Tag: judge abdulla mohamed

Police issued with arrest warrant for Nasheed

Additional reporting by Mariyath Mohamed

The Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court has issued an order to the Maldives Police Service for the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed, asking them to bring him to a court hearing at 4:00PM on Tuesday.

Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that the new warrant gives the police powers of arrest after a previous warrant allowed them only to present the defendant in court with his consent.

The order has been issued in relation to the case of Nasheed’s arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed last year.

Punishment for a person guilty of this offence is imprisonment or banishment for three years, or a fine of MVR 2,000 (US$129.70).

Nasheed was initially summoned to the court on October 1. After he failed to attend this hearing, instead heading to the southern atolls to campaign, the court ordered police to present him at the next hearing, scheduled for Sunday October 7.

Nasheed then sent a request to the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court on Friday asking for the hearing to be rescheduled. The court rejected the appeal, saying that campaigning was not listed as a reason for absence in the legislation regarding summons.

He had planned to return to Male’ on Saturday October 13. No spokesman from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was able to respond to calls at the time of press.

Earlier today, the high court rejected former Nasheed’s appeal challenging the legitimacy of Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, and its summoning of him in connection with this case.

Former MP and President of MDP Ibrahim ‘Ibra’ Ismail has also cast doubt on the validity of the Hulhumale court’s rulings.

“There is more than ample grounds to contend that the summons was issued by an unlawful panel of judges, sitting in an unlawful court, which had already issued an unconstitutional restraining order which was ultra vires,” said Ibra on his personal blog.

Last week, the MDP vowed to ignore all rulings made by the courts until judicial reforms were introduced.

Nasheed did not return to Male’ for today’s hearing, following which the court issued the current arrest warrant.

The high court has ruled that the order to arrest Nasheed and present him in court on Tuesday cannot be appealed.

An arrest warrant was issued for Nasheed – for unspecified charges –  shortly after his resignation in February although he was never detained by police.

Nasheed was arrested more than twenty times under the regime of 30-year president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Since leaving the President’s Office, Nasheed has maintained that figures loyal to the former regime were behind his ousting, although the Commission of National Inquiry’s (CNI) final report in August found otherwise.

Nasheed is also currently facing civil court proceedings related to the defamation – labelling as traitors – the current minister of defence and police commissioner, both installed immediately following his resignation.

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MDP to hold nationwide protest following Nasheed’s travel ban

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has announced its intention to conduct a nationwide protest on Friday following the decision to place former President Mohamed Nasheed under island arrest.

The Department of Judicial Administration yesterday told local media that the travel ban was “standard procedure” followed by all courts.

Nasheed has also been charged with two cases of defamation, for calling the Defence Minister and Police Commissioner traitors. He has been summoned to the Civil Court on September 30 in relation to the defamation charges.

The party has refrained from larger demonstrations since the release of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) at the end of last month.

In their observations, the CNI’s international observers were critical of the MDP’s tendency to demonstrate on the streets, describing it as “bully-boy tactics involving actual and threatened intimidation by a violent mob.”

Following apparent absolution by the CNI, the Maldives Police Service announced that it would arrest anybody found using the word ‘baaghee’ towards police.

Nasheed will also appear in Criminal Court on Monday, October 1, in relation to the detention of Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed which preceded his ousting in February.

Should he be convicted of the latter offense, Nasheed would be constitutionally barred from standing in next year’s scheduled presidential elections.

The MDP – still the nation’s largest party by membership – has previously declared that it would boycott such elections should Nasheed be blocked from participating.

Tomorrow’s protest will coincide with a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) in New York, where the issue of removing the Maldives from the group’s investigative agenda will be discussed.

President Waheed’s government has insisted that the CNI’s verdict of ‘no-coup’ regarding the February transfer of power means the Maldives should be removed from the agenda, while the MDP have pointed out that institutional deficiencies exposed in the report demonstrate that the Maldives case still falls firmly within CMAG’s remit.

Whilst in New York, Waheed spoke before the United National General Assembly (UNGA) where he aimed a thinly veiled attack at the Commonwealth’s understanding of the rule of law during its recent dealings with the Maldives.

Impunity Watch

The restriction on Nasheed’s movements came days after the party released a document titled ‘Impunity Watch Maldives’.

The document, stated to be the first of a monthly summary of human rights violations, follows two damning reports earlier this month by both the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Amnesty International.

Amongst the figures included in the ‘Impunity Watch’, the report stated that the number of MDP MPs having faced prosecution or questioning by the government was now seven, a figure which party spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor stated was a third of the party’s representation in the Majlis.

This number jumps to twenty nine if party officials are included such as Nasheed himself, and the party’s chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, who is facing charges of disrespecting the judiciary.

It lists the number of instances of police brutality against protesters since February 7 as 130 and the numbers detained by police in relation to opposition protests as 851.

The MDP criticised what it sees as the failure of the government or of United Nations Resident Co-ordinator Andrew Cox to condemn these human rights violations.

Meanwhile, the document gives the number of police officers arrested in relation to human rights violations as zero, as well as highlighting the case of one officer who was promoted twice after the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) recommended he be prosecuted.

PIC Chair Shahinda Ismail has named the officer in question as Ali Ahmed, stating that his promotions came after the commission had recommended his removal to the Home Minister.

“It is really upsetting – a huge concern – for me that the police leadership is showing a trend where unlawful officers are acting with impunity. This can only lead to further violence,” said Shahinda.

In the first of three PIC reports into the events surrounding the transfer of power, nine separate incidents were highlighted, with the commission unanimously pledging to pursue further legal action in five of the cases.

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Will accept “cover up” with CMAG as price for progress, Nasheed tells Royal Commonwealth Society

Additional reporting by Mohamed Naahee and Kylie Broomhall

“I beg the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) not to deliberate on how power was transferred in the Maldives,” former President Mohamed Nasheed told the Royal Commonwealth Society yesterday.

“I will be party to the cover up because we want a better life. Because we want to move forward. Because we want development,” he said.

Nasheed addressed an audience at the Commonwealth Club in central London during his visit to the United Kingdom.

Despite his reservations regarding the decision of Commission of National Inquiry (CNI), whose report ruled the transfer of power to have been in line with the constitution, Nasheed said that he no longer expected the international community to say it was a coup or to attempt his reinstatement.

“I will not rely anymore upon international engagement in consolidating democracy. I have no antagonism or outrage towards the international community – nothing like that – it’s practically not possible for them to do it,” he said.

He told the audience that he had sent a letter to the Secretary General before the coup, asking for assistance in consolidating a democracy which he felt was “under stress”.

“I am not for one second suggesting the transfer was legal…but we don’t have to go there to keep us on the CMAG agenda,” he argued. “I am willing to cover up the coup with the CMAG, I am willing to be party to it. But I’m not willing to be a party to doing the same thing to another country.”

The former president expressed his view that the revised mandate of CMAG allowed it to work more pro-actively, and that the Maldives case represented a “golden opportunity” to deal with issues other than merely violent overthrows of governments.

He argued that the new mandate, agreed upon in Perth in 2011, gives the body scope to keep countries on the agenda if there are persistent violations of the Commonwealth’s core values or severe deficiencies in democratic institutions.

Nasheed, therefore, stated his belief that it was “rather silly that we are talking about being removed from agenda”.

He also pointed out to the UK government that there was nothing in the Commonwealth’s regulations that requires a nation to be a member CMAG in order to lobby for keeping others on the CMAG agenda.

“I believe most of you pay your taxes believing your governments will do something about these things,” he told the audience.

“Unfortunately, after the coup, the Commonwealth appears to have forgotten that it is a new Commonwealth, that it is a new CMAG.”

Speaking at a press conference this morning, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon expressed her confidence that the Maldives would be removed from the CMAG agenda at the group’s next meeting on September 28th.

She had previously joined fellow senior politicians in suggesting that the the Maldives should leave the Commonwealth if it was not promptly removed from the agenda.

Climate change, the judge, and Islamic radicalism

Before taking questions from the floor, Nasheed took some time to discuss the issue that brought him to the world’s attention before his ousting – climate change.

“Coup or no coup – I hope to continue talking on these subjects,” he said. “Small countries must focus again and again on climate change – that is the principle issue of the 21st century.”

Nasheed stated his belief that development could be achieved without increasing carbon emissions, arguing that advances in technology meant that it was still be possible for the Maldives to reach carbon neutrality by 2020.

The Maldives’ most ambitious renewable energy project, the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Program (SREP) was due to be finalised on the day Nasheed resigned. The ensuing political instability in the country deterred potential investors, causing the deal to fall through.

The new government has continued to pledge its commitment to the environmental projects and yesterday received contributions from its international partners for three new schemes under the Climate Change Trust Fund (CCTF)

Pre-empting anticipated questions about the arrest of Judge Abdullah Mohamed, Nasheed expressed his regret but argued that he had no other options.

“[In response to questions] I would say it’s complicated – we’ve done it. This was the only gentleman that I ever arrested,” he said.

“That’s not the kind of thing you’re supposed to do as a president and that’s not the kind of thing you’re supposed to do in consolidated democracy but I thought that people would also try to understand what happened there,” he continued.

When asked about potential action against those implicated in a coup, should he return to power, Nasheed reiterated his commitment to searching for amicable ways of “settling scores”.

“We are not going to go for a witch hunt. If you want that, the people of Maldives must find someone else to do that,” he said.

One member of the audience asked Nasheed when he felt his former Vice President, Mohamed Waheed Hassan, turned against him.

Nasheed responded that he felt Waheed had switched sides very early on in his presidency: “It’s a beautiful way of becoming president and you must give credit to that”.

When the same person asked about Islamic fundamentalism in the Maldives, Nasheed expressed his fears that the country was becoming more radicalised every day.

“When you have weak government, they are having to rely on any bit of support they can get from any quarters. So, unlike us, this government seems to entertain the radicals,” he said.

“In fact,” continued Nasheed, “the core of the renegade soldiers in the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) were radicals. They came and joined the mutinying police, chanting ‘God is great’.”

“They are requesting for the military to grow their beards – I hope our military isn’t the biggest Al Qaeda cell in the Indian Ocean.”

Concluding his speech, Nasheed said that he expected he would be arrested in the near future.

“I don’t want to be there but we have to face reality of consequences and I don’t see the international community as robust enough to stop that happening – this is very sad… I might not be with you for the next few years but, rest assured, we will come back and democracy will reign in the Maldives again.”

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MNDF Brigadier General, Maldives EU Ambassador resign from government

Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Didi of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) submitted his resignation yesterday, a day after the Prosecutor General (PG) announced his intention to press charges against the decorated general over the military’s detention of Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

His resignation was followed today by Maldives Ambassador to the EU, Ali Hussain Didi ‘Alidi’.

Hussain is the fourth senior Maldivian diplomat to resign from the coalition government of President Mohamed Waheed, following in the footsteps of Maldives’ Ambassador to the US and United Nations Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, High Commissioner to the UK Dr Farhanaz Faizal, and Deputy High Commissioner to the UK Naushad Waheed Hassan – President Waheed’s brother.

Meanwhile a statement by the MNDF yesterday confirmed that Didi, who was serving as the MNDF southern area commander, requested retirement or honourable discharge from the army.

Didi’s resignation after 32 years of service follows in the wake of the Prosecutor General’s Office filing criminal charges against former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Defence Minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfan for allegedly ordering the arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed on January 16.

Nasheed and Tholhath were charged with violating Article 81 of the Penal Code, which states that the detention of a government employee who has not been found guilty of a crime is illegal, an offence that carries either a three-year jail term, banishment or a MVR2,000 fine (US$129.70).”

In a statement on Sunday, PG Ahmed Muizz said he intends to press the same charges against former Chief of Defense Forces Moosa Ali Jaleel, Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Didi and Colonel Mohamed Ziyad for their role in detaining the judge.

Local media has reported that the charges were filed at the Hulhumale’ magistrate court today.

Didi, 51, was serving as the Male’ area commander at the time of Judge Abdulla’s arrest and was transferred to the southern area command following the controversial transfer of power on February 7.

Judge Abdulla was accused of political bias, obstructing police, stalling cases, links with organised crime and “taking the entire criminal justice system in his fist” to protect key figures of the former dictatorship from facing justice for alleged human rights abuses and “high-profile corruption cases”.

Brigadier General Didi meanwhile told local daily Haveeru yesterday that he decided to resign out of respect for the military uniform as he did not wish to attend court and face charges in MNDF uniform.

“I’ve always respected the military uniform during my entire 32 years of service in the military. It’s my belief that I must be present in court after removing the uniform. I do not wish to face the court while wearing this uniform,” Didi was quoted as saying.

Didi noted that the highlight of his military career was defending the nation during the failed coup attempt on November 3, 1988. He was subsequently awarded a medal for bravery.

Didi declined to comment on the arrest of Judge Abdulla.

Didi becomes the third senior military official to retire from active service after Chief of Defence Forces Moosa Ali Jaleel and Vice Chief of Defence Force Brigadier General Farhath Shaheer in February.

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HRCM’s report on Judge Abdulla case sent to PG

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives’ (HRCM) report into the detention of Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed has been completed and forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office, Sun Online has reported.

“We received the report from HRCM after office hours yesterday. We are assessing the report now. We have requested them to send the statements and evidence in relation to this case,” an official at the PG’s official told Sun.

HRCM member Ahmed Abdul Kareem told Sun the decision on whether to disclose the report to the media had not yet been made.

The PG will now decide on how to proceed with the charges against former President Mohamed Nasheed in relation his role in detaining judge for 22 days at the Maldives National Defence Force’s (MNDF) training centre at Girifushi.

Judge Abdulla was arrested by the MNDF on January 16 this year, in compliance with a police request. The judge’s whereabouts were not revealed until January 18. He was released the day the presidency changed hands.

The charges against Nasheed state that the Judges detention were in violation of the constitution.

Former President Nasheed gave his testimony to the HRCM in March, saying: “The Home Minister wrote to the Defense Minister that Abdulla Mohamed’s presence in the courts was a threat to national security. And to take necessary steps. And that step, the isolation of Abdulla Mohamed, was what the [Defense] Ministry deemed necessary.”

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High Court upholds Civil Court injunction against investigation of Judge Abdulla by judicial watchdog

The High Court today upheld a Civil Court injunction against the Judicial Services Commission (JSC)’s investigation of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed.

Abdulla Mohamed was a central figure in the downfall of former President Mohamed Nasheed, following the military’s detention of the judge after the government accused him of political bias, obstructing police, stalling cases, links with organised crime and “taking the entire criminal justice system in his fist” to protect key figures of the former dictatorship from human rights and corruption cases.

Abdulla Mohamed obtained the Civil Court injunction against his investigation by the judicial watchdog in September 2011, after it produced a report stating that he had violated the Judge’s Code of Conduct by making a politically biased statement in an interview he gave to private broadcaster DhiTV.

The JSC appealed the injunction on January 24, claiming that the Civil Court had disregarded the commission’s constitutional mandate which allowed it to take action against judges, and argued that the court did not have the jurisdiction to overrule a decision of its own watchdog body.

The commission further argued the Judge Mohamed did not have the authority to seek the injunction preemptively as the commission had not yet taken action against him.

The JSC had therefore requested the High Court to terminate the injunction, citing contradictions to legal and court procedures.

However presiding High Court Judge Dr Azmiralda Zahir contended that the commission had not provided the court “any reason to terminate the injunction”.

Zahir further observed that the High Court would be violating the court procedures if it decided on the injunction before the Civil Court had reached its own verdict in the case.

She also added that that JSC could not establish a connection between the Civil Court’s injunction and jurisdiction of the court, and concluded it is not a reasonable argument to terminate the injunction.

Therefore, she ruled that the judges who evaluated the case had found no grounds to change the civil court’s injunction.

Former President’s member on the JSC and whistleblower Aishath Velezinee for several years contended that Abdulla Mohamed was a central, controlling “father figure” in the lower courts, answerable to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and a key figure responsible for scuttling the independence of the judiciary under the new constitution.

“When Abdulla Mohamed [was arrested by Nasheed’s government] I believe the opposition feared they were losing control over the judiciary, and that is why they came out on the streets. If you look at the so called public protests, it was opposition leaders and gang members. We did not see the so-called public joining them – they were a public nuisance really,” Velezinee observed, in a recent interview with Minivan News.

“For nearly three weeks they were going around destroying public property and creating disturbances. It wasn’t a people thing – we can say that. We locals – we know who was there on the streets. There is footage and evidence available of it. We’ve seen the destruction they were causing in Male’ every day.”

Following the arrest of the judge, Nasheed’s government appealed to the international community – in particular the Commonwealth, the International Committee of Jurists (ICJ) and the UN – for assistance in resolving the spiralling judicial crisis. A Commonwealth team arrived in the Maldives the day before Nasheed’s government was overthrown after a group of police sided with opposition demonstrators, attacking the military headquarters and seizing control of the state broadcaster.

Velezinee bemoaned the local and international focus on the arrest of the judge rather than the decline of the institution that led Nasheed’s government to such desperate interference in the judiciary.

“To the international community [the protesters] were a crowd of people – and to them that’s the public. It’s a public protest to them. But it was not. We need to consider who was involved in the free Abdulla Mohamed campaign. These are the same people I have previously accused of covering up and being conspirators in the silent coup,” Velezinee told Minivan News in an interview in February.

The first complaints against Abdulla Mohamed were filed in July 2005 by then Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed – now Dr Waheed’s political advisor – and included allegations of misogyny, sexual deviancy, and throwing out an assault case despite the confession of the accused.

Asked in February this year whether he was satisfied with the investigation into the judge’s conduct and the action taken since his complaints in 2005, Dr Saeed replied that “under that constitution [President Gayoom] was the head of the judiciary. So it was my legal and moral obligation to raised that issue with him, which I did.

“I did not know if it was followed up. Obviously if there are issues it has to be resolved in accordance with the established laws and institutions.”

During the same interview, President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan said it was “for the judiciary to decide what to do with him, not for me.”

“I don’t want to interfere in the judiciary. I want our constitution to be respected, and work with everybody to make our constitution work. This is a new constitution, and it is the first time we are trying it out. And so there are difficulties in it. We need to find ways of solving it. It is time for us to work together, and if there are problems with the judiciary we need to work together to solve them – they are intelligent good people in the judiciary and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).”

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) last week summoned former President Mohamed Nasheed, former Home Minister Hassan Afeef, and former Defence Minister Tholath Ibrahim for questioning over their detention of the judge. It had promised to conclude the investigation by April.

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HRCM to conclude investigation into the arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed before April

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has said the commission will conclude its investigation into the arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed before the end of the month, and forward the findings to the Prosecutor General.

HRCM Member Ahmed Abdul Kareem told the press that the case took so long because some of the people involved “did not cooperate with the commission.”

Kareem told the press that all the statements would be finished by the end of next week, and that before the end of this month the case will be sent to the Prosecutor General (PG).

President of HRCM, Mariyam Azra, today told Minivan News that the commission was hoping to conclude the investigation before next month.

She said she could not confirm whether all the persons involved in the case were cooperating or not.

”Its a different team investigating the case and Ahmed Abdul Kareem is the only commission member in the investigating team,” she added.

Meanwhile, Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News that police investigation in to the case was ongoing as well.

‘’We are still investigating the case and will send the case as soon as the investigation is concluded,’’ Shiyam said.

He also said former President Mohamed Nasheed “has not cooperated with the police.”

Local media Sun Online reported that police have decided to close the case and send the case to the Prosecutor General without including any statement from Nasheed because he had not cooperated with police.

Nasheed had been given the opportunity to give a statement to police at any time he wished, but he had not used the opportunity, Sun reported.

Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested by the MNDF on the evening of Monday, January 16, in compliance with a police request.

The judge’s whereabouts were not revealed until January 18, and the MNDF has acknowledged receipt but not replied to Supreme Court orders to release the judge.

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

PG Muizz ordered an investigation by HRCM, and said it would evaluate the situation following the commission’s findings.

The first complaints filed against Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed in July 2005 included allegations of misogyny, sexual deviancy, and throwing out an assault case despite the confession of the accused. The complaints were first made by then Attorney General, Dr Hassan Saeed, now President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s political advisor.

Six years of similar complaints later, the judicial crisis leading to President Nasheed’s downfall was triggered after Abdulla Mohamed filed a case in the Civil Court granting him an injunction halting his further investigation by the Judicial Services Commission.

This was following by a High Court ruling against his police summons on January 16, prompting police to request the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) take the judge into custody.

Then Home Minister Hassan Afeef subsequently accused the judge of “taking the entire criminal justice system in his fist”, listing 14 cases of obstruction of police duty including withholding warrants for up to four days, ordering police to conduct unlawful investigations and disregarding decisions by higher courts.

Afeef accused the judge of “deliberately” holding up cases involving opposition figures, barring media from corruption trials, ordering the release of suspects detained for serious crimes “without a single hearing”, and maintaining “suspicious ties” with family members of convicts sentenced for dangerous crimes.

The judge also released a murder suspect “in the name of holding ministers accountable”, who went on to kill another victim.

At the time Vice President of the Maldives, Dr Waheed  opposed the judge’s detention, stating on his blog that “I am ashamed and totally devastated by the fact that this is happening in a government in which I am the elected Vice President.”

Nasheed’s government then requested assistance from the international community to reform the judiciary. Observing that judicial reform “really should come from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC)”, Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem said at the time that the JSC’s shortcoming are “now an issue of national security.”

“We have been working to improve the judiciary since we came to power, but we have not succeeded,” said Naseem. “We have asked the international community to assist us in this effort several times, and we find that they are willing to help at this point,” he explained.

On February 7 Nasheed resigned “under duress”, after police joined opposition protesters in assaulting the main military base in Republic Square, vandalising the MDP headquarters, and taking over the state broadcaster.

A subsequent police crackdown on protesters on February 8, including women and the elderly, hospitalised many and triggered a surge of public and MDP-led animosity against the police and the new government.

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UN sends delegation as UK urges judicial reform

A political delegation from the United Nations’ (UN) Department of Political Affairs (DPA) will arrive in Male’ next week to discuss the Maldives’ current efforts at judicial reform as part of its ongoing democratic transition.

The delegation, headed by UN Assistant Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, will meet with government officials, opposition leaders and civil society representatives. Revolving around the current situation the Maldives, discussions aim to identify opportunities to support democratic growth.

In November last year UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay visited the Maldives and said the country had made “significant advances” during the first few years of its transition, but a gap still existed between the rhetoric and the reality on the ground.

The Commonwealth has also pledged to assist the island nation in its efforts towards judicial reform, while British Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Alistair Burt, is holding discussions with President Mohamed Nasheed to resolve the current stalemate.

“Although the [Maldives’] judiciary is constitutionally independent, the sitting judges are under qualified, often corrupt and hostile to the democratically elected regime,” said MP John Glen of Prime Minister David Cameron’s ruling Conservative party.

Glen further called on the House Leader to “urgently make time for a debate on judicial reform in the Maldives,” reads a press statement.

Leader of the House of Commons and Conservative Party MP George Young pointed out that the British High Commission in Colombo is involved. “We want to help Maldives to make progress towards democratic reform in the direction that my friend John Glen outlines,” he said.

The Maldives formally requested international legal assistance from the UN Human Rights Commission on January 22. Last year, ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) also appealed for international intervention in what it considered an “increasingly blatant collusion between politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and senior members of the judiciary.”

The Maldives government initiated a judicial standoff on January 16 when it ordered the military to arrest Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed after he filed a High Court injunction against his police summons.

Allegations against Judge Mohamed date back to 2005 and include misogyny, sexual deviancy, throwing out an assault case despite the confession of the accused, political bias, obstruction of police duty, disregarding decisions of high courts, deliberately holding up cases involving opposition figures, barring media from corruption trials, ordering the release of suspects detained for serious crimes without a single hearing, maintaining “suspicious ties” with family members of convicts sentenced for dangerous crimes, and releasing a murder suspect “in the name of holding ministers accountable” who went on to kill another victim.

In one instance Abdulla Mohamed was accused of requesting that two underage victims of sexual assault act out their attack in court, in front of the perpetrator.

The judge had previously been under investigation by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), but had successfully sought an injunction from the Civil Court against his further investigation by the judicial watchdog.

The JSC itself has itself been accused of perjury, embezzlement and corruption – by one of its own members.

The ongoing detention of the judge has polarised public opinion in the Maldives, resulting in three weeks of opposition-led protests which draw crowds of 200 to 400 nightly on Male’ calling for the judge’s freedom and the downfall of the government. Several police officers and protesters have been injured during the protests and a number of journalists have been the victims of targeted attacks.

In addition, a few government buildings and private property belonging to government officials have been damaged.

Protest leaders have pledged to continue the demonstrations until an “even stronger” protest on February 24. Meanwhile, MDP has gathered regularly at its party camp where activists have occasionally urged party members to “go out and confront the opposition”. No such order has officially been given, however MDP has asked party supporters to come to Male’ from surrounding islands for a demonstration on February 17.

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MNBC cable severed during live telecast of parliament committee session

A camera cable of state broadcaster Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) was cut off during a live telecast this afternoon of parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee’s questioning of members of the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM).

The severed cable briefly interrupted MNBC’s live coverage and brought the meeting to a halt with vociferous objections from ruling party MPs.

When the meeting resumed, MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) alleged that the cable was severed by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ilham Ahmed.

The opposition MP for Gemanafushi was not responding at time of press.

MNBC One meanwhile reported that its journalists at parliament witnessed Ilham cut off the cable while other media outlets have reported that the MP was heard asking a DhiTV cameraman to identify the MNBC cables.

Following the incident, Independent MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed, chair of the committee, apologised to HRCM members for the disruption and explained that as Speaker Abdulla Shahid was at a Judicial Service Commission (JSC) meeting at the time, he had asked the military officers in charge of parliament security to “freeze CCTV footage of the whole premise for the past hour.”

Nasheed added that he had “formally lodged a complaint” with the senior administrative staff for an investigation into the incident.

However MDP MP Ali Waheed interjected that according to security personnel “all the cameras at the area where the cable was were not functioning.”

Cameras at the corridor and near the stairs leading up to the committee room were turned off, Waheed claimed.

Waheed alleged that PPM MPs Ilham and Abdul Muhsin Hameed were responsible, noting that the DhiTV reporter confirmed that the opposition MPs inquired after the MNBC cable.

MDP MP Hamid Abdul Gafoor proposed adjourning the committee meeting until the matter could be investigated and “the security situation here can be updated.”

Nasheed concurred that the meeting could not be continued in light of the “seriousness of the problems we faced today” and concluded the session.

The MDP parliamentary group has meanwhile filed the case with police this evening.

In November last year, an MNBC journalist accused PPM MP Ahmed Mahlouf of assault during a live telecast of the National Security Committee.

A number of MNBC reporters were also attacked during nightly opposition protests of the past two weeks.

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