the fines and asked the commission to review its decision. Fazla said today it has not made a decision on the appeal yet. The commission is authorized to deduct the sums from the annual payouts.

The commission has ruled a second mass protest by the opposition on May Day unlawful.

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Court releases Sheikh Imran with travel ban

The criminal court has released Adhaalath Party (AP) president Sheikh Imran Abdulla from police custody with a ban on traveling overseas for one-month.

Imran was arrested from the mass anti-government protest on May 1 and accused of encouraging violence.

The criminal court had extended Imran’s remand detention twice, but ordered his release today with the last 10-day period due to expire tonight.

Speaking to the press upon his release from police custody, Imran said the May Day protest was a success because it had “forced” President Abdulla Yameen to initiate talks with the opposition.

“It was really because of the people who went to jail with us that we have achieved one of our main demands. The government was forced to come to the discussion table with political parties because of the large number of people who were there for the May 1 protest,” Imran said.

If the government is sincere, the allied opposition parties are ready to engage in dialogue to resolve the political crisis, he said.

Imran denied allegations inciting violence during his speeches on May 1, which police contend led to protesters assaulting police officers, damaging property, and disrupting public order and safety.

“I have never encouraged anyone to create unrest, fear, harm anyone, at any time,” he said.

The police have forwarded cases against Imran, along with main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party chairperson Ali Waheed and Jumhooree Party deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim, for prosecution on charges of threatening and inciting violence.

Prior to Imran’s release, the president’s office reportedly rejected Imran as a representative of the AP for official talks with the government saying he was under police custody.

The president’s office’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Muaz, told Minivan News that the government will accept all representatives proposed by the allied opposition parties if there were no “legal, medical, physical, or administrative obstacles.”

Muaz declined to comment on whether the government would accept Imran as a representative for the talks following his release.

Remand appeal

Hours before Imran’s release, the high court overturned the criminal court’s May 17 ruling to keep Imran in police custody for 10 days.

The appellate court transferred Imran to house-arrest.

In a ruling this afternoon, judges noted that Imran has diabetes and that tests conducted following his arrest showed high levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, and urine acidity.

A doctor had also recommended that Imran should not sleep on hard surfaces due to a spinal injury.

Imran’s lawyer, Ali Zahir, told local media that criminal court judge Ali Sameer had considered the high court ruling before releasing the AP leader.

The police had submitted a letter from the prosecutor general’s office to the court stating that Imran should be held in pre-trial detention, Zahir said.

Zahir said the PG office’s letter stated that the investigation had identified reasons for prosecution.

The police had already concluded its investigation and forwarded charges to the PG office.

Opposition alliance

After forming an alliance in March with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, senior members of the Jumhooree Party, and members of imprisoned ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim’s family, Imran had been at the forefront of ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ campaign.

The May Day rally – the largest protest in over a decade – was the second mass protest staged by the opposition calling for the release of former President Nasheed and Nazim.

Nearly 200 people were arrested from the May Day demonstration following a police crackdown after protesters attempted to enter the restricted Republic Square at dusk.

Two weeks after the historic protest, President Abdulla Yameen extended official invitations for separate talks with the allied opposition parties.

While the JP promptly accepted the invitation, the AP proposed Imran among its representatives and the MDP proposed imprisoned ex-President Nasheed.

The government has also rejected Nasheed as the MDP’s representative for the talks as the opposition leader is serving a 13-year jail term and ruled out negotiations for the release of Nasheed and Nazim.

The opposition alliance has meanwhile called for a third mass protest on June 12.

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Talks should involve all parties, suggests British High Commissioner

All political parties including the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) must sit down together for the talks between the government and the opposition, the newly-appointed British High Commissioner to the Maldives James Dauris has suggested.

President Abdulla Yameen has called for separate talks with the three allied opposition parties – the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the Jumhooree Party and the Adhaalath Party – to resolve the ongoing political crisis.

“We think it’s important that talks involving all parties should take place. It seems to me to be logical that talks should take place involving all the parties together, both the party in government and parties in opposition,” Dauris said in an interview with Minivan News during a two-day visit to the Maldives.

“Because what the government is talking about is a discussion between parties to talk about how inter-party relations will work. So it certainly strikes me as an observer that there is much to be said for getting all the parties to sit down together.”

In his first visit to the Maldives since his appointment as high commissioner, Dauris presented his credentials to President Yameen on Monday and met leaders of the three opposition parties.

Dauris said he shared the UK’s concerns over “the strength of democracy in the Maldives” with the president and spoke about the imprisonment of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

“President Nasheed is a special interest because he is a former president of your country. The number of countries in the world with former heads of state in prison is small,” he said.

Nasheed’s case is “emblematic,” he said, but the “wider concern” is over the judiciary.

A judiciary that is “visibly and credibly independent” is essential for democracy to flourish, he continued.

Nasheed’s conviction on terrorism charges in March after a 19-day trial drew widespread international criticism over apparent lack of due process and politicisation of the judiciary.

The government yesterday rejected Nasheed as the MDP’s representative for the talks as the opposition leader is serving a 13-year jail term.

The JP has meanwhile accepted the invitation for talks, but the religious conservative Adhaalath Party proposed its detained president, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, among the party’s representatives.

Imran was arrested in the wake of a mass anti-government demonstration on May 1 and remains in police custody.

The May Day demonstration was the second mass protest staged by the opposition calling for the release of former President Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

However, the government has ruled out negotiations for the release of the pair – whose arrest in February triggered the political crisis – insisting the president does not have the constitutional authority to release convicts before the appeal process is exhausted.

The opposition ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ alliance has called for a third mass protest on June 12.

“Shared interests”

Dauris said the Maldives and the UK has “shared interests” in the areas of climate change, Islamic radicalism, and drug abuse.

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which the Maldives currently chairs, should be “ambitious in helping use its influence” at the upcoming climate summit in Paris, he said.

Small island states could play a role to ensure that the international community reaches a “good and ambitious international commitment to work to reduce carbon emissions.”

“Islamic extremism is another shared concern we have. Like the Maldives, we have people in Britain going off to join IS in Syria, often going through Turkey,” he continued.

“We worry for them, for the grief it causes their families, and we worry for the damage it does in their communities, and the potential threat these people could represent when they return home.”

He observed that the Maldives has “a relatively high number” of jihadis in Syria and Iraq. In January, the police said more than 50 Maldivians are in Syria, but the opposition says the figure could be as high as 200.

Dauris was previously the British high commissioner to Peru.

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