Category: News in Brief

President appoints Dr Ahmed Ziyad as Islamic minister

President Abdulla Yameen appointed Dr Ahmed Ziyad Bagir as the new minister of Islamic affairs today following the resignation of former minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed yesterday.

The president presented Ziyad his letter of appointment while Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla administered the oath of office at a ceremony held at the president’s office this morning.

Ziyad was serving as the principal of the Arabiyya School in Malé.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has meanwhile thanked Shaheem for his “valuable service to the nation” as Islamic minister. Shaheem was appointed to the cabinet in February 2012 under ex-president Dr Mohamed Waheed and retained his post under president Yameen.

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President ratifies law stripping Nasheed of MDP presidency

President Abdulla Yameen ratified amendments to the prison and paroles law today that strips ex-president Mohamed Nasheed of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) presidency.

The changes voted through to the Prison and Parole Act last month by the pro-government parliamentary majority prohibit inmates from holding high-level or leadership posts in political parties.

Nasheed is serving a 13-year jail term following his conviction on terrorism charges related to the detention of a judge during his tenure. The opposition says the trial was a politically-motivated attempt by the government to bar Nasheed from challenging president Yameen in the 2018 presidential election.

President Yameen meanwhile ratified the Maldives Islamic university bill as well as amendments to the new penal code.

The Islamic university legislation seeks to upgrade the existing Islamic college or ‘Kulliya’ to a university while changes to the penal code seeks to bring forward its enactment to July 1.

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Court approves 15-day remand detention for JP senior member

The criminal court has ordered police to hold Jumhooree Party foreign and public relations executive Sobah Rasheed in remand detention for 15 days.

Rasheed was arrested from Sunday’s night opposition protest at the artificial beach. Police said he was arrested with a court warrant in connection with an ongoing investigation, but declined to reveal details.

Leaders of the allied opposition parties, including Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla, main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Ali Waheed, and JP deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim were arrested with court warrants after Friday’s anti-government mass rally.

Nearly 200 protesters were arrested from the May Day protest after clashes with riot police, of which 175 are being held in remand detention for 15 days.

Rasheed is also a member of the ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ alliance’s steering committee that organised Friday’s protest.

A number of protesters, including former MDP vice presidential candidate Dr Musthafa Luthfy, was also arrested from Sunday night’s protest. However, Luthfy was released after a brief detention.

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Government to screen students for health problems

The government launched a programme to screen seventh grade students for health problems.

The programme – the first of its kind in the Maldives – began yesterday at the Iskandhar School in Malé.

At a ceremony held at the president’s office, the health ministry and education ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct the programme in schools across the country.

The government says the programme will help identify health issues among adolescents and offer treatment for undiagnosed illnesses. The education ministry aims to screen all 5,656 seventh grade students in the Maldives before the end of the year.

The students will be screened for problems with skin, hair eyesight, spine, teeth, throat, respiration, blood circulation and blood pressure as well as diabetes and psychological issues.

Blood tests will also be conducted for haemoglobin levels, blood group, and thalassemia.

 

 

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Journalists facing danger, says human rights watchdog

Journalists in the Maldives face many challenges, dangers, and loss of freedom due to their role or expression of views, the state human rights watchdog has said.

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) observed that the Maldives fell four ranks in the Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index for 2015 to 112th place.

“The commission has previously noted that Maldivian journalists face death threats and intimidation and that the Maldivian state has to work to establish an environment where journalists can operate freely,” the commission said in a statement issued today on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

Journalists should be able to report information on issues of concern “truthfully, sincerely, and without fear”.

The commission urged the media to act responsibly and respect basic rights and societal norms in providing information.

Journalists should take special care when reporting on issues involving persons with special needs, children, and vulnerable groups, the commission advised.

The commission called on all state institutions to ensure a safe environment for reporting and provide information with ease.

In a tweet with the World Press Day hashtag, Vice president Dr Mohamed Jameel meanwhile said today that “we must applaud the role of journalists & free press in establishing a fair democratic society.”

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Two arrested for assaulting police officer during protest

Two men have been arrested for assaulting a Specialist Operation (SO) police officer during the May Day opposition protest on Friday.

The first suspect was taken into custody on Friday night while the second suspect was arrested with a court warrant yesterday, reports online news outlet CNM.

CNM identified the suspects as Abdulla Rasheed, 49, from Galolhu Keema in Malé, and Moosa Sharmeel, 35, from the Malé special registry.

Police had appealed for public assistance in identifying and locating suspects seen in video footage.

The police officer, identified as corporal Ismail Basheer, was flown to Sri Lanka for further treatment. However, officials from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital had said the injuries were not severe.

Police have since posted a second video of the assault. Eyewitnesses told Minivan News that several protesters, including former opposition MP Ahmed Easa, protected the fallen police officer, helped him to his feet, and took him back behind police lines.

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Government fines shops with foreign cashiers

The economic development ministry has fined 22 businesses for employing foreigners as cashiers against new rules enforced on April 1, reports Haveeru.

Deputy minister Adam Thowfeek told the local daily that the ministry inspected 295 shops, cafés, and restaurants in Malé and found 49 with foreigners working as cashiers.

The ministry has imposed a fine of MVR2,000 (US$130) on 22 establishments.

Thowfeek said the ministry will check businesses in other islands through councils and warned that operating licenses could be revoked for repeated violations.

The government banned foreigners working as cashiers in in an attempt to boost employment among local young people. Some 26.5 per cent of Maldivians aged 15 to 24 are unemployed, according to World Bank figures from 2013, the most recent figures available.

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Nasheed ‘an innocent man and the Maldives’ great hope’: Amal Clooney

“It may be famous for the pristine holiday beaches of its Indian Ocean coastline but the Maldives has taken a dark authoritarian turn. In 2008, the island nation became a democracy after Mohamed Nasheed was sworn in as president after the country’s first-ever free and fair elections,” writes Amal Clooney in the Guardian.

“A charismatic leader, Nasheed introduced liberalising reforms at home, while calling for global action against climate change in an attempt to combat the rising sea levels that threaten to inundate the low-lying nation. His remarkable story is chronicled in the acclaimed documentary The Island President.

“Seven years later, however, Nasheed is in prison, having been sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for the crime of “terrorism” following a politically motivated show trial.

“As a young man, Nasheed made a name for himself as a dissident journalist who challenged the repressive regime of Maumoon Gayoom, the Maldives’ long-serving dictator. Over a 15-year period, Nasheed was arrested more than 20 times. He was twice named by Amnesty International a prisoner of conscience.”

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Addu City councillor signs for PPM

Addu City councillor for the Hulhumeedhoo district, Ali Mohamed, has defected from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Ali Mohamed signed his membership form at a ceremony held on Tuesday night to inaugurate a resort development project on the uninhabited island of Ismehela in the southernmost atoll.

He said at the ceremony that he wanted to work with the government to ensure the development of Addu City.

“We were elected by the people to serve them. I don’t believe that I was elected to topple governments and to protest against the government on the street,” he was quoted as saying by local media.

He said development can be ensured by working with the government and called on other MDP MPs councillors to sign for the ruling party.

A futsal stadium recently built in Hulhumeedhoo and the 600-bed integrated resort development project on Ismelehera was proof that results can be achieved through cooperation, he added.

The MDP had won all six seats of the Addu City council in both the 2011 and 2013 local council elections. Ali Mohamed becomes the first PPM councillor for Addu City.

Meanwhile, Addu City mayor Abdulla Sodiq said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that the council has never obstructed the government’s development projects.

Progress or development cannot be achieved by “selling political convictions for a small sum of money,” he wrote.

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