Tag: maldives news

Murrath requests court to summon police officers as appeal continues

Ahmed Murrath – currently appealing his Criminal Court conviction for the murder of lawyer Ahmed Najeeb – has today asked the High Court to summon police officers who investigated the case.

Local media reported that Murrath told the bench he had not seen Najeeb being murdered and that he was not in the room at the time.

Murrath’s lawyer told the court that in murder cases the defendant was permitted under Islamic Shariah to retract a confession. After this was queried by the bench, Murrath’s lawyer was not able to specify where in Quran or Sunnah it was mentioned.

Murrath is said to have told judges today that he confessed to the murder in order to escape punishments he received during the investigation period, claiming that his family members – including his mother – were arrested in connection with the case, and that he was prevented from sleeping.

Prosecutor General’s Office lawyers also spoke in the court, arguing that scholars have said the strongest evidence against a criminal is his own confession and that confessions made in cases concerning the rights of another individual cannot be retracted, reported local media.

The state lawyer said that being under the influence of an illegal drug was not a reason to commit a crime and that the defendant must take full responsibility for his actions if he willfully abused drugs.

Murrath and his girlfriend Fathimath Hanaa, were arrested and charged with Najeeb’s murder after the lawyer’s body was discovered by police at Maafanu Masroora house, (Murrath’s residence) in early evening of July 1.

The body was stuffed inside a dustbin, badly beaten up and with multiple stab wounds.

Sentenced

In July 2012, the Criminal Court sentenced the pair to death before the ruling was appealed at the High Court.

During the trial held in the Criminal Court, Murrath confessed to killing Najeeb out of anger and under the influence of drugs, alleging that the lawyer attempted to sexually assault his 18 year-old girlfriend while he was at Masroora House.

He told the Criminal Court that Najeeb visited Masroora House on June 30 to provide legal counsel on a case related to cash missing from Murrath’s mother’s account, and the issue of dividing the house.

Murrath said that he tied Najeeb to a chair, gagged him and taped his hands, feet and face while threatening him with a four-inch knife he had brought from the kitchen. He said that his girlfriend Hanaa had no role in it and was sleeping while he killed the lawyer between 6:00am and 7:00am during the morning of July 1.

Hanaa confessed in the Criminal Court to “helping” tape and bind the victim to the chair. She did not confess to killing him and said at the time she was sleeping, intoxicated from drinking alcohol.

Last month, Haveeru reported that Murrath’s lawyer Abdul Hakeem Rashadh told the High Court his client’s confession had been coerced, that his client’s responsibility was diminished due to the influence of drugs, and that he had the right to retract his confession as there were no witnesses to the crime.

Murrath is currently facing the death sentence for Najeeb’s murder – a sentence that the current administration has pledged to reintroduce after a 60 year moratorium.

Following orders by Home Minister Umar Naseer to begin preparations for reintroducing executions, the cabinet advised President Abdulla Yameen last month that there were no legal obstructions to carrying out the sentence.

The order closely followed the conclusion of the Dr Afrasheem Ali murder trial, in which Hussein Humam was sentenced to death. Similarly, Humam also claimed that his confession was obtained under duress.

President Yameen last week revealed that the government had formulated regulations for the implementation of the penalty. Calling the decision a “historic day”, Yameen vowed he would not bow to international pressure to reverse the decision.

Likes(4)Dislikes(0)

Oil drilling and Maldives’ tourism “cannot coexist”, says NGO Bluepeace

Oil drilling and sea-based tourism “cannot coexist”, says Executive Director of local NGO Bluepeace Ali Rilwan, who has suggested that drilling for oil will create a number of problems.

Rilwan’s comments follow further confirmation this week from President Abdulla Yameen that that the government will commence work on locating crude oil in the Maldives.

According to local news outlet CNM, Yameen said that if the government is indeed successful in finding oil in the Maldives, the outlook for the entire country would change for the better.

These statements were made at a land reclamation ceremony held on Sunday (March 16) on the island of Meedhoo in Dhaalu atoll. Speaking at the launch, President Yameen suggested that the Maldives could be developed using available resources.

When asked which would be more beneficial to the Maldives, Rilwan said “it’s a choice of the government.”  He noted that with the large income from tourism and the spread of guest houses in local isands, the oil drilling “won’t have benefits for the people as a whole.”

“We can’t afford to go into that dirty energy,” he concluded. “When you take up the issues of drilling, we are concerned about the oil container tanks with unrefined fuel passing through.”

With this in mind,  Rilwan asked, “can we avoid a distaster in the Maldives? The Maldives is a tiny island and this can have a very negative impact, the tanks are a worrying thing.”

Famed for its luxury resorts, the Maldives has relied on tourism for an estimated 70 – 80% of its GDP. Plans to look for oil in the past had aimed to diversify the nation’s economy.

There are currently no confirmed plans for the location of the drilling, should it take place – an uncertainty which has made it difficult for environmentalists to comment on the matter.

Rilwan noted that the fact that it is not known whether drilling will be coastal or off-shore makes it difficult to predict environmental issues.

The renewed interest in the search for oil was prompted by the results of seismic reports conducted in 1991– the recent findings of which have caused authorities to seek foreign assistance.

The Maldives National Oil Company (MNOC) was founded in 2003 to take direct responsibility for the development of oil and gas industry in the Maldives.

“The fact that two leading oil exploration companies in the world had invested in exploration drilling in the Maldives, keeps up the glimmer of hope for commercial success of oil and gas exploration in the Maldives,” the MNOC has said previously.

“Today, with the remarkable improvement of technology in the area of oil and exploration such as three or four dimensional seismic survey systems etc., the Maldives National Oil Company is hopeful that oil or gas can be discovered in Maldives.”

Managing director of the MNOC Ahmed Muneez told local media last month that the government intended to start work on new exploration within a few months.

“We have contacted a Norwegian company and a German company to help us better understand the findings of the study. Based on this report, we’re hopeful of advertising the Maldives as a new destination of oil exploration,” Haveeru quoted Muneez as saying.

He explained that an outside company would be hired to conduct a global advertising campaign in order to market the country as an oil source.

Under the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed, the Maldives – famously vulnerable to the effects of climate change – had pledged to become carbon neutral by 2020.

Nasheed stated that the Maldives was a key model for other countries seeking to become more sustainable, and that an inability to meet the unilateral commitments would prove detrimental to wider arguments around the globe for adopting law carbon initiatives.

The government of Nasheed’s successor Dr Mohamed Waheed also said that it was committed to “not completely” reversing the Nasheed administration’s zero carbon strategy: “What we are aiming to do is to elaborate more on individual sustainable issues and subject them to national debate,” said Waheed.

Speaking to Minivan in October 2012, the government assured that they were adhering to their commitment to become carbon neutral by 2020 in spite of political uncertainty.

“We are continuing with the carbon neutrality program,” she said. “We are giving it our best shot,” said then Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela.

Minivan News was unable to obtain comments from the Ministry of Environment and Energy at the time of press.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

EC members Manik, Farooq summoned for questioning by police

Elections Commission (EC) members Ali Mohamed Manik and Mohamed Farooq were summoned for questioning by police last night.

Farooq told the press upon emerging from the police headquarters that he was questioned about the distribution of voters on the Malé municipality special register to various constituencies in the capital.

Farooq said he answered all the questions put to him by police interrogators, declining to reveal further details.

The police summons for the pair followed questioning of dismissed EC Chair Fuwad Thowfeek on Sunday night.

Thowfeek was questioned over a leaked phone conversation between himself and former President Mohamed Nasheed, during which the pair discussed the distribution of citizens on the municipal register to constituencies in Malé ahead of the parliamentary elections due to take place on March 22.

The former EC chair exercised his constitutional right to remain silent, a police media official confirmed to Minivan News yesterday (March 17).

Following the release of the phone call recording on social media, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Abdulla Rifau ‘Bochey’ – a candidate of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) for the Maafanu South constituency in the capital – filed a case with the police alleging that Thowfeek had abused his powers as the commission’s chair.

Thowfeek, however, told local media that he had offered clarifications on the municipal registry issue to any politician who had contacted him over the phone.

The commission held a number of meetings with representatives from political parties to discuss the distribution of voters on the municipal registry, he explained.

Thowfeek also said that he shared his concerns regarding the Supreme Court’s contempt of court charges against EC members with various politicians.

“I also shared this concern with President Abdulla Yameen through a text message. In that same manner, I shared my concerns with Nasheed, too,” he said.

Municipal register

In December, the EC compiled a report on electoral constituencies for the 2014 parliamentary elections, increasing voting districts from 77 to 85 in accordance with the Electoral Constituencies Act.

Citizens on the municipal register – residents without a permanent address in Malé – were distributed among constituencies in the capital following consultation with MPs representing the 11 constituencies in Malé.

In the approximately three-minute long recording that surfaced on social media, Nasheed and Thowfeek are heard discussing the redistribution of voters.

“Some of our members went to discuss the matter of the municipal register border, didn’t they? It was agreed then that Maafannu will be kept as in the final report, yes? In short, it was agreed that some changes will be brought to Henveiru and the remaining people on the register will be distributed to the four constituencies of Maafannu, yes?” Nasheed is heard asking.

Thowfeek replies, “Yes, yes, the current borders are something that everyone has agreed on.”

Nasheed then inquires, “have any additional changes been brought to the list later on the request of Maafannu [West] constituency MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem?”

In response, Thowfeek states that no such changes had been made and that Abdul Raheem had visited the commission to discuss the issue.

MP Abdul Raheem was suspended from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in January after voting to approve President Abdulla Yameen’s cabinet against the party’s three-line whip.

He did not contest in the party’s parliamentary primaries or seek re-election.

Following the leak of the phone conversation, MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem explained on Twitter that the EC “invited all members representing Malé constituencies to meet with them” on December 26 to discuss the final report on parliamentary constituencies.

“I highlighted the issue of dhafthar [municipal register] being allocated to only 1 constituency instead of distributing it equally between 4 constituencies,” he tweeted.

MPs ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, Mohamed Rasheed, and Ibrahim from the MDP along with PPM MPs Ahmed Nihan and Ahmed Mahloof attended the meeting, Abdul Raheem revealed.

The final report was amended “after our contribution,” he added.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Innamaadhoo island council asks Islamic Ministry to take action against Sheikh Shameem

Innamaadhoo island council, in Raa Atoll, has filed a complaint with the Islamic Ministry against Sheikh Ibrahim Shameem Adam after he allegedly preached inside the island’s Friday Mosque without first obtaining permission.

Speaking to Minivan News today Council President Ibrahim Fayaz said that Sheikh Shameem went to the island last Saturday and requested the council’s permission.

Before receiving a response from authorities, however, Shameem held a sermon on the island, said Fayaz.

“They announced that there will be a sermon that night on the topic of sports and entertainment and held the sermon without our permission and we did not do anything about it because then they say Innamaadhoo council had obstructed religious activities and that we are anti-Islamic,’’ he said.

He said that the first 50 minutes of the speech was very good before beginning to resemble a political campaign meeting.

“He started talking about politics and the upcoming parliament elections and people inside the mosque came out, only a few were waiting inside,’’ Fayaz said.

“More than 200 people gathered outside the mosque in protest to the speech he was giving because it was supposed to be a religious sermon and not a political rally.’’

Fayaz said that islanders came and complained to the council, warning that if the council was not able to stop him the islanders might have to do it.

“So I then went inside and turned the loudspeaker and microphone off, but he did not stop,’’ he said.

“I asked him who gave him the permission to conduct a sermon inside the mosque and he replied by saying that the ‘Higher Authorities’ gave him permission. I do not know who higher authorities were.’’

Political sermons

Fayaz said that Shameem indirectly criticised both Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the Progressive Party of Maldives’ parliamentary candidates.

“He criticised them in a way that everyone knew who he was talking about, but did not mention the names,’’ he said. “We even called the police that night because there might have been unrest on the island – and five councilors will not be able to stop the islanders.’’

He said that police asked the council to take a statement from Sheikh Shameem, but that Shameem refused to come to answer questions.

Furthermore, Fayaz alleged that the Islamic Ministry would not take any action against him because he was sent by the Adhaalath Party.

Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed today told Minivan News that he had not received any information of the incident.

In December last year Omadhoo island council stopped Sheikh Shameem from delivering a religious lecture at the local mosque, fearing it might “disrupt the stability and social harmony of the island”.

At the time, Haveeru reported that when the council asked for a formal request for permission, the organisers sent a text message to the council president saying the lecture would go on with or without the council’s permission.

In May 2013 Sheikh Imran Abdulla and Sheikh Ilyas Hussein were obstructed from preaching in Vaikaradhoo, in Haa Dhaalu atoll, whilst Kamadhoo island council in Baa atoll prevented Sheikh Nasrulla Ali from preaching.

In Vaikaradhoo the sheikhs continued with police protection in the presence of local opposition activists.

In September 2013, Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Chairman Ibrahim Umar Manik told a parliamentary sub-committee that the commission had stopped religious sermon ‘Andhalus’ conducted by Sheikh Shameem for violating the state broadcaster’s guidelines.

The MBC chairman,along with members of the commission, were summoned before the independent institutions committee following complaints by MDP MPs that the sermon by Sheikh Shameem infringed the rights of the party’s presidential candidate.

“We definitely do not consider [televising the sermon] as anti-campaigning against a particular candidate using religion. [But] around 11:35pm, because his talk was changing a little, we stopped the live [broadcasting],” Manik told the parliament committee at the time.

Current laws and regulations require religious preachers to obtain permission from local councils in order to preach at mosques in their administrative areas.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

India declines invite to send observers for parliamentary polls

Due to election preparations in India itself, the country has chosen not to send a team of observers to the Maldives for the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 22.

“The Maldives Elections Commission had invited our Election Commission to observe the polls. But the Election Commission is very busy managing the current schedule, so we have declined,” the New India Express reported a senior government official from the country as having stated.

Officials at the Indian High Commission in Malé have confirmed that no observers will be sent, though it was pointed out that High Commission staff would be performing some observer functions.

Previously, India sent a high level delegation led by their former Chief Election Commissioners to the Maldives to observe 2013’s presidential election, with the first round – later annulled – given high praise by the observers.

A delegation of the European Union is currently in the country preparing to monitor the parliamentary elections.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President replaces two members on MMA board of directors

President Abdulla Yameen has on Monday replaced two members on the board of directors of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

The representative of the Finance Ministry – the ministry’s permanent secretary – has been replaced with State Minister for Finance and Treasury Ahmed Munavvar.

Additionally, the private sector representative has also been changed. The seat formerly filled by Damas Company owner Mohamed Solih has been replaced with Inner Maldives Deputy Managing Director Abdulla Giyas Riyaz.

The remaining four positions on the board are filled by Deputy Governer Aishath Zahira, Assistant Governer Dr Azeema Adam, Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Maleeh Jamaal and former Minister Hussain Hilmy.

While the MMA Governor is also mandated to be part of the board, the position still remains vacant after former Governor Fazeel Najeeb resigned from his position.

Dr Azeema’s name was given to the People’s Majlis last month as President Yameen’s nominee for the governor’s post after Ibthishama Ahmed Saeed – an associate director at the Bank of Maldives – had been forwarded for the role before withdrawing her name amid suggestions she was not qualified for the role.

Today’s reshuffle is the second round of changes that the current administration has brought to the MMA board since it assumed power in November 2013.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Police Commissioner urges customs to stop import of illegal animals

Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed has told customs that police are spending as much time confiscating illegal animals as they are seizing drugs.

Waheed yesterday (16 March) met with Commissioner General of Customs Ahmed Mohamed and a delegation of senior customs official to discuss the increase in illegal animals being discovered during recent drug operations.

Commissioner Waheed told customs officials that in the past two weeks police have discovered illegal animals during special operations conducted to raid drug networks.

An illegal snake was also found on the streets on Male last week.

A police statement reported that Waheed told officials that citizens were now in constant fear, noting that the police do not have any role in the airports and other ports.

He also said that police now needed to conduct as many operations to confiscate illegal and dangerous animals as to curb drug related crimes.

Waheed requested that customs increase monitoring for illegal animals and also to increase people’s awareness on the issue.

He recommended customs issue an announcement calling for the surrender all such animals that anyone has to the customs department.

Customs officials – who have already promised to tighten regulations – told police that customs needed to increase screening and that those types of animals were smuggled in to the country after careful planning.

Customs officials also told police that the department currently has established procedures where bags and luggage of cargo boats crew members can be searched.

Officials noted, however, that not being able to give adequate punishment to people involved in this type of crime was an obstacle in curbing them.

Earlier this month police discovered a royal python – a nonvenomous snake commonly kept as a pet – following a drugs raid in Himmafushi, Kaafu atoll, on March 4.

In a separate raid on March 7 police also confiscated a Kingsnake and a Mexican red-kneed tarantula from a house in Malé.

A slow loris was also discovered by police in a drugs raid in Malé in Januray 21.  The species’ decline in numbers has been closely attributed to their unsustainable trade as exotic pets.

Likes(3)Dislikes(0)

Road Development Corporation purchased goods worth MVR2.2 million without bidding process, audit reveals

The Maldives Road Development Corporation (MRDC) purchased material worth MVR2.2 million (US$142,671) without a bidding process, the 2011 audit report (Dhivehi) of the 100 percent government-owned company made public last week has revealed.

Noting that the MRDC has not formulated procurement rules to date, Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim recommended drafting regulations in consultation with the Finance Ministry within a period of one month.

“As a large amount of the company’s money had been spent for various purpose without establishing sound rules, and as we believe the company’s board members have been negligent in carrying out their responsibility of protecting the company’s resources, action should be taken against [the board members] to hold them accountable,” the auditor general recommended.

The MRDC was formed in August 2010 by the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed to facilitate road construction under a sustainable business model.

As the company failed to compile its financial statement for 2011, the audit was based on a review of a sample of the MRDC’s business transactions as well as “problems related to performance and governance.”

In the absence of the financial statement, the report stated that the auditor general’s office was unable to assess the company’s financial health, assets, and the results achieved during the year.

The report further noted the lack of a mechanism to collect information required to compile the financial statement, adding that “basic documentation” of business transactions was not properly maintained.

The audit office recommended legal action against the officials responsible for failing to submit the financial statement for auditing as mandated by the company’s charter and the Company’s Act.

Moreover, as the MRDC had not maintained an updated registry of its assets, the report stated that auditors could not verify whether all assets purchased for the company’s purposes remained in its inventory.

The absence of an updated registry leaves open the opportunity to sell off the MRDC’s assets, the report noted.

The auditor general also recommended establishing a sound accounting system to record daily financial transactions.

While MVR175,039 (US$11,351) was spent in 2011 as overtime payments for staff, the report noted that auditors could not verify whether the payments were made for services received.

Moreover, upon scrutinising available financial records, auditors discovered that bills and invoices of materials sold by MRDC did not include purchase orders from customers while quotations sent to businesses were not authorised by senior officials.

The MRDC audit came on the heels of a damning report on the Works Corporations, which concluded that the government-owned corporation was mismanaged and had not served its purpose.

Of the 34 infrastructure projects awarded to the company, the report noted that only one had been completed.

Meanwhile, the audit report of the state-owned Waste Management Company released in December revealed that a board member had embezzled MVR610,000 (US$ 39,354) by doctoring cheques.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Three companies contracted to supply generators for 77 islands

The state utilities company Fenaka Corporation has on Monday contracted three companies to procure generators for 77 islands under the government initiative to ensure that electricity services are available in islands around the clock.

The bid was won by Chinese company Fujiya Yanan, Sri Lankan company Kelani Cables, and local company Power Engineering.

Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim – who the government has tasked with oversight of the Fenaka Corporation – told local media that the agreement is to supply the generators by the end of July, and is estimated to be completed within a period of 80 days.

He further stated that installation of generators will proceed as the units are received.

“While this project is going on, we are also conducting other additional work. Under this, we are replacing small generators in islands with bigger ones. Additionally, electrification efforts, or work to strengthen networks, is also being conducted under the oversight of Fenaka,” Nazim is quoted as saying in local media.

While Nazim did not reveal which islands have been selected to receive the generators, he stated that the islands will be chosen after a survey is done to assess needs.

“We are acquiring generators of three different sizes. So we will discuss with suppliers, and announce islands as we receive generators,” he stated.

The generators will include 40 units of 160 to 200 kilowatt power, 24 units of 250 to 200 kilowatt power, and 13 units of 500 to 1000 kilowatt power.

The Chinese company is contracted to procure the generators for Us$5.9 million, while the Sri Lankan company will supply cables at US$2.2 million, and the Maldivian company will supply distribution boxes at US$1.1 million.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)