Tag: maldives news

Minivan News office attacked with machete, CCTV camera destroyed

A machete knife was lodged into the door of the Minivan News building this afternoon shortly after a renowned gangster removed a CCTV camera from outside the building.

An eyewitness saw two men with long hair flee on a motorbike after leaving the knife on the door at around 2:25pm, immediately after the man took down the security camera.

The eyewitness heard the men pound the door with the knife. The rusty machete knife was left in the door of a ground floor apartment of the building.

One Minivan News member has received a threat by SMS in the hours since the attack.

“You will be killed or disappeared next, be careful,” read the message.

Minivan News has lodged the incident and shared footage with police as well as making an official request for protection for its staff and premises.

The man seen attacking the office – wearing a white T-shirt – is clearly identifiable on the CCTV footage as he walks past the door, reaches up and grabs the camera off its perch.

The incident comes shortly after the publication of an investigative report – commissioned by the Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) – into the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

The investigation – conducted by Glasgow-based Athena Intelligence and Security – implicated radicalised gangs in Rilwan’s suspected abduction.

Citing the abduction of several young men in June by a vigilante group in a push to identify online activists advocating secularism or professing atheism, the investigation report found gang activity in Rilwan’s abduction to be a “strong possibility.”

The abductions in June followed local media reports of a meeting between Islamic Minister Shaheem and youth groups who expressed concern over insults to Islam online and the promotion of homosexuality.

The man seen attacking Minivan News today appeared to have been part of the group that met both the Islamic minister and Home Minister Umar Naseer prior to the abductions.

“Minivan News is extremely concerned at this blatant attempt to intimidate our staff and damage our premises,” said a spokesman for Minivan News.

“Fortunately, the individual guilty of this attack has clearly been caught on CCTV and so we expect police will have little difficulty in bringing him to justice.”

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Local sustainable fisheries auditor appointed in Maldives

Sustainable fisheries consultants MacAlister Elliott & Partners have trained and appointed a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) auditor in the Maldives.

Seema Ali will specialise in MSC assessment programmes, awarding sustainable fisheries certification to local companies in a move aimed to support employment in the Maldives.

“It is great to have someone based in the Maldives who can take on new MSC assessment programmes and also manage existing ones, for example through surveillance audits,” said Kat Collinson of MacAlister Elliott.

The Maldives’ skipjack tuna fishery is the first Indian Ocean tuna fishery to receive the MSC certification in 2012 for its low-impact technique where each wild fish is caught individually to reduce by-catch.

“Seema has embraced the role with great enthusiasm and she will also be well placed to take on new and existing MSC assessments in other parts of the Indian Ocean such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia,” Collinson added.

Collinson undertook MSC Chain of Custody (CoC) surveillance audits of the Maldives skipjack tuna pole and line fishery while in the Maldives. CoC standards for seafood traceability ensures the MSC ecolabel is only displayed on seafood from sustainable sources, explained MacAlister Elliott.

Traditionally the Maldives’ primary industry, the fishing industry has declined in recent years, falling behind tourism and construction as the country’s third-largest industry.

The volume of fish catch in the country has been steadily declining for the past seven years. While approximately 185,000 tonnes of fish were caught in 2006, the number had dropped to about 70,000 tonnes in 2011.

During the past five years, the value of the nation’s fisheries industry declined from MVR489 million (US$31.7 million) to MVR321 million (US$20.8 million) with a corresponding fall of 3.3 percent of the economy to 1.1 percent in 2012.

Statistics released by the Maldives Monetary Authority this month showed that fish purchases declined by 44 percent to 2,124.7 metric tonnes between July 2013 and July 2014.

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has recently started awarding halal certification to local fisheries companies in order to open up Islamic markets for export.

The move followed notification from the European Union that extension of the duty-free status of imported fish from the Maldives would be rejected due to he country’s failure to comply with international conventions concerning freedom of religion.

UK Supermarket chain Sainsbury announced earlier this year that it had introduced the country’s first certified sustainable tuna sandwich using the MSC eco-label.

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Maldives trailblazers say medals don’t matter: AFP

“Their swimmers train in the Indian Ocean and the women soccer and handball players haven’t managed a goal between them at the Asian Games, but the Maldives says it does not care about success — yet,” writes the AFP.

“Getting 142 athletes from the poor islands, best known as a honeymoon paradise, to the Games in Incheon, South Korea, has already been an achievement, according to team leaders.

And a Muslim nation insisting that at least a third of the team should be women has also raised eyebrows among fellow Islamic states.

South Korean fans have taken to their hearts the athletes from a nation of less than 350,000 who have yet to win a medal at the Asian Games or Olympics.

The swimmers are often still battling in the pool long after rivals have finished. The women’s footballers conceded 38 goals in three matches without scoring and Japan beat their handball team by a huge 79-0.

But Maldives Olympic Committee secretary general Ahmed Marzooq said the results do not matter.

“Just before we came I told the athletes that there would be criticism and comments. But I told them, ‘We don’t care about any result that comes, just perform, just enjoy the Games.'”

In an indication of the difficulties their athletes face, swimmers Nishwan Ibrahim and Aishath Sajina have to train in the Indian Ocean — at night — off the capital Male.

‘We swim in the sea and there’s a current and lots of rubbish, and it’s dark,” Ibrahim told AFP. “We don’t have any swimming pools. It’s really different from the pool here. It’s difficult in the pool, the sea is more buoyant.’ ”

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Power failure disrupts court proceedings

Multiple Court proceedings were disrupted this morning by a power failure at the justice building in which a number of courts are based .

Speaking to local news outlet CNM, a media official from the Criminal Court said that the power failure happened between 10am and 11:30am this morning.

“Some of the cases were cancelled today because it was impossible to continue the court proceedings during the power failure,” said the official.

Twenty different hearings were scheduled at the Criminal Court alone during the period of the power failure, including a hearing on the murder of Abdul Muheeth (Bobby), a 21-year-old who was stabbed to death near the finance ministry in 2012 in a case of mistaken identity.

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Recognition award for advocates of disability rights given to 15 recipients

Awards in recognition of individuals and organisations advocating for the rights of disabled people have been given to 15 recipients today.

The awards, which were handed out at a ceremony held at the Islamic Centre of the Maldives, were given to the 11 individuals and 4 organisations by President Abdulla Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim.

The Ministry of Law and Gender said that the recipients of the  award were given marks by a judging panel who gave points for the nominees depending on work done to fight for the rights of disabled people and the effectiveness of the work.

The award which is handed out every two years was initiated in 2012 with 12 recipients.

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Maldivian Democratic Party office vandalised

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) main office on Sosun Magu in the capital Malé was vandalised last night.

A group of people on motorbikes reportedly threw large stones at the office around midnight, smashing the outer windows.

Equipment at the reception area was also damaged. On Monday, the main opposition party asked police to investigate death threats made against its MPs and senior members, who the party said were also being followed.

MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy told Minivan News earlier this week that death threats have become too commonplace to publicise each incident.

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Government targets generating 30 percent of electricity from renewable sources

The government has announced a five-year target to generate 30 percent of electricity used during daylight hours in the 196 inhabited islands of the Maldives from renewable energy sources.

Briefing the press today on the UN Climate Summit 2014 held yesterday, Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim that efforts were already underway to install solar panels in some islands such as Thinadhoo in Gaaf Dhaal atoll.

“Electricity will be provided from solar panels in Dhaal Kudahuvadhoo, Raa Ungoofaru and Kaafu Dhiffushi very soon. Work is underway in an additional five islands,” the minister was quoted as saying by newspaper Haveeru.

The government was in the process of formulating a low carbon energy policy, he said.

Referring to the impact of climate change on the Maldives, Thoriq noted that 116 islands were facing beach erosion, with severe erosion in 64 islands.

Coastal protection projects have been undertaken in several islands, he added.

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Bangladeshi murder suspect freed after five years in pre-trial detention

A Bangladeshi man charged with murder was acquitted and freed by the Criminal Court today after being held for five years in pre-trial detention.

Mohamed Yaseen was found not guilty of murdering another Bangladeshi man, Amir Hossain, on May 31, 2009.

The Criminal Court ruled that the prosecution was unable to submit enough evidence to prove that Yaseen committed the murder.

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UPR report shared with judiciary before submission, says HRCM at Supreme Court trial

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) shared its Universal Period Review (UPR) report with the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) and sought feedback ahead of submission to the UN Human Rights Council, the commission’s lawyer told the Supreme Court today.

The DJA – which functions under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court – did not respond to the request for commentary on the report or object to its content, the lawyer noted at the first hearing of the trial.

All five HRCM members are on trial after the apex court initiated suo moto proceedings in relation to the UPR report, which suggested that the Supreme Court’s control over the judiciary was undermining powers of lower courts.

At the beginning of the hearing, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain reportedly said that the HRCM’s report contained false and misleading information concerning procedural matters of the judiciary.

The suo moto proceedings – which allows the court to act as both prosecution and judge – were initiated to hold the commission’s members accountable under Article 141 of the Constitution, Article 9 of the Judicature Act, and Supreme Court regulations, the chief justice said.

Article 141(b) states, “The Supreme Court shall be the highest authority for the administration of justice in the Maldives.”

Article 141(c) states, “No officials performing public functions, or any other persons, shall interfere with and influence the functions of the courts,” while section (d) states, “Persons or bodies performing public functions, through legislative and other measures, must assist and protect the courts to ensure the independence, eminence, dignity, impartiality, accessibility and effectiveness of the courts.”

The commission’s attorney Maumoon Hameed explained that each UN member state was required to submit a report for the UPR.

The UPR is a state-driven process that reviews the human rights records of all 193 UN member states every four years, based on submissions by the government, the UN, NGOs and human rights commissions. The Maldives’ review is scheduled to take place in April or May 2015.

In a press release today, the HRCM said it submitted as evidence information regarding the UPR process as well as commentary received from various state institutions.

“At today’s hearing, the commission requested an opportunity to submit further information and evidence,” the press release stated.

“The Supreme Court adjourned today’s hearing. The commission has not yet been informed of a date for the next hearing.”

The next hearing has since been scheduled for 1:30pm on Sunday, September 28.

Noting that Supreme Court decisions could not be challenged as it was the highest court of appeal, Hameed had, however, asked for five working days to prepare a defence.

Control of judiciary

Less than two weeks before the parliamentary polls in March, the Supreme Court had charged Elections Commission Chair Fuwad Thowfeek and Deputy Chair Ahmed Fayaz with contempt of court and dismissed the pair under unprecedented suo moto proceedings.

Subsequent changes to contempt of court regulations made in June authorised courts to penalise individuals for any expression, action, gesture, or piece of writing “inside or outside a courtroom” that could be considered contempt of court.

Meanwhile, in a press statement yesterday, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party noted that under Article 27 of the HRCM Act a case could only be filed against the commission regarding published reports following an inquiry which proves components of the report to have been false.

In its UPR report, the HRCM stated that the Supreme Court’s control of the judiciary was weakening judicial powers vested in lower courts.

“Supreme Court issued a circular ordering all state institutions not to communicate to individual courts regarding any information relating to the judiciary except through the Supreme Court. HRCM is facing difficulties in gathering information related to judiciary due to lack of cooperation,” the report stated.

Moreover, the report noted that “due to shortfalls in judicial system, functioning of the judiciary is often questionable on various grounds including independence, transparency, interference, influence, competency, consistency, and accessibility.”

Through a raft of regulations enacted in recent months, the Supreme Court has sought to consolidate control over administrative affairs of the judiciary.

In a comprehensive report on the Maldivian judiciary released in May 2013, United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, wrote that centralising administrative decisions in the hands of the Supreme Court “has undoubtedly contributed to the strong impression that lower courts are excluded from the administration of justice and decision-making processes.”

The Maldives representative to the UNHRC subsequently accused the special rapporteur of undermining the sovereignty of the country.

Criticism of the Supreme Court’s role in the electoral process by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay last October was meanwhile described as “ill-informed” and “irresponsible” by former President Dr Mohamed Waheed.

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