Tag: break-in

Adeeb and Mahloof in Twitter spat after allegations of threats and bribery

Former ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Mahloof has claimed a group of ten men attempted to break in to his apartment last night after Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb threatened him over the phone.

In a tweet at 10:15 pm on March 15, Mahloof claimed the group tried to forcefully enter his home around 9:30 pm.

The Maldives Police Services confirmed they are investigating a case where “a suspicious group of people knocked on Henveiru East Light before taking off.”

Adeeb has denied the allegations, claiming Mahloof was getting paid or bribed to defame him and President Abdulla Yameen. 

Adeeb shared a screenshot of an alleged text conversation between Mahloof and Adeeb, where Mahloof appeared to threaten him saying “things would get ugly tonight” and that he could ruin the tourism minister’s name with “only one tweet.”

Reload in the tweet refers to a local term for topping up credit on mobile phones.

Mahloof in a subsequent tweet claimed the screenshot of the text messages were fabricated. He also shared a recording of the phone call in which he claims Adeeb threatened him.

In the recording, which appears slightly edited, Adeeb said he had called Mahloof back because the MP had said he would pay Adeeb back.

“I don’t have to pay you, I would only have to pay back if I’d taken money from you. I don’t have to pay back campaign money. Why are you speaking so much of me, my wife, of stabbings and drugs? We don’t have to go to that level,” Mahloof said.

“I don’t talk. I’m not one to talk, if I wanted to do something, I act,” Adeeb replied.

When Mahloof maintained he did not owe any money, Adeeb says: “Yeah OK, hold on then. Let’s see if you dare to remain that way.”

Adeeb has called the recording fake and said it indicated the Galholu South MP was getting “desperate.” 

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has meanwhile condemned the attempted break in at Mahloof’s house, and accused Speaker Abdulla Maseeh and the government of negligence in affording parliamentarians security.

The MDP noted threats against opposition MPs had caused the Inter-Parliamentary Union to classify the Maldives as one of the most dangerous countries to be an MP.

At today’s People’s Majilis sitting, Mahloof went up to Speaker Abdulla Maseeh’s desk and demanded that he be provided protection before he was “murdered.”

He also tweeted last night saying telecom provider Dhiraagu had called him to inform him that an individual pretending to be Mahloof had requested his mobile number be disconnected. The caller had told Dhiraagu Mahloof’s mobile phone had been lost.

Mahloof was recently expelled from the PPM for allegedly defaming President Abdulla Yameen.

PPM accused Mahloof of making statements that could undermine public confidence in President Yameen as well as misleading the public regarding the arrest of former Defense Minister Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim.

Speaking to Minivan News at the time, Mahloof said: “I was removed from the party just like how the Auditor General and Supreme Court Justices were removed. In haste, without due process.”

Last week, Home Minister Umar Naseer alleged that a man armed with a knife and a hammer broke into his apartment building.

“A person broke the window and entered the adjacent apartment with a knife. He escaped when a woman screamed. Left a knife and a hammer,” read a tweet from the home minister the following morning.

The break-in came amidst shocking allegations of rifts within President Abdulla Yameen’s cabinet. Dismissed Defence Minister Nazim last week accused Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb of using rogue police officers to plant a pistol and three bullets in his apartment.

Nazim is currently in police custody standing trial for smuggling illegal weapons.

Nazim’s lawyers told the Criminal Court Adeeb threatened to “destroy” Nazim during a conference call with Naseer. The home minister had informed President Yameen of the threat at the time, he claimed.

Adeeb told Minivan News he was “shocked” by Nazim’s lawyer’s “lies.”

Related to this story

PPM disciplinary committee decides to expel MP Mahloof

Man armed with knife, hammer breaks into home minister’s apartment building

Ex-defence minister “plotted to attack” president, police chief, tourism minister

Adeeb framed Nazim after fallout over Malé City’s Areca palms, lawyers claim

35 percent of Asian MPs’ human rights cases from Maldives, says IPU

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Vandals attack campaign offices of Majlis speaker

Speaker of the People’s Majlis and MP for Keyodhoo constituency Abdulla Shahid has today condemned an attack on his office, following the news that two campaign offices had been vandalised in the early hours of the morning.

“It was more than damage, it was an attempt to intimidate,” Shahid told Minivan News, declaring that he “would not back down” in the face of “intimidation”.

Police have confirmed that two attacks that took place in the early hours of this morning (March 13).

Speaking with Minivan News, Shahid confirmed that he was awoken at around 4am by supporters saying that there had “been some damage to the office”.

“It looked like it had been a big piece of rock damaging the class panel, and caused considerable damage,” explained Shahid.

A police statement reveals that as well as vandalism carried out at Shahid’s campaign hall, the campaign offices of Machchangoalhi Dhekunu constituency candidate Hassan Mamdhooh.

Shahid is campaigning for the 18th Majlis on a Maldivian Democratic Party ticket, while Mamdhooh is running as an independent.

The police said they are investigating the matter, but that no suspects have been arrested.

Shahid suggested that the perpetrators were intending to “intimidate the public. They want to send a message to the people that politics is violent, politics is not safe, a message to the public to lay off politics.”

Earlier this week, Shahid’s name appeared on a letter sent to the chief justice and attorney general, stating that the recent dismissal of the president and vice president of the Elections Commission (EC) was contrary to the constitutional procedures which reserved such powers for the Majlis.

The letter – also signed by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim – was based on legal advice from the parliament’s consul general after an analysis of the Supreme Court’s verdict.

Currently, the vacant seats in the EC are being filled in an effort to keep the parliamentary elections timely. So far, parliament has approved Ismail Habeeb Abdul Raheem to replace former commission member Ibrahim ‘Ogaru’ Waheed.

When asked about the parliamentary elections, Shahid remarked: “I’m hoping against hope that it will happen,”  adding that any more delays in the elections “will destroy the democratic process of the country”.

He finished by stating that the political system will only work when there is a “peaceful environment” in which it can flourish.


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Young Indian teacher hospitalised in “very serious condition” after alleged rape

A young Indian teacher working on the island of Dhangethi in Alif Dhaal Atoll has been hospitalised after a group of people broke into her home on Sunday night and allegedly raped her.

The 25 year-old woman is in a “very serious condition” following the attack, said the Island Council President Azim Adam.

“They broke in [to her house] around 2:15am. I came to know about it at 4:00am and I instantly reported it to the police. The girl is now in the atoll hospital in a very serious condition,” Adam said.

A source close to the victim said she was in the hospital’s intensive care unit but was “bleeding uncontrollably.”

“We have put seven pints of blood into her but she is still bleeding. It is a very serious issue. We are planning to send her to India, there is not much more we are able to do here,” the source said, adding that her brother had arrived in the Maldives and was on the island.

The Indian High Commission in the capital Male’ said it had been informed of the incident and had received the woman’s details from the police.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) Spokesperson Sub Inspector Hassan Haneef said specialist teams were investigating the incident. He could not confirm whether any arrests had been made, but said further details would be released to the media at a later stage.

Local media reported that the woman was teaching a private computer course on the island.

Island Council President Adam said the young woman had been working on the island for less than a month, and described her as a “very kind person who was very friendly towards the local islanders”.

Dhangethi is the third largest populated island of Alif Dhaal Atoll, with a population of around 1200 people.

An official from the Indian High Commission noted that a similar case had occurred in 2011 involving an Indian nurse working on an island in the Maldives.

“I told the police that [in 2011] there was a rape case like this whereby a nurse was raped on one of the islands. However in that instance all of the suspects were later acquitted in court,” the official added.

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Police play down political motivation for burglaries, dhoni fire

Politicians and public figures linked to both government-aligned parties and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have raised concerns about a spate of potentially politically motivated crimes, though police urge caution in drawing early conclusions.

Early this morning, the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) confirmed that its fire team put out a blaze that badly damaged a dhoni based in the waters around Hulhumale’. The vessel has since been confirmed to belong to high-profile Jumhooee Party (JP) member Mohamed ‘Inthi’ Imthiyaz, who recently left the MDP.

Both the MNDF and the Maldives Police Service confirmed to Minivan News that they were currently investigating the cause of the blaze, stressing it was too early to tell if the incident was being treated as arson or an accident.

The fire, which saw a man hospitalised with severe burns, is the third incident involving prominent political figures to be investigated by police during the last three days.

Police have confirmed they are also looking into break-ins that occurred Saturday morning at offices belonging to Vice-President designate Waheed Deen and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Interim Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik. Both offices are based in the same building in the capital of Male’.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said that forensic analysis of both these crime scenes and the dhoni fire were under way, but said that it was not yet possible to ascertain if there was any link between the incidents. Sub-Inspector Haneef added that findings from the cases would be cross referenced, but he did not wish to speculate if a common motivation existed between the incidents before ongoing investigations were concluded.

Dhoni fire

Addressing the dhoni fire today, vessel owner Mohamed Imthiyaz said that he was also unsure if his boat was destroyed intentionally or by an accidental fire.

However, Imthiyaz claimed that the blaze occurred after he had received threatening messages from alleged MDP supporters after making a public speech two days ago criticising the party. Imthiyaz was himself previously a member of the MDP before joining the JP, which is part of the coalition government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

“I have received [SMS] threats from people I know are MDP supporters and I have passed on their numbers to police,” he added.

Imthiyaz said he believed that public figures needed to be “careful” about their security in the current political climate, particularly considering the potential involvement of organised crime in attacks and vandalism.

Heavy Load

A spokesperson for MDP MP Reeko Moosa Manik’s Heavy Load company was in no doubt that the enterprise had itself been the target of a political attack over the weekend.

The company’s headquarters, based in Male’s Jazeera building, was broken into early Saturday morning along with the offices of the Six Senses resort group and Vice President Deen’s Bandos Island Resort – all situated at the same address.

“[The break in] was definitely politically motivated. The intruders broke in to damage and vandalise equipment like computers that could have been taken for profit. They also wrote threats all over the walls of the office,” the Heavy Duty spokesperson said.

Following the break in at Heavy Load, local media reported yesterday that several messages were left for Moosa Manik across the office. These messages reportedly read, “Moosa, you may have escaped this time but you will be killed,” and “We will vote for you next time if you put some cash next time”.

Attacks

A number of attacks and cases of vandalism against political figures has been making headlines recently.

Late last month, three former ministers who served in the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed were reportedly attacked along with their wives on the street’s of Male’, leading to condemnation of the crime by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

The president has also criticised MDP supporters on his Twitter account following reports of attacks on police officers and the car of Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hassan’s during the same month.

“Violence by Nasheed’s supporters keeps increasing,” the president wrote at the time.

The MDP itself moved to issue a statement following these incidents condemning attacks on police officers and calling for supporters to mantain peaceful protests against the government it alleges has come to power in a “coup d’etat” In February.

The offices of broadcaster Villa TV (VTV) were also heavily damaged in March during clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces .

VTV is owned by MP ‘Burma’ Gasim Ibrahim, the leader of the Jumhoory Party (JP) – part of Dr Waheed’s government coalition.

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