Tag: maldives news

Jumhooree Party fined for fraudulent membership applications

For the second time this month Elections Commission has fined Jumhooree Party (JP) over fraudulent membership applications.

According to the commission, the JP used one person’s finger print on multiple party application forms – the fifth time the party has been caught doing this.

The JP have now been asked to pay a fine of MVR9,000 as per Article 48 (a) of the Political Parties Act.

The party was fined with MVR8,000 earlier this month for the same reason.

Along with the JP, the Progressive Party of Maldives was also fined MVR7,000 for submitting party application in contravention of the Political Parties Act for a third time.

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High Court throws out EC appeal against new member Habeeb

The High Court has thrown out an appeal by the Elections Commission (EC) against its newly appointed commission member Ismail Habeeb.

Habeeb was made redundant in January 2013 before contesting his dismissal at the Labor tribunal. The tribunal ordered his reinstatement in August 2013, by which time he had been appointed to the Civil Court as its senior administrator.

The EC initially demoted Habeeb on corruption allegations in 2012 claiming he had not followed due procedures in appointing an EC staff and in awarding a scholarship to another staff. But the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) cleared Habeeb of the charges.

The EC decided to appeal the tribunal’s decision at the High Court, but the commission’s lawyers failed to attend the hearing scheduled for Monday.

In the meantime, Habeeb was appointed by the People’s Majlis to the EC on March 12 to replace former member ‘Ogaru’ Ibrahim Waheed who had resigned in October 2013 citing health issues.

Habeeb’s confirmation to the EC followed the Supreme Court’s controversial removal of the commission’s President Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz.

The dismissals left the EC without the three members required for a quorum to hold meetings and approve decisions, raising doubts over the commission’s ability to prepare for and conduct parliamentary elections as scheduled on March 22.

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MPs’ alcohol trial cancelled as Jabir remains in hospital

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Majlis to consider PG appointment at sitting on Monday

The Majlis has scheduled the sixth sitting of its current session for Monday April 14, when it will discuss reports on the appointment of new members to various institutions, including the post of prosecutor general (PG).

Earlier this month the independent commission’s oversight committee rejected President Abdulla Yameen’s nomination to the PG’s role, while the appointment of Dr Azeema Adam for the post of Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority was approved.

A new member of the Police Integrity Commission was approved during the same meeting and will also be discussed on Monday.

The committee of the whole house will also review amendments to the Airport Service Charge Act and the Act on Export and Import.

The house has not convened since April 2, with local media last week reporting that nothing had been scheduled on the agenda.

Secretary-general Ahmed Mohamed told Haveeru that the hiatus allowed committees to continue their work, with Speaker of the House Abdulla Shahid urging MP’s to hasten their efforts as the 17th Majlis draws to a close.

The final sitting of the current Majlis will take place later this month before the swearing in of the 18th Majlis next month.

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High Court to open on Friday to receive election-related cases

The High Court has today said that its registration department will be open on Friday night between 9pm-11:30pm in order to receive cases concerning the recent Majlis elections.

The court noted that according to laws it has to conclude cases concerning elections within 30 days of the final results being issued by the Elections Commission (EC).

All cases concerning the elections have to be submitted within 14 days of the result, which were announced by the EC on March 28 at 11:35pm.

The High Court has so far accepted cases concerning electoral issues in 10 constituencies so far, including Villingili, Mahibadhoo, Mid-Hithadhoo, Naifaru, Shaviyani Funadhoo, Thimarafushi, Kurendhoo, Meedhoo, Felidhoo, and Nolhivaram constitutencies.

The court has today concluded hearings into the lawsuit filed by the Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate for Naifaru constituency Ahmed Mohamed, who alleges that the independent candidate – whom he alleges had campaigned after the time was up – had sent misleading text messages to constituents.

EC lawyer Husnu Suood is reported to have told the court today that the complaints had been filed at the complaints bureau by the JP candidate, but that the case had not been concluded as the commission was still clarifying some information from government authorities.

He said the commission had noticed misleading texts sent to Naifaru voters in the name of JP candidate Ahmed Mohamed, noting that it was a very serious issue.

According to Haveeru, Suood told the court that if the accusations were proven, the candidate had violated the code of ethics for campaigning.

Also speaking at the court today, the JP candidate’s lawyer said that independent contestant Shiyam had campaigned outside of the regulated time period.

Shiyam is also accused on sending misleading text messages to constituents saying that the government coalition supported him, as did both President Abdulla Yameen and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Of the five independent MPs-elect, three – including Shiyam – have now signed for the the president’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

The JP candidate’s lawyer submitted two witnesses as well as the text messages in question to the court, which announced no further hearings would be held in the case unless the court needed to question witnesses or to clarify more information.

PPM candidate in Mid-Hithadhoo, Ibrahim ‘Hiyaaly’ Rasheed, has asked the High Court for police intelligence regarding his bribery allegations, while losing Maldivian Democratic Party candidate for the Shaviyani Funadhoo constituency alleges the late closure of a ballot box, out of hours campaigning, and bribery in his case.

Following the election, the EC revealed that a total of 115 complaints were submitted in writing to the national complaints bureau, including 18 concerning the voter registry and 33 complaints regarding negative campaigning, the behaviour of election officials, and campaigning during polling hours.

In its preliminary statement on the parliament elections, local NGO Transparency Maldives (TM) said elections were well-administered and transparent “but wider issues of money politics threatens to hijack [the] democratic process”.

TM revealed that a survey conducted prior to last year’s presidential election showed that 15 percent of respondents had been offered “money or other incentives” in exchange for their vote.

“Admissions about illegal activities such as this are usually underreported in surveys. TM’s long-term observation indicates that vote buying may be even more widespread in the parliamentary elections than other elections,” the statement read.

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Iranian boat and suspects connected with heroin seizure released

Police have released the Iranian vessel ‘Harmooz’ and six Pakistani nationals who were arrested in connection with the 24kgs of heroin that was seized by the police last month.

A police media official has confirmed the releases to local media but has declined to say why they had been released.

‘Hormooz’ was seized after having carried the drugs from Chahabar port in Iran and delivered it to the Maldivian fishing boat ‘Violet’ 30 nautical miles outside of Maldives EEZ.

A total of eighteen officers were involved in the operation, with a police report describing the operation as a unique experience for all who took part in the record-breaking operation.

Police have revealed that the money was transferred to the agents in Iran by a member of the Maldives Police Service who has subsequently been arrested in connection with the case.

Four Maldivians, three Bangladeshis, and 11 Pakistanis were taken into custody in connection with the case.

Local newspapers have reported that Abdulla Shaffath, who was arrested in connection with the Artur brothers’ case last year, was among the suspects taken into custody, although police have yet to confirm this.

Police Superintendent Mohamed Rasheed, head of the Drug Enforcement Department had previously told the media that the street value of the drugs may have been up to MVR100 million (US$6.5 million).

In an interview with Minivan News in January, Home Minister Umar Naseer said that the main target of his ministry for the next five years would be curbing drug-related crimes.

Naseer said that he intended to give a high priority to enhancing the customs services in order to stop illegal drugs and other contraband from being smuggled in to the country. He also said that the police intelligence department was being expanded.

“Leaving aside abusers and peddlers, the focus of this front will be on major wholesale drug dealers. We will investigate how drugs are brought into the country, find the contacts abroad, find ways to locate and take action against those involved even if they are abroad,” he said.

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Arbitration proceedings in GMR case to begin within the week

Proceedings in the US$1.4 billion GMR arbitration case will begin this Thursday, local media has reported today.

Officials at the Attorney General’s Office told Minivan News that, while they could not confirm the precise dates, representatives of the office working on the case are currently in Singapore.

Citing sources within the government, media has reported that both the government of Maldives and the state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) will be represented at the hearings which they have said will begin on Thursday (April 10) for six days.

The case was filed following the premature termination of the a 25-year concession agreement to develop Malé’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) by the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed in December 2012.

The Attorney General’s office has earlier stated that the Maldives will be represented by Singapore National University Professor M. Sonaraja, while former Chief Justice of the UK Lord Nicholas Addison Phillips will represent GMR.

The arbitrator – mutually agreed upon by both GMR and the Government of Maldives – is retired senior UK Judge Lord Leonard Hubert Hoffman. Both GMR and the government have earlier stated that arbitration proceedings will be concluded around May this year.

In 2010, GMR Male International Airport Pvt Ltd, owned by GMR-MAHB consortium, was awarded a concession contract to manage INIA in an investment worth US$511 million – the largest in the Maldives history.

In December 2013 President Waheed’s government prematurely terminated the concession agreement claiming that it was ‘void ab initio’, or invalid from the outset.

The management of INIA was returned to the state-owned MACL which at the time was still responsible for some aspects of airport operations.

After an injunction blocking the Maldivian government from voiding the agreement was overturned by the Supreme Court in Singapore in June 2013, GMR initiated the arbitration process claiming US$1.4 billion in compensation for “wrongful termination”.

During the second round of procedural hearings in August 2013, the tribunal acceded to GMR-MAHB’s request to split the proceedings in two – firstly determining liability, before quantifying the amount of compensation to be paid separately.

The proceedings will consider GMR’s claim is for compensation as per the termination clause of its concession agreement, a parallel claim for loss of profits over the lifespan of the agreement due to its termination, and the Maldives government’s counter-claim for restitution should the tribunal decide in its favour.

Indo-Maldivian relations appeared to have be strained following the termination of GMR contract, although bilateral relations have improved with the election of President Abdulla Yameen.

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has since requested President  Yameen to “amicably” settle the GMR airport issue.

Speaking to local media, Attorney General Mohamed Anil has earlier suggested the government had a strong case in the arbitration proceedings.

In separate Singapore-based arbitration proceedings, one of the project’s lenders, Axis Bank, was said to have sought payment of US$160 million for a loan guaranteed by the Maldivian Finance Ministry. These reports were subsequently denied by the government.

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Candidates for Villingili and Mahibadhoo constituency seek to invalidate elections

Candidates who unsuccessfully contested for Majlis seats in Gaafu Alifu and Alifu Dhaalu atolls have filed cases at the High Court to invalidate the election results of those constituencies.

According to local media, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate for Gaafu Alifu Villingili constituency Haroon Rasheed and Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate for Mahibadhoo constituency Ahmed Sunil filed the cases today.

Mahibadhoo constituency was won by independent candidate Ahmed Thariq ‘Tom’ – who has since joined Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) – while the Villingili constituency was won by PPM candidate Mohamed Saud.

The High Court has accepted cases concerning electoral issues for eight constituencies so far.

Candidates who contested for Mid-Hithadhoo, Naifaru, Shaviyani Funadhoo, Thimarafushi, Kurendhoo, and Nolhivaram have also filed cases with the High Court.

These initial results in these constituencies returned two progressive coalition MPs-elect – one JP and one PPM, one independent candidate, and three MDP representatives, although this includes Thimarafushi’s Mohamed Musthafa who defected to the PPM within 10 days of the poll.

The court has started the hearings concerning the Funadhoo, Hithadhoo-Mid, and Kurendhoo constituencies.

The High Court has today concluded hearings into the Mid-Hithadhoo case, saying that if the court does not need to further study the case or question witnesses during the next hearing it will deliver a verdict.

PPM candidate in Mid-Hithadhoo Ibrahim ‘Hiyaaly’ Rasheed, who filed the case, has asked the High Court for police intelligence regarding the bribery allegations he has made.

Rasheed’s lawyer has submitted the names of 10 witnesses to prove his client’s allegations that there was bribery involved in the parliamentary elections.

MDP candidate for Shaviyani Funadhoo constituency Abbas Mohamed, who lost the seat to PPM candidate Ali Saleem, has alleged that the ballot box kept in Shaviyani atoll Magoodhoo was closed after the time specified by the Elections Commission (EC).

He alleged that election officials started counting the Magoodhoo ballot box after the EC had announced the preliminary results, questioning the validity of the poll.

Abbas also said that PPM candidate Saleem had campaigned after the campaigning time was up by throwing flyers and posters around the islands.

He alleged that Saleem had bribed people in the day of election and that his complaints – filed with the EC complaints bureau – were not considered.

Saleem won the seat by 930 votes while MDP candidate got 855 votes.

Following the election, the EC revealed that a total of 115 complaints were submitted in writing to the national complaints bureau, including 18 concerning the voter registry and 33 complaints regarding negative campaigning, the behaviour of election officials, and campaigning during polling hours.

In its preliminary statement on the parliament elections, local NGO ransparency Maldives (TM) said elections were well-administered and transparent “but wider issues of money politics threatens to hijack [the] democratic process”.

TM revealed that a survey conducted prior to last year’s presidential election showed that 15 percent of respondents had been offered “money or other incentives” in exchange for their vote.

“Admissions about illegal activities such as this are usually underreported in surveys. TM’s long-term observation indicates that vote buying may be even more widespread in the parliamentary elections than other elections,” the statement read.

“Inability of state institutions to prosecute vote buying due to gaps in the electoral legal framework, lack of coordination, and buck-passing between the relevant institutions have allowed rampant vote buying to go unchecked.”

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Bar Association calls for Ali Hameed suspension

The Maldives Bar Association has called for the suspension of Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed pending an investigation into allegations over the judge’s appearance in a series of sex tapes.

Hameed’s continued presence on the Supreme Court bench contravenes the Islamic Shariah and the norms of justice, the organisation said in a press statement on Monday.

“Given the serious nature of the allegations against Ali Hameed, that the judge continues to hold trial contravenes norms of justice, conduct of judges, and established norms by which free and democratic societies deal with cases of this nature,” the statement read.

Three videos showing Hameed engaging in sexual relations with foreign women in a Colombo hotel room first surfaced in May 2013. The judicial oversight body Judicial Services Commission (JSC) set up committees to investigate the case twice – in May and December 2013.

Both subcommittees unanimously recommended the JSC suspend Hameed pending an investigation. In July 2013, the JSC disregarded the recommendation citing lack of evidence, while a JSC decision on the December subcommittee’s recommendation is still pending.

JSC member Shuaib Abdul Rahman and former member MP Ahmed Hamza have accused JSC President and Supreme Court Judge Adam Mohamed of stalling the investigation into the scandal.

The JSC’s four-month delay in a decision undermines public trust in the judiciary, the Bar Association said.

President of the Bar Association Husnu Suood, and former member of the second JSC committee set up to investigate the scandal has suggested his suspension from practicing law – handed down by the Supreme Court in January – was related to his role in the investigation.

The Supreme Court withdrew the suspension on Sunday on the condition he refrains from engaging in any act that may undermine the courts.

The Maldives Police Services had completed an investigation into Suood’s alleged contempt of court, but the Prosecutor General’s Office decided not to press charges.

Meanwhile, the police in December said it still could not ascertain if the sex tapes are genuine. Local media have claimed the Maldives Police Services have been unable to proceed with investigations due to the Criminal Court’s failure to provide two key warrants.

The Bar Association has said the JSC must expedite a decision on Hameed’s suspension to uphold public trust.

“Judgments by judge who’s integrity has been questioned is not acceptable under the Islamic Shari’a, given that even testimony from an unreliable source is not accepted,” the statement said.

Hameed contributed to a majority verdict in a series of controversial Supreme Court judgments in recent months, including the annulment of the first round of presidential polls in September 2013, stripping two opposition MPs of their Majlis membership over decreed debt, and the removal of Elections Commission president and vice president.

In May 2013, the Supreme Court requested the Ministry of Home Affairs look into the procedures by which the Bar Association was established, claiming the use of the word ‘Bar’ in the association’s name had lead to “confusion” among international legal and judicial groups.

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