Tag: maldives news

Chief judge praises criminal court over Nasheed’s trial

Chief judge Abdulla Mohamed has praised judges and staff at the criminal court for the swift conclusion of former president Mohamed Nasheed’s terrorism trial which related to the judge’s arrest in 2012.

The criminal court handed Nasheed a 13-year jail term, sparking international outrage and daily protests across the country.

“The Maldivian military was brought to alert, tents set up at the justice building, scan machines were kept, and the whole country was brought to alert,” Judge Abdulla was quoted as saying by local media.

“A three-judge panel was formed, and a verdict was delivered in 19 days by criminal court judges and staff in a case that couldn’t be concluded in three years,” the chief judge said at a function held last night to mark the court’s anniversary.

Nasheed’s rushed trial was widely criticised by foreign governments, the UN, and Amnesty International for its apparent lack of due process.

Judge Abdulla meanwhile said criminal court judges and staff were awake at night and during weekends while the rest of the judiciary was asleep.

The court proved that the “judiciary is awake” after “matters reached the state where some people believed the judiciary was incapable.”

In addition to Nasheed, his defence minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu, then-chief of defence forces Moosa Ali Jaleel, then-Malé Area Commander Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Didi, and ex-colonel Mohamed Ziyad were charged with terrorism over the judge’s arrest.

Tholhath was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Nasheed has meanwhile accused Judge Abdulla of involvement in a “contract killing,” and said he had blocked an investigation into his misconduct by the judicial watchdog, and obstructed the police from carrying out their duties.

Judge Abdulla last night also said unlawful arrests by the state have not come to an end, despite six years passing after the adoption of the 2008 constitution.

Seven cases of unlawful detention were submitted to the court last year, he said.

Judge Abdulla said last year’s cases of unlawful arrest included four expatriates suing the immigration department, and one expatriate suing the police. In addition, three Maldivians sued police and the correctional services.

He also referred to the arrest of then-MP Abdulla Yameen and MP Gasim Ibrahim in 2010.

“There’s no doubt that these matters will become a lesson in Maldivian history,” judge Abdulla reportedly said.

He called for more benefits and additional security to criminal court judges.

Lack of space and facilities at the court posed difficulties in providing lawyers access to their clients and the ability to study case documents, the chief judge said.

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World Bank reiterates concern over unsustainable spending

The Maldives is spending beyond its means with government expenditure outstripping revenue for years, the World Bank has warned.

Contrary to the government’s estimate of 3.4 percent of GDP for the fiscal deficit in 2014, the World Bank said the deficit has been on “an upward trajectory since 2011” and reached an estimated 11.6 percent last year.

“Despite high revenue of 32.4 percent of GDP, Maldives is spending beyond its means reaching 44 percent of GDP, leading to persistent fiscal imbalances,” reads the South Asia Economic Focus 2015 report released last week.

“Subsidies, transfers and social welfare payments contributed substantially to the expansive spending,” the report stated.

The spike in expenditure resulted from President Abdulla Yameen’s decision to increase wages and an allowance to senior citizens from MVR 2300 to MVR 5000.

The World Bank meanwhile said the country’s risk of external debt distress has been reduced from high to moderate due to revised estimates of a lower current account deficit.

However, overall public debt is high at 74.6 percent of GDP in 2014, the report noted.

“Although the level of external public and publicly guaranteed debt remains below the policy-dependent thresholds under the baseline, a shock to tourism exports could make it difficult for the country to service its external debt,” the World Bank cautioned.

While imports and tourism receipts nearly balance each other out, the report explained that  “substantial outflows through interest payments, dividends and remittances keep the current account in a deficit at 8.0 percent of GDP.”

“The current account is more than fully financed by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and gross international reserves are estimated to have increased. Net FDI inflows are estimated at 13.3 percent of GDP,” it added.

Usable reserves are estimated at US$120 million, enough for less than half a months imports, but “the private sector is able to supply sufficient quantities of foreign exchange.”

“Faced with limited investment opportunities in the private sector, banks are parking their assets elsewhere; meanwhile financial soundness indicators have been improving,” it added.

Challenges

While the government’s forecast for economic growth in 2015 is 10.5 percent, the World Bank said growth is projected at five percent and warned of a negative impact from spending cuts.

The International Monetary Fund has also welcomed the government’s cost-cutting and revenue raising measures for 2015, including imposing a green tax, acquiring fees from Special Economic Zones, raising import duties, a public employment freeze, and better targeting of subsidies.

The World Bank meanwhile suggested that state-owned enterprises may pose risks as “most are loss-making and depend on government support”.

Only nine companies have contributed dividends in the past four years, it noted.

“The immediate macroeconomic challenge is the fiscal and external imbalances driven by high and rising public spending,” the report advised.

“However, the economy also remains undiversified and sources of growth and employment remain misaligned. Besides, Maldives’ form of tourism- led growth has followed an enclave model, reliant on imported goods, labor and finance.”

Balancing the budget in two years is a campaign pledge of president Yameen, who said last year that the record MVR24.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) state budget for 2015 has a “primary balance surplus.”

The projected fiscal deficit for 2015 is MVR1.3 billion (US$84 million) or 2.5 percent of GDP, which president Yameen said was allocated for arrears or unpaid bills from recent years.

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Nasheed denied access to international lawyers

The police have denied jailed former President Mohamed Nasheed’s requests to contact his international legal team, stating they must first register with the attorney general’s office.

The opposition leader was sentenced to 13 years in jail last month on terrorism charges in a trial heavily criticised by foreign governments, the UN and Amnesty International for its apparent lack of due process.

Nasheed’s international legal team is made up of heavyweight human rights lawyers including Amal Clooney, who has advised the UN and is the wife of Hollywood actor George Clooney, Jared Genser, the founder of renowned campaign group for political prisoners Freedom Now and Ben Emmerson QC, a former UN rights chief on counter terrorism.

The international team is to push for Nasheed’s “freedom from arbitrary detention” through international lobbying mechanisms such as the UN working group on arbitrary detention, the opposition leader’s domestic legal team has said.

The working group’s decision on Nasheed’s detention will affect the international community’s policies towards the Maldives and will inform decisions on possible sanctions, lawyers said.

Speaking to the press today, Nasheed’s lawyer Hassan Latheef said Nasheed had met with a representative from the Commonwealth yesterday.

However, the former president refused to speak about his trial with the British judge Peter Beaumont CBE QC, stating an additional inquiry into his trial will serve no purpose.

“President Nasheed told the delegation he does not believe the commonwealth needs to do an additional inquiry into the Maldivian judiciary. He said the Commonwealth knows very well the state of the Maldivian judiciary and its courts, and so there is no meaning to do an additional report into his trial,” Hassan said.

Nasheed requested the Commonwealth’s aid in reforming the Maldives’ system of governance and criticised the government’s jailing of rivals, including himself and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

The result of the Commonwealth-backed inquiry into the 2012 transfer of power had undermined both the government and the opposition’s trust in the organisation, Nasheed reportedly said.

The inquiry was established after Nasheed claimed he had been forced to resign in a coup d’état following a military and police mutiny. But the commission’s report found the transfer of power to be lawful and said there was no mutiny.

Foreign minister Dunya Maumoon in February reacted harshly to Commonwealth criticism of Nasheed’s prosecution, stating the organisation had “wronged us in the past and you are still mistreating us.”

But with growing international criticism of the trial and sentence, the government invited representatives from the Commonwealth and EU to observe an appeal process.

However, Nasheed has refused to file an appeal, instead appealing to President Abdulla Yameen for a political solution. His supporters have called on President Yameen to release the former president by exercising powers granted in the clemency law.

The opposition has been protesting daily for two months over Nasheed’s arrest and imprisonment.

Correction: An earlier version of this article said Nasheed’s international lawyers were planning a visit to the Maldives. This is incorrect. Minivan News apologizes to its readers for the mistake.

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Maldives blames GMR, Axis Bank for sanctions by India after airport takeover

An Indian infrastructure company and a bank successfully lobbied India for sanctions on the Maldives over the 2012 cancellation of a deal to develop the international airport, the government has claimed.

The government made the allegation last month at a Singaporean arbitration tribunal, where India’s Axis Bank is seeking the repayment of a US$160 million loan from the Maldives. The loan was given to GMR group in 2011 to upgrade and manage the Maldives’ main airport.

India had tightened visa regulations for Maldivians and ceased exporting some construction materials to the Maldives, after the government took over the airport in 2012, but neither India nor the Maldives had explained the reasons for the sanctions.

India only lifted the restrictions after President Abdulla Yameen was elected in November 2013.

In its submission to the Axis Bank tribunal – obtained by Minivan News – the government claimed the bank had been involved in an “attempt to secure political pressure from the Indian government” to prevent cancellation of the deal.

The Axis Bank in 2012 also told the government it would “approach the regulatory-diplomatic authorities in India” after GMR was ordered to handover the airport, the government said.

GMR also wrote to the prime minister in August 2012 “requesting intervention by the Indian government, when it was clear that future of the concession agreement was in jeopardy,” the government said.

GMR is meanwhile claiming US$803 million from the Maldives in a separate arbitration after the tribunal ruled last year that the government had “wrongfully” terminated a “valid and binding” concession agreement.

The campaign by GMR and Axis Bank led to Indian officials including then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh telling ex-president Dr Mohamed Waheed that the “Indian government stood ready to assist GMR in making sure [the cancellation] did not happen.”

According to minister Mohamed Hussain Shareef, “the message [Waheed] got from them was confident and unbending: they expected [the Maldivian government] not to take any action to terminate the concession agreement”.

The Indian government subsequently “insisted on the repayment of outstanding debts of US$100m” in mid-November 2012 and warned of “repercussions” shortly before the agreement was terminated, lawyers representing the Maldives said.

The lawyers also alleged that then-Indian high commissioner to the Maldives “sought to intervene through several meetings with [then-defence minister Mohamed Nazim] in which he asked the Maldives to cooperate in allowing GMR/GMIAL back into the airport.”

Nazim in his testimony said that the message from India was “either back off or suffer the consequences.”

Documents disclosed during arbitration proceedings also showed that the Axis bank’s officials had met the Indian High Commissioner in January 2013, a month after the government took over the airport, lawyers added.

The submission noted that former president Mohamed Nasheed stated after a visit to India in February 2013 that “India believes the deteriorating ties between Maldives and India will recover” if the 25-year contract is restored.

“On 11 March 2013 several Indian Navy attack craft were reported as having conducted exercises just outside Maldivian territorial waters,” it added.

With the tightening of visa regulations for Maldivian citizens, dozens of people to queued outside the Indian High Commission to obtain visas to travel for medical treatment.

In February 2013, the Indian government revoked a special quota afforded to the Maldives for the import of aggregate and river sand. The move led to a shortage of the supply of construction material and rising costs for construction companies.

The current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meanwhile invited the GMR chairman to a state banquet in honour of President Abdulla Yameen in January 2014, lawyers representing the Maldives noted.

Minivan News is awaiting a response to the allegations from the Axis Bank and GMR, while the government has declined to comment on the ongoing arbitration.

The Axis Bank is seeking repayment of the US$160 million loan as well as an additional US$10 million as interest and fines from the Maldivian government. The bank contends that state is liable for the loan in the event of an early termination or an expropriation of the airport.

However, the government has argued that declaring the concession agreement invalid from the outset does not amount to an early termination. The government also accused the Axis Bank and GMR of colluding to extract large sums of money, claiming the developer paid for the bank’s litigation fees for the separate arbitration process.

The Axis Bank meanwhile dismissed the argument as “highly semantic” and stated: “what words were used by the government to characterise its own acts are irrelevant to establishing whether the acts of the government amounted to an expropriation.”

Verdicts are expected in both the GMR and Axis Bank arbitrations in June.

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Villa accounts freeze will ‘send shockwaves’ through Maldives economy

Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim’s Villa Group has warned of negative repercussions for the Maldivian economy if the tax authority freezes the company’s bank accounts next week.

A 20-day final notice seeking US$90.4 million allegedly owed as unpaid rent, fines and interest expires on Saturday (April 18), while the civil court last week refused to grant stay orders halting enforcement of the notice.

The enforcement policy for defaulting taxpayers involves freezing bank accounts to recover the unpaid amounts and ceasing to provide services from any state institution.

Villa – which won the tax authority’s “Ran Laari” award last year as one of five companies that paid the highest amount to the state – insists it does not owe any money to the state.

“It is not only Villa’s shareholders’ and the company’s rights that are lost [if bank accounts are frozen]. The rights of a lot of employees who work at the company, small and medium-sized businesses dependent on this company, guests who have made bookings at our resorts, tour operators, and many other people, would also be lost,” said Villa Group executive director Shimad Ibrahim at a press conference last night.

Banks that have issued loans to Villa will also be affected, he added.

“In sum, we are having to face something on Sunday that will send shockwaves through the whole economy,” he said.

The holding company Villa Shipping and Trading Pvt Ltd conglomerate operates businesses in shipping, import and export, retail, tourism, fishing, media, communications, transport, and education.

Villa business secretary Ibrahim Rasheed added: “We are all holding our breath.”

Rasheed said the company will continue to seek “a peaceful resolution” and “hope for justice”.

He noted that Villa companies employ about 5,000 people.

In an interview on his Villa Television on Saturday, Gasim repeatedly appealed for talks with president Abdulla Yameen and tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb to resolve the dispute.

However, the Villa officials said the government has not responded to “pleas” for discussions.

Adeeb meanwhile accused Gasim at a ruling coalition rally last week of hoarding islands and lagoons and refusing to pay money owed to the state.

“Fabricated”

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) issued the US$90 million notice after the tourism ministry terminated agreements for several properties leased to Villa and subsidiary companies for resort development.

The move followed Gasim’s JP forming an alliance with the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party. However, the government denies the opposition’s accusations of unfairly targeting Gasim’s business interests.

Some 27 cases challenging the termination of the agreements and MIRA’s notice as well as appeals of the civil court’s refusal to grant stay orders are ongoing at court.

While the tourism ministry cited lack of “good faith” as the reason, the Villa officials insisted the terminations were unlawful and that the fines were “fabricated”.

If rent is not paid, the government is required to give a 30-day notice before issuing fines or seizing the properties, they noted.

The lease agreements also specify procedures for termination on the grounds of financial or non-financial breaches, but the tourism ministry’s termination notices did not refer to any violation.

“This is something that investors should seriously consider. This is a frightening and dangerous thing,” said Villa lawyer Ahmed Shafeeq.

In response to a letter from Villa contending there was no basis for the fines, Shimad said MIRA told the company it was “following instructions” from the tourism ministry.

Settlement agreement

The properties at stake were leased under a settlement agreement signed with the tourism ministry on December 12, 2013, less than a month after president Yameen took office.

The settlement agreement was reached after the Supreme Court on November 19 ordered the state to pay US$9.7 million to Villa in one month as compensation for damages incurred in a project to develop a city hotel in Laamu Kahdhoo.

As part of the settlement, Villa withdrew cases involving a dispute over a city hotel in Haa Dhaal Hanimadhoo and resort development on Gaaf Dhaal Gazeera.

In return, the government signed five ‘amended and restated lease agreements’ with Villa for three islands and several Kaafu atoll lagoons.

The government also agreed to forgo rents for the islands and lagoons for a construction period of five years and seven years, respectively.

However, after the settlement agreement was terminated in February, MIRA’s notice stated that Villa owed US$75.5 million as fines, US$600,000 as interest, and US$14.8 million as unpaid rent dating back to original lease agreements signed in 2006 and 2007.

The Villa officials noted that the company has paid over US$15 million as advance payments for the properties.

In the case of Kahdhoo, MIRA claimed an unpaid rent of US$293,000 and a fine of US$10 million – 34 times the allegedly unpaid rent – despite the 2013 Supreme Court judgment declaring Villa does not owe rent for the property, the officials said.

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Hundreds of inmates display artwork at national gallery

Some one thousand inmates displayed a variety of artwork showcasing their creativity and skills in an annual exhibition at the national art gallery today.

Nimal Ibrahim, who won first place for his painting, said: “This is a great opportunity to showcase our potential and be a part of the society.”

Ibrahim’s painting depicted a man in a suit holding a scale jeering at four people, one of whom carried the Maldives flag.

The three-day exhibition organised by the Maldives Correctional Services (MCS) is open to the public and will continue till Saturday night.

Inmates from the Maafushi and Asseyri jails exhibited over 850 paintings and hundreds of handicrafts and furniture today. Plants grown by inmates in an agricultural training session were also on display.

Hundreds of inmates were present at today’s exhibition, accompanied by security guards.

Several paintings depicted interrogation rooms and courtrooms, demonstrating the trials inmates go through in the Maldives criminal justice system.

A member of the organising team, corporal Abdulla Ameen, said inmates had worked on their artworks over the last year.

“There are about 500 inmates who have participated every year since this exhibition began in 2011,” he said.

Winners are given a prize of MVR500 (US$32). Members of the public can purchase any artwork and proceedings are to go to the correction centre’s cooperative society.

inmate art 2

Mohamed Shifag, who made a large wooden sail boat, said inmates worked on their artworks for a few hours every day.

“I learned how to do craft work from the courses we are taught,” he said.

In addition to art classes, inmates are also given classes in agriculture and religion.

“We receive help from the authorities for the courses we hold, and inmates are always looking for such opportunities,” said superintendent of jails, Mohamed Asif.

Inmates are selected for the courses based on their discipline.

The exhibition will be open from 2-6pm in the afternoon and from 8-10pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

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Police in row with opposition MP over tweet

Police have accused opposition MP Rozaina Adam of posting a photo of a police officer on Twitter to intimidate security personnel.

Rozaina had accused the officer in question of obstructing her car on Wednesday night while she was heading to the parliament for a committee meeting.

The MDP said in a statement today that police officers had refused to remove a barricade set up near Dharumavantha School to allow Rozaina’s car through.

When one officer tried to let the car pass, another officer insisted that they must seek permission from a superior officer, the party said.

However, he removed the barricade after talking on a handheld transceiver.

Rozaina posted a tweet with a photo of the officer, her account of the incident, and an article from the parliamentary privileges law, urging police to “keep officers near barricades after teaching them the law.”

“If we are stopped on the way to Majlis, police will have the opportunity to stop us on the road until a vote is taken,” she argued.

However, police said a fire evacuation drill was ongoing at a nearby school at the time and said the officer had informed the senior officer in charge that a car will be passing through as the students were preparing to rush out.

Police criticized Rozaina for posting the photo of the officer, saying her intent was to intimidate, undermine public confidence in police, and bring the institution into disrepute.

The MDP said the police statement was symptomatic of the politicisation of the institution and its senior officers, whom it accused of bearing personal animosity towards opposition MPs.

The opposition party advised senior officers against exerting “political influence” over junior officers and against encouraging illegal actions.

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Gayoom’s son seeks PPM ticket for Dhiggaru by-election

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s eldest son, Farish Maumoon, is seeking the ruling party’s ticket for the upcoming by-election for the vacant Dhiggaru constituency parliament seat.

The by-election, scheduled for June 6, was triggered by the conviction of former Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nazim on corruption charges. The Supreme Court sentenced Nazim to 25 years in prison on April 6 for defrauding the state of MVR1.4 million (US$91,400).

Ahead of a 4:00pm deadline today, four others have submitted applications to contest the primary, including Meemu atoll councillor Moosa Naseer, Imran Ismail, Moosa Naseer Ahmed, and deputy environment minister Mohamed Hanim.

The candidates are to be first vetted on their loyalty to the party, role in campaigning for the party’s candidate in the 2013 presidential election, and the duration of membership in the party.

A primary will only take place if more than one candidate receives over 75 percent or higher.

The opposition coalition, made up of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, religious conservative Adhaalath Party, and leaders of the Jumhooree Party, are meanwhile holding discussions on fielding a single candidate.

Adhaalath spokesperson Ali Zahir told the press today that he will contest the by-election.

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Second victim of link road accident dies

A second victim of a motorcycle accident in southern Addu City died while undergoing treatment in India last night.

Ahmed Sammah, 20, suffered severe head injuries in the accident on Addu City’s link road on April 1o.

Mamdhoon Ahmed Ali Didi ‘Mandey,’ who was sitting on the back seat of Sammah’s bike died within a few hours of the accident. He had also suffered severe head injuries.

Sammah was treated at the Hithadhoo Regional Hospital and Malé’s Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital before he was flown to India on April 12.

The accident occurred when Sammah attempted to overtake a car.

His death is the third fatality in Addu this month. A 16-year-old victim of an accident died of injuries on March 30 while undergoing treatment at the regional hospital.

Hussein Hilmy, an Addu City councillor, said more police officers are needed to effectively control traffic.

However, police said most accidents in Addu City were caused by speeding rather than traffic congestion.

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