Tag: criminal court

Criminal Court to decide on how to proceed with cases in absence of PG

The Criminal Court is to decide on how to proceed with criminal cases in the absence of a Prosecutor General (PG), local media have reported

The superior court will decide on whether to continue all the cases in the court or halt the cases until a new PG is appointed.

The position has been vacant since former PG Ahmed Muiz resigned on November 25.

Local newspaper Haveeru noted that Civil Court has previously stopped proceeding with cases when the position of Attorney General (AG) was vacant.

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Criminal Court frees murder suspect due to lack of evidence

The Criminal Court has released Ahmed Niyaz, 28 of Gan in Laamu Atoll, a murder suspect arrested in connection with the death of 51 year-old man in Gan in Laamu Atoll, citing lack of evidence.

Criminal Court Media Official Ahmed Mohamed Manik today told Minivan News that the court released him because it’s been nine months since he was arrested and the police were unable to collect enough evidence to charge him.

‘’The court repeatedly asked the police to decide on charging him with the case and to try and collect more evidence to charge him,’’ Manik said.

Manik said that the court released him on 26 December.

On March 13, Mohamed Hassan, 51, died in the ICU of Indira Gandi memorial Hospital (IGMH) with injuries to the right side of his head which caused serious injuries to his skull.

His condition was critical and doctors did not allow him to be transferred abroad for further treatment.

The Laamu Gan Regional Hospital Manager told local media at the time that that the victim’s nose and ears were bleeding continuously when he was admitted to hospital

Sources from the island told Minivan News that the victim was having an affair with a woman living in the house he was sleeping in.

The source said one of the woman’s sons was arrested in connection with the case.

In 2010, the Criminal Court released Ibrahim Shahum Adam, who had been arrested in connection with a murder case, citing lack of cooperation from the government before the same man was arrested six months later in connection with another murder case.

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MP Hamid files complaint against Chief Justice

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor has submitted a complaint against Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain at the judicial oversight body Judicial Services Commission (JSC) over the Supreme Court’s decision to annul articles of the Parliamentary Privileges Act.

In November, the Supreme Court struck down four clauses in the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act including Article 11 (a) which states that an MP cannot be summoned to court during Majlis work hours.

At the time, the Criminal Court had sentenced Hamid to six months in jail for failure to attend a separate trial on refusal to provide urine. Hamid had contended the hearings were scheduled during Majlis work hours, in violation of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act  and as such he was not obliged to attend the hearings.

Hamid had been under house arrest but was jailed following the Supreme Court’s verdict. However, the High Court struck down the Criminal Court’s sentence and set Hamid free.

In his complaint, Hamid said the Supreme Court’s verdict had caused him injustice.

“When the Supreme Court released constitutional ruling number SC-C/2013/28 on November 12, 2013 regarding a number of parliamentary privileges, Chief Justice of the Maldives Supreme Court was aware that at the same time, I,  a member of Parliament, was under house arrest regarding a case on parliamentary privileges. At a time when there were public allegations that the Criminal Court had then acted towards me against parliamentary privileges, the Chief Justice failed to consider the injustices that may be done unto me by releasing the prior-mentioned ruling at such a time,” Hamid’s complaint stated.

A statement released by the MDP states that if the said act was done “deliberately and knowingly” by the Chief Justice, it was an injustice caused to Hamid. It then said that if, however, the Chief Justice was unaware of the facts when the Supreme Court released the ruling, it is then proof that he is “unfit for and incapable of fulfilling his mandate”.

Head Judge of the High Court Panel that overturned the Criminal Court’s sentence, Judge Yoosuf Hussain had said at the court hearing that the Parliamentary Privileges Act at the time of sentencing still had a clause stating that members of parliament cannot be summoned to court in a manner that will inconvenience their attendance to parliament meetings.

Judge Hussain said that due to this reason, Hamid’s failure to attend hearings cannot be judged as having been without a justified reason.

He further stated that the lower court had failed to follow due process to be observed in the instance that a court summons cannot be delivered to a person, and if their families refuse to accept the summons on their behalf.

The judge said that as a result of this failure, the High Court does not believe the lower court had grounds to act against MP Hamid in this instance.

JSC Member appointed from among the public Sheikh Shuaib Abdul Rahman stated that he is unaware of the complaint yet.

“After a complaint is submitted to the JSC, it will be looked into by the legal section. Once they complete the process, it will come to the commission members along with their legal opinion. So it will take some time before we see this complaint,” he explained.

Senior Legal and Complaints Officer Hassan Faheem Ibrahim said that the legal department has not received the complaint at the time of press.

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Opposition MP files four misconduct cases against Judge Abdulla Mohamed

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor has filed four cases of judicial-misconduct against the former Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

The MDP in a statement (dhivehi) published on its official website claimed that the four cases filed against the judge had been based upon his misconduct during Hamid’s recent criminal trial.

Last October, Judge Abdulla Mohamed handed Hamid a six-month imprisonment sentence for his failure to comply with court summons in a case in which he faced charges of refusing to cooperate with the police.

However, Hamid’s conviction was quashed on appeal by the High Court, which held that the Criminal Court had not followed the established procedures in attempting to summon the MP to the court.

The High Court, in overturning the case, also reiterated that the Parliamentary Privileges Act at the time of Criminal Court’s issuance of the guilty verdict did not allow an MP to be summoned to court while parliament was in session.

In late November, the Supreme Court annulled several articles of the Privileges Act, including the clause that required all MPs – regardless of criminal conviction – to be present during votes. The Supreme Court’s move had prompted Hamid’s relocation from house arrest to Maafushi jail.

In the misconduct cases filed at the JSC – the state’s judicial watchdog responsible for disciplining judges – the Henveiru-South constituency MP accused Abdulla Mohamed of displaying outright rudeness towards him, stereotyping him as a criminal, publicly defaming him, and attempting to “politically” destroy him.

The MDP’s statement meanwhile added that Hamid intends to file more cases concerning the judges alleged misdemeanors,  including the fact that he had refused to provide a copy of the arrest warrant issued against Hamid.

Ghafoor was quoted in the statement claiming that he had only been able to receive the arrest warrant three day after the expiry of the warrant.

He also accused of the Judge of assisting the police to publicly broadcast his photograph in the media and implying him as a hard-lined criminal on the loose.

Controversies surrounding Judge Abdulla Mohamed

Shortly after the case, the JSC announced the transfer of Judge Abdulla from his position as Chief Judge of Criminal Court to the Chief Judge of the Drug Court as part of the commission’s shuffling of nine superior court judges.

In January 2012 Judge Abdulla was taken into military detention during the final days of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration after then-Home Minister Hassan Afeef had accused him of “taking the entire criminal justice system in his fist”.

Nasheed’s administration listed 14 cases of judicial misconduct concerning the judge that included obstruction of police duty – including withholding warrants for up to four days, ordering police to conduct unlawful investigations, disregarding precedents set forth by higher courts, deliberately holding up cases involving then-opposition figures, and barring media from corruption trials.

He was also accused by the Nasheed government of releasing of suspects detained for serious crimes “without a single hearing” and maintaining “suspicious ties” with family members of convicts sentenced for dangerous crimes.

The controversial judge was also thrust into the media limelight after he released a murder suspect “in the name of holding the health minister accountable”. The suspect later went on to kill a witness to the case.

The JSC earlier in November 2011 found Judge Abdulla guilty of violating the Judges Code of Ethics by making a politically biased statement in an interview he gave to private broadcaster DhiTV.

However, the JSC’s attempt to take action against him ended in vain after the Civil Court overruled the decision – later supported by the High Court.

Minivan News was unable to get a confirmation from the JSC regarding Hamid’s case – Secretary General Abu Bakuru was not responding to calls at time of press.

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Repeated delays in trial of second Afrasheem murder suspect

At the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), the Criminal Court has delayed the trial of Ali Shan, the second suspect charged with the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

The last hearing was held in May this year. The Criminal Court had given Shan the opportunity to appoint a lawyer. Shan has pleaded innocent.

Progressive Party of Maldives MP Dr Afrasheem Ali was stabbed to death on the night of October 1, 2012, on the staircase of his home.

A PGO official said the office was waiting for a verdict in the case against the chief suspect in the murder Hussain Humam before proceeding with the case against Shan.

The Criminal Court has concluded hearings into Human’s trial.

Police have forwarded cases of four additional individuals to the PGO for their alleged involvement in Afrasheem’s murder – taking the total number of suspects facing charges over the attack to seven.

Azleef Rauf, Shaahin Mohamed, Adam Salaah, a minor named ‘Nangi’ and Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid – son-in-law of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party Chair ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik – stand accused of aiding and abetting the murder,

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EC extends local council application deadline

The Elections Commission (EC) has extended the application deadline for candidates who wish to contest in January’s local council elections.

Applications will now be accepted until 3:00 pm on December 10.

The deadline was extended to allow candidates to obtain criminal and debt records from the Maldives Police Services and Superior Courts.

The High Court, Criminal Court and Department of Judicial Administration have opened out of hours in order to serve the large number of requests for criminal and debt records.

The EC has said it expects over 4000 candidates to contest the 1118 seats in local council elections.

Political parties held primaries during the last week to determine candidates who will contest elections on their tickets.

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JSC transfers Judge Adbulla Mohamed from the Criminal Court to the Drug Court

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has today decided to transfer the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed to same position with the Drug Court.

In a tweet today Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza, who is also the member representing the parliament in the JSC, confirmed the decision was made at today’s meeting.

Speaking to Minivan News today Hamza said that the decision was made to strengthen the courts by transferring experienced judges to different courts so that they could share their knowledge and experience with others.

He said about eight judges has been transferred to different courts.

A JSC spokesperson said that he was on vacation and did not have information about the matter.

Newspaper Haveeru reported that a member of the JSC told the paper that Abdulla Mohamed would start work in January next year.

The paper reported that the decision was made as part of a refreshment program.

In January 2012, Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested by the MNDF in compliance with a police request. The judge’s whereabouts were not revealed until January 18, when the MNDF has acknowledged receipt but not replied to Supreme Court orders to release the judge.

Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz soon joined the High Court and Supreme Courts in condemning the MNDF’s role in the arrest as unlawful, and requesting that the judge be released.

A series of protests were held by the then-opposition political parties calling for the release of the judge which ended with a police and military mutiny on February 2012 resulting in President Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster.

In 2005, then Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed forwarded to the President’s Office concerns about the conduct of Abdulla Mohamed after he allegedly requested that an underage victim of sexual abuse re-enact hear abuse for the court.

In 2009 – following the election of the current government – those documents were sent to the JSC, which was asked to launch an investigation into the outstanding complaints as well as alleged obstruction of “high-profile corruption investigations”.

The JSC decided not to proceed with the investigation on July 30, 2009. However, in November last year, the JSC completed an investigation into a complaint of ethical misconduct against the judge.

The case was presented to the JSC in January 2010 by former President Nasheed’s member of the JSC, Aishath Velezinee, after Abdulla Mohamed appeared on private network DhiTV and expressed “biased political views”.

In October 2011, the ruling MDP appealed for assistance from the international community over the “increasingly blatant collusion between politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and senior members of the judiciary – most of whom were appointed by Gayoom during his thirty years of power.”

The MDP statement also referred to the corruption trial of Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim, charged with multiple counts of defrauding the former Atolls Ministry, which remains “indefinitely delayed.”

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Government reopens 2006 ‘Namoona Dhoni’ case, filing criminal charges against two activists

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office has filed criminal charges against both the former Defense Minister Ameen Faisal and former President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza, over their involvement in the 2006 ‘Namoona Dhoni’ incident.

A Criminal Court Media Official was quoted in local media as stating that the court had received the charges from the PG’s Office seven days ago.

The infamous incident involved the expedition of pro-democracy activists from the country’s southernmost atoll in an attempt to join a national demonstration organised by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) during the final years of the Maumoon Abdul Gayoom regime.

Gayoom’s Progressive Party of Maldives returned to power last month after his half-brother Abdulla Yameen defeated MDP candidate Mohamed Nasheed in the presidential election.

According to local media, both Ameen Faisal and Abbas Adil Riza are facing the charge of disobeying a lawful order under section 88 of the penal code.

The state has also charged Ameen Faisal with obstructing a state employee from executing his duty under section 86 of the penal code.

Apart from Faisal and Riza, the state has also charged Ali Abdulla, Ibrahim Sabree, Mohamed Azmy, Abdulla Asrar, Ahmed Mohamed, Ahmed Didi – the Captain of Namoona Dhoni – and Shahuruzman Wafir – the owner of Namoona Dhoni – who had all been part of expedition.

Both Abbas Adil Riza and Ameen Faisal – who were pro-reform activists of then-opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) at the time – were part the group which set off from Addu Atoll Maradhoo Island on November 6, 2006, to join the opposition-led demonstrations in Male’.

Faisal was president of the MDP’s Malé branch at the time of the incident.

The activists had planned to use the demonstrations to pressure then-government of Maldives thirty-year autocrat Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to speed up the drafting of the constitution.

The state prosecutors in the case claimed that on November 6, 2006, local authorities –  having come to learn of the expedition and the intention to join the anti-government demonstration, had sent a letter to Shahuruzman Wafir – the owner of Namoona Dhoni – ordering him not to embark on the journey.

The letter, according to the prosecution, had stated that “the government had come to learn” of the plot by the activists to set off to Male with the intention to “unlawfully sow discord among the public and to disrupt the public order and therefore orders Shahuruzman Wafir to not let his Dhoni to embark on the journey”.

Despite the letter ordering Shahuruzman Wafir to not allow anyone other that the regular fishermen that regularly used the vessel for fishing, the prosecutors claimed that Wafir had confessed to having accepted and cashed a cheque of MVR 10,000 given by the MDP’s Addu Atoll Office.

The famous ‘Namoona Dhoni’ incident

Despite the orders by the Maradhoo Island Office, the crew of Namoona Dhoni chose to depart to Male with the MDP activists.

The trip to Male was part of the MDP’s Addu wing’s collaboration with a previous resolution passed by the MDP’s National Council calling upon members from across the nation to gather in Male’ for the demonstrations.

Half-way through the journey, approximately three nautical miles away from Gaaf Alif Atoll Kolamaafushi Island, the Coast Guard intercepted the vessel and informed the crew to change its course to any island other than the capital.

Following the Coast Guard’s interception, the prosecution claimed that the Captain of Namoona Dhoni Ahmed Didi had demanded Ameen Faisal agree to an additional payment of MVR 150,000, should the journey be continued as according to the plan of activists.

Faisal finally agreed to pay the demanded sum when the vessel had entered the outer seas of Thaa Atoll near the Kimbidhoo Island, claimed the prosecution. Furthermore, the prosecutors also claimed that  Abbas and other activists had pressured the captain to continue the journey regardless of the orders given by the Coast Guard.

After some confrontations between the activists and Coast Guard officials, the Namoona Dhoni was brought under Coast Guard custody in the morning of November 8, 2006.

The incident was widely reported by then opposition-aligned newspapers as a ‘brutal seizure by the Coast Guard’  though the allegations were denied by the officials.

Prosecutors also alleged that Abbas, at the time of Coast Guard interception, had given false alarms and reports about the seizure of the vessel.

According to local media reports at the time, 44 people were aboard the vessel during the time of incident, including three women.

Charges were pressed against Faisal, Abbas, and others even in 2007, but were later dropped by the PG.

Whilst Faisal is still an active MDP member, Abbas has since defected from the party, becoming a vocal critic of the post-2008 MDP government.

Abbas went onto serve as President’s Office Spokesman for Nasheed’s successor Dr Mohamed Waheed before sparking a diplomatic incident with criticism of Indian High Commissioner D.M. Mulay in 2012, after which he moved into a position with the Finance Ministry.

Correction: The previous version of this article described Ameen Faisal as having headed the activist group – an unsubstantiated claim which Faisal himself denies. Minivan News regrets the error.

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Criminal Court sentences opposition activist ‘Hoara Ibbe’ to 10 years for child abuse

Former Under-Secretary of the President’s Office and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activist, Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Hoara Ibbe’, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail after the Criminal Court found him guilty of the charge of sexually abusing a 17-year old girl.

The police arrested Rasheed a year ago in December after being discovered at a house in the Galolhu Ward of Male’ with the minor.

The local media at the time quoted police as saying that when officers entered the room containing Rasheed, he was naked with the girl. However, the police refused to officially confirm the claim.

Rasheed at the time claimed that the 17-year old was his girl friend and later, got married to her when she had attained the age of 18.

The Prosecutor General however pressed charges against Rasheed under section 3(c) of the Special Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009, which carries a sentence of imprisonment up to 14 years.

Criminal Court officials confirmed to local media at the time that Rasheed – during the closed-door trial – had refuted the charges.

However, issuing the guilty verdict this Sunday (December 1), the Criminal Court Judge stated that despite Rasheed’s objections to the charges, the statements given by witnesses produced to the court by the prosecution proved that he had been guilty of the charge.

Section 3 of the Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009 states:

(a) It is an offence if a person touches a minor with sexual intent.

(b) For the purpose of this section, touching a minor with sexual intent is meant if he acts in the following way

  1. Touching the minor’s genital region or his anal region or any other sexual organ  or touching part of his body that could be used to achieve sexual desire,
  2. Touching with the hand or any other object,

(c) If a person is found guilty of the offense mention in Section 3(a), he shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of 10 to 14 years.

For the purpose of Maldivian laws regarding sexual offences, any person under 18 years of age is considered a minor.

Selective application of the law

Although the Criminal Court sentenced Rasheed under the Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009, the same court only sentenced renowned Quran reciter and teacher Hussain ‘Qaari’ Thaufeeq to a six months banishment and 15 lashes in a similar case last week.. Thaufeeq was arrested on August 2010 for multiple counts of child molestation while in a position of trust, although this was not considered by the court.

According to local media the Criminal Court sentenced Thaufeeq under ‘Regulation concerning punishment for fornication and adultery’, and had the enforcement of his sentence suspended under section 292(2) of the “Regulation concerning criminal trial” for a period of three years as it was his first offence.

Minivan News was unable to obtain a copy of the ‘Regulation concerning punishment for fornication and adultery’ as this was not found on the government’s legal website containing all published laws, www.mvlaw.gov.mv. The Criminal Court’s website was down for maintenance.

Section 292(2) of the “Regulation concerning criminal trial” states:

The judge has the discretionary power delay enforcement of a sentence for a period of three years if, the person found guilty is sentenced to imprisonment or banishment or house arrest for a period not exceeding six months, and if it is the first criminal conviction that person has faced [in his life].

It is unclear as to why the Criminal Court opted to sentence Thaufeeq under the “Regulation concerning punishment for fornication and adultery” while section 9 of Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009 explicitly states the offence of child abuse and molestation while being in a position of trust, and despite usual practice being that a specific legislation supersedes a by-law.

Section 9 of Measure for Perpetrators of Child Sex Abuse Act 2009 states:

(a) It is an offence if a person who commits a sexual act against a minor while being in a position of trust

(b) The punishment for the offence stated in section 9(a) is imprisonment for a period between 15 to 18 years

Thaufeeq is also being charged with possession of pornographic material. The trial is still pending at the Criminal Court.

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