Tag: criminal court

MDA Leader ‘Sun’ Shiyam denies alcohol smuggling charges in court

Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) leader Ahmed ‘Sun’ Shiyam has denied the charges of alcohol possession before the Criminal Court.

The prominent businessman and MP for Dhaalu Meedhoo constituency was allegedly with the illegal bottle of liquor by customs official on his arrival airport on his arrival in Malé in March 2012.

Lawyers from the Prosecutor General’s Office told the court that when customs officers searched his luggage, officers discovered the bottle inside before running tests on its contents. The PG’s Office announced it was pressing charges against Shiyam for possession of alcohol and smuggling alcohol into the country.

Shiyam denied the charges and his lawyer requested that the court give him more time to research the case before the next hearing on April 10.

Newspaper ‘Haveeru’ reported that Shiyam was brought to court by police in compliance with an arrest warrant issued after the MP had failed to comply with the court summons.

According to Haveeru, Shiyam was kept in the guest area of the court – unlike other suspects brought to court – and unlike other MPs under the same circumstances.

Online newspaper Sun Online – run by a company owned by Shiyam – today quoted Shiyam’s legal team saying that it was a set-up to destroy the MP’s reputation.

His legal team told Sun that Shiyam was the owner of many resorts and there was no reason Shiyam should try to bring in an alcohol bottle from abroad. Shiyam was not hiding from the courts and will fully obey all laws, Sun was informed.

The Criminal Court last week ordered the police to arrest and summon both Shiyam and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) former Special Envoy to President Mohamed Nasheed, Ibrahim Hussein Zaki.

Zaki is facing trial after he was arrested from the island of Hondaidhoo in Haa Dhaalu Atoll while he was allegedly in possession of cannabis and alcohol in November 2012.

The speedy prosecution of MDP members in relation to the Hondaidhoo incident – in comparison to delays in the Shiyam case – was highlighted by Nasheed last October as his party filed a no-confidence motion against then Prosecutor General Ahmed Muiz.

On October 31, 2013, the Criminal Court sentenced MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor to six months for contempt of court after he refused to comply with court summons – though the charge was later overturned in the High Court.

On February 20, MDP MP Abdulla Jabir was sentenced by the Criminal Court to one year for refusing to provide a urine sample to police to run a drug test.

Both Hamed and Jabir’s prosecution were in relation to the November 2012 Hondaidhoo raid.

Police have informed the court today that they were unable to arrest Zaki as he was abroad.

The penalty for alcohol possession in the penal code is either a fine of between MVR1,000 to MVR3,000 or imprisonment, banishment, or house arrest for up to three years.

Shiyam’s MDA formed an alliance with the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in August, 2013, to back the eventual winner of the presidential election, Abdulla Yameen.

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Criminal Court orders police to present Zaki and Siyam to hearing

The Criminal Court has released an order on Sunday asking the police to keep government coalition partner Maldivian Development Alliance leader and owner of Sun Travels Ahmed Siyam and Nasheed administration’s Special Envoy Ibrahim Hussain Zaki in police custody and to present them to court hearings.

The order was released as the court has been unable to deliver the summons for the hearings to the two individuals.

Siyam is being summoned to court regarding a case where customs discovered he had tried to bring in a bottle of alcohol in his luggage to the Maldives in March 2012.

Zaki is being tried for a case against him for possessing drugs and alcohol during a police raid of the island of Hondaidhoo in November 2012 where he and a number of others, including MDP parliament members Abdulla Jabir and Hamid Abdul Ghafoor were arrested.

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Man arrested for assaulting ex-wife

Police have arrested a person on Friday night from the island of Guraidhoo in Kaafu atoll on charges of assault against his former wife.

Local media have reported that the man was arrested after he assaulted his former wife in a deserted house on Friday night. It was further stated that, in addition to scratches on her face, various parts of the woman’s body was observed to be severely swollen.

Following initial medical attention received from the island’s Health Centre, the woman is now receiving further treatment in Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in capital city Malé.

On March 8, the Criminal Court extended the man’s detention by 12 days.

A police media official stated that they cannot reveal details of the persons involved as the investigation is currently ongoing.

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State to appoint lawyer to Hanaa in her appeal case

The Attorney General’s Office has said that it will appoint a lawyer for Fathimath Hanaa, who was sentenced to death after the court found her guilty of assisting Ahmed Murrath in murdering of prominent lawyer Ahmed Najeeb.

In the latest hearing of her appeal case, the High Court bench had announced that Hanaa was not eligible for a state-appointed lawyer.

Hanaa had subsequently told the court that she needed three months to appoint a lawyer, with the Prosecutor General’s Office giving no objection to this request.

However, the Attorney General’s office has today told local media that Hanaa now meets the requirements after she submitted additional documents to the office.

On July 2, 2012, the 65 year-old lawyer’s body was found stuffed inside a dustbin at Masroora house – Murrath’s residence – badly beaten with multiple stab wounds.

Speaking at the Criminal Court during the 2012 trial, Murrath’s girlfriend said that her boyfriend killed Najeeb after he became “sure” the lawyer had attempted to sexually assault her. She admitted to tying Najeeb’s hand, legs, and taped his mouth while Murrath threatened him with a knife.

“We thought he must have a lot of money as he is a lawyer,” she told the court, after declining representation from a lawyer.

Najeeb’s cash card was taken from him and the pair had used it to withdraw money.

According to Hanaa, she did not know that the victim had been killed until Murrath woke her up and told her at around 4:00am. At the time Hanaa said she was sleeping – intoxicated from drinking alcohol.

Murrath corroborated this course of events in his statement, saying that she was asleep when he killed the lawyer. He confessed to killing Najeeb out of anger and apologised to the family members.

On February 17, Ahmed Murrath – the man sentenced to death by the Criminal Court after being found guilty of murdering Najeeb – retracted the confession previously given to the court.

During the last hearing held in to the appeal case of Murrath, his lawyer Abdul Hakeem Rashadh told the High Court that his client’s hands were handcuffed behind his back when he made the confession which therefore could not be considered a confession made without coercion.

On February 9, the cabinet advised President Abdulla Yameen that there was no legal obstruction to implementing death sentences, after the Home Minister Umar Naseer had ordered an end to the 60 year moratorium on executions.

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Jabir’s legal team ask court to determine ways jailed MP can campaign

The wife of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir has today submitted a legal issue to the High Court arguing that the recently jailed MP has a right to campaign for next month’s Majlis elections.

Jabir is currently serving a one year jail sentence after being found guilty of declining to provide a urine sample for police to run a drug test.

Speaking to Minivan News today Dhiyana Saeed said that Article 73 of the constitution, which details persons who cannot qualify as Majlis candidates, states that a person serving a jail term of less than 12 months is still qualified.

“If the constitution states that a person serving a jail term less than 12 months will be able to contest in the election then that person should not be suspended from obtaining his electoral rights,’’ she said. “If he is able to contest then he must also be able to campaign.”

Dhiyana – herself a former attorney general and SAARC secretary general – said that the High Court should allow the MP to make phone calls and talk to constituents at a time determined by the court, or he should be allowed to visit a campaign office at a time determined by the court.

Dhiyana noted that when the Elections Act was enacted in 2008, the Jumhooree Party filed a court case claiming that the act’s ruling that prisoners are not able to vote was inconsistent with the constitution.

The High Court subsequently ruled that that article was void and that inmates should have the right to vote.

“So this is the other side of that right, that time it was the right of the persons voting and this time it is the right of the candidate,’’ she said.

Dhiyana revealed that the High Court has said it will decide on accepting the issue and inform her this afternoon.

“If the High Court does not accept this case then we will try filing it with the Civil Court as a civil right issue,’’ she added.

On February 20, 2014, the Criminal Court found Abdulla Jabir guilty of refusing to provide his urine sample to the police to run a drug test, and sentenced him to twelve months under the 2011 Drug Act.

On November 16, 2012, Jabir was arrested along with other high profile MDP members on suspicion that they were in possession and under the influence of alcohol and cannabis from Jabir’s uninhabited island Hondaidhoo in Haa Alifu Atoll.

The prosecutor general pressed three charges against Jabir – one for the charge of declining to provide a urine sample to police,  a second charge for making cannabis transactions, and a third for possession of alcohol.

Last month, the Criminal Court found Jabir guilty of declining to provide urine sample and the MP was taken into custody. Last week, however, the court ruled that the state was not able to prove that Jabir had made any transactions involving cannabis. The alcohol possession case is ongoing.

Jabir’s legal team has claimed the first trial contravened the MP’s constitutional rights as well as the principles of natural justice.

“The number of procedural violations in the whole criminal justice process in regard to this case is highly concerning and we believe that Hon. Abdullah Jabir was denied the fundamental rights that constitutes a free and fair hearing guaranteed to him by Article 42 of the Constitution,” read a press release from Aequitas Legal Consultants last week.

Last month a house in Malé owned by the MP was raided by police, with three men were arrested and drugs and alcohol were seized, though it was reported that Jabir does not live in the building.

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Criminal Court acquits MDP MP Jabir of cannabis possession charges

The Criminal Court has ruled that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir was not guilty of possessing cannabis when police raided his uninhabited island – Hondaidhoo in Haa Alifu atoll – in November 2012.

Jabir is currently in Malé jail after the court sentenced him to twelve months after finding him guilty of refusing to provide a urine sample for police to run a drug test.

A total of 10 people were taken into police custody on November 16 after police raided and searched Hondaidhoo with a court warrant. Officers alleged they found large amounts of “suspected” drugs and alcohol upon searching the island.

Seven of the suspects, including the MDP MPs Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and Jabir were among those charged.

At the time, police submitted cases against former SAARC Secretary General and Special Envoy to the former President Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, former President’s Office Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiz. The manager of Jabir’s resort J Alidhoo Jadhulla Jaleel and Zaki’s son Hamdan Zaki also face charges.

Yesterday Jabir’s legal team appealed his recent conviction at the High Court, claiming that the trial had violated the MP’s constitutional rights.

Meanwhile, Jabir is still facing as additional trial for possession of alcohol relating to the Hondaidhoo incident.

According to the constitution, any additional time added to Jabir’s sentence will result in the MP being stripped off his seat in parliament and barred from running in the upcoming parliamentary election. After surviving disciplinary proceedings within the party, Jabir had been scheduled to re-contest his Kaashidhoo seat next month.

Article 73 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.

Additionally, the same article 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.

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Jabir moved to Malé jail, appeal documents granted

Recently imprisoned MP Abdulla Jabir has been moved from Maafushi to Malé jail following reported complaints lodged by his family members.

Jabir’s legal team has confirmed that the Maldivian Democratic Party MP has been relocated. Vnews has quoted Jabir’s wife Dhiyana Saeed as saying that her husband had been kept alone in a poorly lit cell, contrary to international conventions.

The Kaashidhoo representative’s legal team suggested earlier this week that their client was denied a fair trial, and that his constitutional rights were denied by the Criminal Court.

Jabir was last week sentenced to twelve months‘ imprisonment after being found guilty of failing to provide a urine sample when arrested as a suspect in a drug related case on November 16, 2012.

After complaining that the court has failed to produce documents vital to Jabir’s appeal, a member of his legal team was today able to confirm that the necessary documents had since been forthcoming.

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Deputy PG slams Criminal Court over new regulations

The Criminal Court has usurped a Supreme Court power in issuing new regulations outlining procedures to be followed in submitting cases, Deputy Prosecutor General Hussein Shameem has said.

The Criminal Court today rejected 60 cases submitted by the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office, claiming cases did not fulfill criteria specified in regulations publicised on February 19.

However, Shameem said the Judicature Act only allows the Criminal Court to compile regulations administering internal affairs, and does not allow the court the authority to issue regulations governing external affairs.

It is the Judicial Council or the Supreme Court which has the power to issue such regulations, he said.

The Supreme Court abolished the Judicial Council in March 2011 claiming the council is unconstitutional and assumed its powers, including the power to compile regulations and policies on administration of the courts.

The Criminal Court’s regulations issued unilaterally also allows other courts to compile their own regulations, which may result in different procedures for each court and affects the right to equality guaranteed by the constitution, Shameem said.

“For example, the Criminal Court says cases involving serious crimes must be submitted within 45 days. What if the Maakurathu island court decides cases must be submitted in 15 or 60 days? This impacts the investigation process and means prosecutors must change procedures depending on which court they want to submit cases to,” he said.

The Criminal Court and PG’s office have been at odds over criminal proceedings following former PG Ahmed Muiz’s resignation in November.

The court suspended all ongoing cases and refused to accept new cases citing parliament’s failure to appoint a new PG within 30 days of Muizz’s resignation.

The Supreme Court, on Shameem’s request, ordered the Criminal Court to restart trials, but the court only began hearings in ongoing cases and refused to accept new cases.

The Supreme Court on February 18 released a new ruling ordering the court to continue with ongoing cases and accept new cases to ensure the criminal justice system continues.

Shameem said the Criminal Court’s new regulations had been applied retroactively.

“There are a 153 people in pre-trial detention. There are many others who are unable to find employment due to ongoing criminal cases. The Criminal Court’s actions are affecting a public service,” he said.

The PG office has a backlog of over 500 cases ready for prosecution, he added.

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives last week called on the People’s Majlis to expedite the appointment of a new PG, stating the delay violates the citizen’s right to justice.

In December, President Abdulla Yameen nominated his nephew Maumoon Hameed for the position. Parliament broke for recess at the end of the year, however, after having forwarded the nominee for vetting by the independent institutions committee.

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MDP MP Abdulla Jabir sentenced to one year

The Criminal Court has today sentenced Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP and parliamentary elections candidate for Kaashidhoo constituency Abdulla Jabir to one year in prison .

The court found 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 verdict published on the court website 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.

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.

MDP MP Ali Azim and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Mohamed Nashiz were disqualified from the Majlis by the Supreme Court in a controversial ruling over decreed debt in October.

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.

A house in Malé owned by the MP was raided by police earlier this month. Three men were arrested and drugs and alcohol were seized, though it was reported that Jabir does not live in the building.

MDP Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim Mohamed ‘Ibu’ Solih was unavailable at time of press and Jabir was not responding to calls.

A total of 10 people were taken into police custody on November 16 after police raided and searched Hondaidhoo with a court warrant. Officers alleged they found large amounts of “suspected” drugs and alcohol upon searching the island.

Seven of the suspects, including Maldivian Democratic Party MPs Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and Jabir were among those charged.

At the time, police submitted cases against former SAARC Secretary General and Special Envoy to the former President Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, former President’s Office Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiz. The manager of Jabir’s resort J Alidhoo Jadhulla Jaleel and Zaki’s son Hamdan Zaki also face charges.

Two Sri Lankan nationals named Raj Mohan and Anoor Bandaranayk as well as a Bangladeshi named Suhail Rana were taken into custody following the island raid.

Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said at the time of the arrests that officers requested all suspects taken into custody on Hondaidhoo to provide urine samples for a routine examination. However, only Hamdhaan Zaki and the three foreign suspects complied with the request.

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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