Tag: criminal court

MPs’ alcohol trial cancelled as Jabir remains in hospital

The Criminal Court has today cancelled an alcohol possession hearing against opposition MPs Abdulla Jabir and Hamid Abdul Ghafoor as Jabir remains in hospital for a second day over respiratory issues.

Jabir who is currently serving a one-year jail sentence for refusal to provide urine was hospitalized at Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) on Tuesday morning, but his condition is not serious, the Maldives Correctional Services (MCC) told Minivan News today.

The two Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs were arrested from a private picnic island, Hondaidhoo, in November 2012 on suspicion of alcohol and drug use.

The Prosecutor General’s Office pressed separate charges of refusal to provide urine and alcohol possession against the two MPs. The MDP has said the charges are politically motivated.

Hamid received a police summons on Tuesday requesting him to attend the Criminal Court under a police escort. The hearing at 2:00 pm was cancelled due to Jabir’s inability to attend court.

While Hamid and Jabir faced refusal to provide urine charges separately, the Criminal Court is hearing alcohol possession charges against the two MPs in one case.

A new hearing has been scheduled for April 22. If found guilty, the two MPs may be jailed up to three years.

Speaking to Minivan News before the hearing, Hamid said he had not been told which charges he was to answer to today and expressed concern he may be summarily sentenced.

The Criminal Court in October 2013 sentenced Hamid in absentia to six months in jail for alleged failure to attend court in the refusal to provide urine trial.

The High Court overturned the sentence stating the lower court had scheduled hearings in contravention to the Parliamentary Privileges and Powers Act during People’s Majlis work hours.

Hamid’s refusal to provide urine charges are still pending.

Media Official at MCC Moosa Rameez said Jabir’s condition was stable and doctors were keeping him under observation.

Jabir’s wife Dhiyana Saeed told local media the MP had been born with respiratory defects and had undergone several surgeries in the UK and Singapore.

In a text to MDP parliamentary group members, Dhiyana said: “The pulmonologist who saw him says his previous surgeries or severe sleep apnoea has failed and needs to be admitted.”

Sleep apnoea is a type of sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing or instances of shallow or infrequent breathing during sleep.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s Special Envoy Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiz, Zaki’s son Hamdhan Zaki and Alidhoo Resort’s General Manager Jadulla Jameel were also arrested along with the two MPs.

The PG has charged Zuhair and his wife with refusal to provide urine, whilst Hamdhan Zaki faces charges of cannabis trafficking. Jameel is charged with alcohol possession and cannabis possession.

The six arrested on Hondaidhoo have accused the police of torture and brutality during their arrest.

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Alleged drug lord released from custody after police were late to court

A man has been released from police custody yesterday (April 2) after being taken to the Criminal Court seven minutes past his legally allowed period of detention.

Local media reported that the police had arrested the individual on a drug case, and that he was allegedly one of the drug barons arrested earlier this year.

When authorities realised his detention period had expired, the man was released by police without charge.

According to the constitution, any person detained must be presented before a judge within 24 hours.

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Thirty percent of cases rejected by Criminal Court in past three months

The Prosecutor General’s Office has revealed that the Criminal Court has rejected 120 out of 383 cases submitted over the past three months.

At a press conference held on today (April 3), Deputy Prosecutor General (PG) Hussain Shameem stated that the total number of cases rejected and returned by the Criminal Court had now reached 435.

The Criminal Court had previously refused to accept new cases from the PG’s office, citing the Majis’s failure to approve a new candidate within the constitutionally stated period after or Ahmed Muiz’s November 2013 resignation.

The backlog of cases pending at the PG’s Office reached 533 as a result of the Criminal Court’s stance, before the court resumed acceptance of cases after a Supreme Court intervention.

Shameem stated today that the Criminal Court has still returned 120 cases since that time.

After the Criminal Court introduced new regulations governing the procedures for submitting cases in February, it subsequently rejected 60 cases forwarded from the PG’s Office, prompting Shameem to accuse the court of usurping powers reserved by the Supreme Court.

Shameem today revealed that one of the justifications given by the court when returning cases is that the accused is not originally from the capital city Malé where the court is located, claiming that hence the jurisdiction therefore falls to the relevant island magistrate court.

Shameem claimed that the Criminal Court can indeed preside over these cases as the crimes were committed in Malé and also because referring the cases to island magistrate courts would five rise to further administrative complications.

“The objective of the law is also to provide services conveniently. This is why the law is in such a way that allows superior courts to preside over all types of cases,” said Shameem.

“However, things are currently not proceeding in a way that fulfills the objective of this law,” Shameem claimed.

He further added that the PG’s Office has again appealed to the Supreme Court to assist in finding a solution to the matter.

According to Shameem, another reason the courts have used in returning cases is the state’s failure to appoint interpreters in cases where there are foreign witnesses.

Shameem explained today that the law states the provision of interpreters to fall under the mandate of the court presiding over the particular case in question.

After disputes with court staff over unpaid overtime, local media reported the court had been forced to curtail working hours due to budgetary restraints.

The deputy PG stated that police had sent 829 cases in the past three months to his office after completion of investigation.

He further revealed that the office had sent 932 cases to various courts in the past three months, adding that 356 other cases were currently prepared to be forwarded to a court after the prosecution’s work has been completed.

According to Shameem, the cases recently submitted include 383 cases forwarded to the Criminal Court, 210 cases submitted to the Drug Court, 22 cases submitted to the Juvenile Court, and 317 cases submitted to various magistrate courts around the country.

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State submits witness against second suspect in Dr Afrasheem murder trial

The Prosecutor General’s Office yesterday presented a witness against Ali Shan of Henveiru Hikost, the second suspect arrested and charged with the 2012 murder of religious scholar and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

Local media present at the court hearing reported that the witness gave evidence and answered the questions of Shan’s defense lawyer via a voice link.

The witness told the court that he met Hussain Humam – the main suspect sentenced to life for the murder – and Shan on the afternoon of October 1, 2012, at which time they told him there was a big mission and they could make a lot of money from it.

He said that later that day he again met with Human and Shan inside the park opposite to Usfasgandu area.

According to local media, the witness told the court he was waiting near the Children’s Park and he saw Humam entering Henveiru Funviluge [the residence of Dr Afrasheem].

A while later, the witness reported seeing a man carrying a pile of books in his hand entering Funviluge, was Shan went inside after him.

The witness said he didn’t realise it was Dr Afrasheem Ali that was carrying the books.

He said that a while later Shan called him and asked to come inside to help them, and when he went inside he saw Shan holding a bayonet knife in his hand while Humam was holding a machete in his hand. The witness also reported seeing Dr Afrasheem’s body lying on the floor.

In 2012, Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz alleged that the murder of the Ungoofaaru MP constituency was a well-planned murder worth MVR4 million (US$260,000).

In a presentation shown during a press conference in 2012, Riyaz claimed that 11 suspects were initially arrested, however three had been quickly released. He added that about 200 items had been analysed as evidence, including forensic and digital evidence, which he claimed were enough to prosecute the prime suspects.

“Over 500 hours of CCTV footage have been analysed, more than a hundred people have been interviewed and about 13,000 phone call recordings have been analysed out of which 12,000 were from one single tower,” Riyaz said.

The commissioner claimed Afrasheem was last seen alive inside the premises of the state broadcaster, Television Maldives on the night of the murder. The presentation suggested that Afrasheem was seen leaving the premises in his car around 11:04pm, according to the nearby CCTV camera footage.

Afrasheem left the station after participating in a religious TV program called “Islamee Dhiriulhun” (Islamic Life), with Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Qubad Aboobakuru.

In his last words, aired on the show, Afrasheem said that he was deeply saddened and asked for forgiveness from citizens if he had created a misconception in their minds due to his inability to express himself in the right manner.

On 16 January, 2014, the Criminal Court sentenced Humam to death. The Prosecutor General’s Office had also used Humam’s confession as evidence in Shan’s trial.

Other evidence presented against Shan includes two witnesses, audio recording and the script of a phone call, and Dr Afrasheem’s medico legal report and death certificate.

Shan had submitted evidences in his defense to prove that he was in Jalapeno Restaurant from 9:00pm on October 1 2012 until 1:00am the following morning.

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HRCM members summoned to Juvenile Court again over confidential report

With additional reporting by Ahmed Nazeer

Members of the Maldives Human Rights Commission (HRCM) refused to attend a Juvenile Court meeting yesterday (April 1), after having asked the Supreme Court to rule on the legitimacy of the court’s actions.

The commission has contended that the Juvenile Court is in violation of “the legal principles and procedures followed in contempt of court cases.”

A press statement from HRCM released yesterday evening noted that the Prosecutor General’s Office had not charged the commission with contempt of court because only the Supreme Court could initiate such cases of its own accord.

Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem has told Haveeru that the court does not have the authority to summon HRCM members over contempt of court charges.

The court has been requesting the meetings in order to question HRCM members about a confidential report concerning the sentencing of a 15 year old rape victim to flogging and house arrest in 2012.

”We are trying to summon the HRCM members regarding a report they sent to the Juvenile Court on 5 December 2013, in which the HRCM has included false information about the Juvenile Court and it also contained things that could be considered as an attempt to influence the court’s work,” Juvenile Court Spokesperson Zaima Nasheed told Minivan News today.

Zaima has argued previously that the constitution states no public officials can “interfere with and influence the functions of the courts”, instead they must “assist and protect the courts to ensure the independence, eminence, dignity, impartiality, accessibility and effectiveness of the courts.”

The HRCM press release added that the report referred to in the media was a confidential document, which had only been shared with relevant authorities or state institutions.

“We assure that the report does not include any false statements that hold the Juvenile Court in contempt,” the press release stated.

Previous meetings

After refusing to attend the meeting yesterday, the Juvenile Court sent an official court summons  for today (April 2) to each individual commission member, according to local media.

Following the official court summons, the HRCM members appeared before the court this morning at 10am and were told to respond in writing before 3pm.

The HRCM was first summoned to the Juvenile Court on March 12, with a further request to meet made on March 17 after members failed to accede to the previous requests – all five members of the HRCM subsequently attended on March 17.

The HRCM is reported to have agreed to cooperate at this meeting, on the condition that it was given a period of ten days after the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 22 before the first questioning session.

The 15-year-old rape victim from the island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll was convicted of premarital sex at the Juvenile Court and sentenced to 100 lashes and eight months of house arrest.

In June 2012, the girl gave birth to a baby that was discovered buried in the outdoor shower area of her home. Her stepfather was later charged with child sexual abuse, possession of pornographic materials and committing premeditated murder.

An official from the Prosecutor General’s Office told Minivan News in January last year that the fornication charges against the minor were related to a separate offence of premarital sex that emerged during the police investigation. The charges were filed on November 25, 2012.

In its verdict, the Juvenile Court ordered the state to transfer the girl to the Children’s Home in Villingili to enforce the sentence of eight months house arrest, according to local media reports.

Following the 15 year-old’s conviction, local NGO Advocating the Rights of Children (ARC) called on the Maldivian government to pass legislation concerning the treatment of sexual abuse victims.

ARC also previously called for reforms of the juvenile justice system and reform of the current protection mechanisms provided to minors who are kept in state run institutions, such as homes and foster programs.

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Criminal Court concludes hearings in to murder of Sheereen

The Criminal Court has concluded hearings into the trial of Ahmed Najah who stands accused of murdering his girlfriend Mariyam Sheereen of Laamu Gan ‘Thundi’ Ward in 2010.

During the last hearing of the case yesterday (March 25) the Criminal Court’s Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed took the concluding statements from both Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office lawyers and Najah himself.

Local newspapers reported that Judge Abdulla Mohamed announced that a verdict will be reached in April.

Speaking at the court, the PG’s lawyer said that witness statements reveal that Najah had threatened to kill his girlfriend, and that the last time anyone saw Sheereen alive was when she entered Najah’s room on the same night she was reported missing.

State lawyers told the court that Najah had come out of the room several times, locking the door each time.

There was an unpleasant smell coming from Najah’s room after Sheereen disappeared and later he was seen leaving the room carrying a suitcase, the state lawyers told the judges.

According to the state lawyer, they have obtained video footage showing a man wearing slippers of the kind that Najah wore carrying a suitcase.

The lawyer also said that the witness statements prove that Najah took a taxi to the building where Sheereen’s body was found.

Furthermore, state lawyers told the court that the suitcase was found to have DNA samples matching Sheereen’s and all the evidence and witnesses collected were enough to rule that Najah was guilty of murdering Sheereen.

Najah’s defense lawyer, however, told the judges that just because no one saw Sheereen leaving Najah’s room that night it did not prove that she did not leave the room that night.

Najah’s lawyer said that the unpleasant smell reported by witnesses had come from a towel.

He noted that the doctors were unable to tell exactly how Sheereen was murdered and that Islamic Fiqh Academies had advised that DNA tests be run using independent laboratories.

He also said that DNA test reports could not be used to prove a murder case.

Sheereen was reported missing on 31 December 2009 by her family and on January 4, 2010, her body was discovered by a construction worker at Maafanu Angaagirige – a house under construction – hidden under a pile of sand bags.

In August 2010, Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem raised murder charges against Najah in court and presented two witnesses – a taxi driver and a person who lived in the same apartment.

Police allege that Najah murdered Sheereen in the apartment in which they both lived, before putting her body into a 2.5 foot-long suitcase and transporting it to the construction site by taxi cab.

Shameem presented a man identified as Haneef who lived in the same apartment with Sheereen and Najah as a witness, and also the taxi driver who carried the suitcase subsequently found to have contained Sheereen’s body.

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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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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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Murrath requests court to summon police officers as appeal continues

Ahmed Murrath – currently appealing his Criminal Court conviction for the murder of lawyer Ahmed Najeeb – has today asked the High Court to summon police officers who investigated the case.

Local media reported that Murrath told the bench he had not seen Najeeb being murdered and that he was not in the room at the time.

Murrath’s lawyer told the court that in murder cases the defendant was permitted under Islamic Shariah to retract a confession. After this was queried by the bench, Murrath’s lawyer was not able to specify where in Quran or Sunnah it was mentioned.

Murrath is said to have told judges today that he confessed to the murder in order to escape punishments he received during the investigation period, claiming that his family members – including his mother – were arrested in connection with the case, and that he was prevented from sleeping.

Prosecutor General’s Office lawyers also spoke in the court, arguing that scholars have said the strongest evidence against a criminal is his own confession and that confessions made in cases concerning the rights of another individual cannot be retracted, reported local media.

The state lawyer said that being under the influence of an illegal drug was not a reason to commit a crime and that the defendant must take full responsibility for his actions if he willfully abused drugs.

Murrath and his girlfriend Fathimath Hanaa, were arrested and charged with Najeeb’s murder after the lawyer’s body was discovered by police at Maafanu Masroora house, (Murrath’s residence) in early evening of July 1.

The body was stuffed inside a dustbin, badly beaten up and with multiple stab wounds.

Sentenced

In July 2012, the Criminal Court sentenced the pair to death before the ruling was appealed at the High Court.

During the trial held in the Criminal Court, Murrath confessed to killing Najeeb out of anger and under the influence of drugs, alleging that the lawyer attempted to sexually assault his 18 year-old girlfriend while he was at Masroora House.

He told the Criminal Court that Najeeb visited Masroora House on June 30 to provide legal counsel on a case related to cash missing from Murrath’s mother’s account, and the issue of dividing the house.

Murrath said that he tied Najeeb to a chair, gagged him and taped his hands, feet and face while threatening him with a four-inch knife he had brought from the kitchen. He said that his girlfriend Hanaa had no role in it and was sleeping while he killed the lawyer between 6:00am and 7:00am during the morning of July 1.

Hanaa confessed in the Criminal Court to “helping” tape and bind the victim to the chair. She did not confess to killing him and said at the time she was sleeping, intoxicated from drinking alcohol.

Last month, Haveeru reported that Murrath’s lawyer Abdul Hakeem Rashadh told the High Court his client’s confession had been coerced, that his client’s responsibility was diminished due to the influence of drugs, and that he had the right to retract his confession as there were no witnesses to the crime.

Murrath is currently facing the death sentence for Najeeb’s murder – a sentence that the current administration has pledged to reintroduce after a 60 year moratorium.

Following orders by Home Minister Umar Naseer to begin preparations for reintroducing executions, the cabinet advised President Abdulla Yameen last month that there were no legal obstructions to carrying out the sentence.

The order closely followed the conclusion of the Dr Afrasheem Ali murder trial, in which Hussein Humam was sentenced to death. Similarly, Humam also claimed that his confession was obtained under duress.

President Yameen last week revealed that the government had formulated regulations for the implementation of the penalty. Calling the decision a “historic day”, Yameen vowed he would not bow to international pressure to reverse the decision.

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