MP for Feydhoo Alhan Fahmy has rejoined the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), reversing his move to Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhoree Party (JP) in June 2012.
The former MDP Vice President was removed from the MDP leadership post in a no-confidence vote supported by 95 percent of the MDP’s National Congress on April 30, 2012, after he and the party’s President Dr Ibrahim Didi were accused of making statements contradictory to the party’s official line concerning February 7’s controversial transfer of power.
Both men disputed the legitimacy of the process which led to their ousting. Dr Didi filed a complaint with the Elections Commission (EC), which was later dismissed, whilst Fahmy staged a sparsely attended ‘free MDP’ rally, protesting against what he alleged was the negative influence of former President Mohamed Nasheed on the party.
Didi and Fahmy shortly afterwards joined Gasim’s government-aligned Jumhoree Party, assuming leadership positions.
Fahmy was initially elected to parliament on a Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) ticket, making him one of the few MPs to have been a member of almost every major political party represented in parliament, barring the DRP’s splinter party, the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM). He was dismissed from the party by its disciplinary committee for breaking the party’s whip line in a no-confidence vote against then Foreign Minister, Dr Ahmed Shaheed.
Fahmy confirmed his most recent move to Minivan News, declaring his decision was made “because the country’s future lies with the MDP”.
MDP Spokesperson MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, who sponsored last year’s motion to remove Alhan from the party, said the issues “have been resolved” and that the party “welcomes anybody always. We have an open invitation,” he said.
“Alhan is a good speaker and another vote in the Majlis,” he added.
Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid in April moved to the MDP from the DRP, stating that he had changed his political allegiance over concerns about the direction of the country’s democratic transition.
“I believe in the democratic Maldives built in 2008; will not stand by while opportunists & extremists drag our country back,” he tweeted at the time.
The DRP subsequently signed a coalition agreement with President Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP), joining the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and the Adhaalath Party (AP).
Alhan’s switch takes the MDP’s membership in parliament to 33 of the 77 member chamber, six short of the 39 majority needed to push through legislation.
A police officer has testified against a fellow officer, Ibrahim Faisal, who is currently being charged for attacking former opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson and MP Mariya Ahmed Didi on February 8, 2012.
On February 7, 2012, the continuous anti-government protest led by then-opposition political parties and religious scholars following the controversial detention of Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed gave way to a mutiny by a segment from both the police and military officers against Nasheed, resulting in his premature resignation from office.
The following day, Nasheed along with the MDP and thousands of people, took to the streets in protest claiming that Nasheed was ousted in a bloodless coup d’état. However the en masse demonstration met by a brutal crackdown from both police and military officers during which several MDP MPs and politicians backing the MDP suffered injuries.
Testifying against Faisal, Lance Corporal Mohamed Saarim told the court that he was with Faisal in the ranks of police during the time the protests were dismantled.
Saarim testified that Faisal was among the police officers who went inside a shop to arrest senior MDP figures, including current Party Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, Mariya Didi and former President Nasheed, who took refuge inside after the police led the heavy crackdown on protesters.
During this incident, Saarim claimed that he saw Faisal attacking Mariya Didi, punching her in the abdomen. According to Saarim, Faisal dragged Mariya Didi out of the shop, before handing her over to another officer.
The Lance Corporal also claimed that he had told Faisal not to act so aggressively, but he had disregarded his call. Saarim also recalled that Faisal was not in his uniform and was clothed as a civilian, and had used his bare hands to attack the MP.
During the hearings, Saarim also acknowledged the statement he gave to Police Integrity Commission (PIC) which was presented to the court. Saarim stated that the statement was a true statement given based on what he witnessed on the day.
When the sitting Judge Muhuthaaz Fahmy questioned Faisal about the statements by Saarim, he denied the claim saying that he did not harm anyone. He further told the court that he was not present with the group of police officers who entered into the shop, but was instead having a coffee.
Faisal made the same statement to the PIC, which was also heard in court.
Concluding the hearing, the judge stated that the only witness presented to the court by the prosecution was Saarim. He did not mention a date for the next hearing.
Along with Faisal, police officer Mohamed Waheed from the island of Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll is also facing criminal charges for assaulting MDP Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa, hitting him on the head with a metal canister.
Mariya recalls the attack
Mariya Didi described the moment when the officers barged into the shop as an “attempt on our lives”.
“On February 8, after the police dispersed those who marched to protest their government being over thrown by police and military, President Nasheed and Ahmed ‘Dhonbilai’ Haleem saw me fall and gasp for breath, almost falling tinto the sea as the police and military used the yellow gas they used at such close range,” she said.
“They picked me up and as they knew I was suffering from the injuries of the previous day (February 7,2012), I looked in a state with all the bruises to my face and body, and also a black eye from a beating the previous day,” she said.
“They wanted to put me to safety in the shop as they knew these officers wanted us all dead,” she added.
“Moosa, Nasheed and myself entered the shop. As I was standing inside the shop, the police came and took Moosa first,” she recalled.
“In a moment, some other police came and pulled me up. They handcuffed me at the back with bands they had and kept pulling my hair. They kept beating me all over. They sprayed my whole body with pepper spray, especially in the black eye from the previous day, and into my nostrils. I recently had a sinus operation in Bangkok and just returned. These police officers were all over beating me, my whole body was black and blue,” she explained.
“It was rather shameful that people in uniform thought it fit that they beat up a woman who was already handcuffed tightly behind her back. The scars are still there on my wrists,” she said.
“I hope our men in uniform learn to behave with discipline and professionalism and not let their political views overtake their oath and duty to this country,” she said.
“Jazbaath (‘being emotional’) is no excuse,” she stressed.
Human Rights Commission inquiry
On August 22, 2012, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) released an investigative report (Dhivehi) which concluded that the police crackdown on the MDP march, which left dozens of demonstrators injured, was “brutal” and “without prior warning.”
Thirty-two people filed complaints with the HRCM concerning the varying degrees of injuries they sustained in the crackdown, while 20 people also submitted medical documents pertaining to the treatment of those wounds.
Among the injuries caused by the police baton charge, the HRCM report noted that several people were bruised and battered, one person had a fractured leg bone, another person’s arm was broken, and six people sustained head wounds.
Meanwhile, the former ruling party informed the HRCM that their march across Male’ was spontaneous and that the party had not planned to stage any protests on February 8.
The crackdown
While riot police baton-charged the front line of protesters on February 8, Minivan News observed riot police also charging the crowd from a narrow alley leading to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) area.
The SO police officers used obscene language, pointed to and chased after individual MDP activists and severely beat unarmed civilians.
Al Jazeera news filmed parts of the attack from the rear and reported that on February 8 “police and military charged, beating demonstrators as they ran – women, the elderly, [with] dozens left nursing their wounds,”
Amid the clashes, a group of opposition demonstrators infiltrated the crowds, attacking MDP supporters, according to witnesses.
Former President Nasheed was reported among the injured, having received head injuries during the clashes.
Minivan News also observed several youth with head injuries queuing up for x-rays in the waiting area outside the reception area of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
One young woman who went into IGMH with her sister was being treated for a head wound. The gauze wrapped around her head was spotted with blood, and she claimed the wound was still bleeding as she went in for an X-ray.
“The police were just standing there and suddenly we were being beaten with batons and pepper spray was thrown in our face. They threw us to the ground and kept beating us,” she said.
President Dr Mohamed Waheed has today departed on an official visit to Palestine where he will this week chair the 4th International Islamic Conference of Bait Al Maqdis.
Dr Waheed, who was accompanied by his wife Ilham Hussain, will also use the visit to discuss bilateral relations with the Palestinian government, according to the president’s Office website.
President Waheed was officially invited by his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas to attend the Islamic conference as guest of honour back in April.
His invitation was personally delivered at the time by the Ambassador of Palestine accredited to the Maldives, Dr Anwar Al-Agha.
Three people reported missing while scuba diving near Alimatha Resort in Vaavu Atoll on Saturday (June 1) have been found, local media has reported.
The divers were found “not too far” from the resort around 9:00pm on Saturday and had not sustained any injuries, a spokesperson for Alimatha told Sun Online.
The three individuals – two tourists from Dubai and a dive instructor from Italy – were first reported missing after going for a dive at a reef called ‘Bolikey Faru’.
The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Coast Guard aided the resort’s search.
A female German national honeymooning at the Reethi Beach Resort has suffered serious leg injuries after being hit by the propeller of a boat while diving, local media has reported.
The incident reportedly occurred around 11:00 am on Saturday (June 1).
The honeymooning tourist was transported to Male’ to receive medical treatment for her “extensive” leg injuries, according to local media.
The Maldives government has issued a statement inferring that UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, undermined the country’s sovereignty and legal jurisdiction in her recent report on the state of the country’s judiciary.
Knaul’s final report to the UN Human Rights Council extensively outlined the political, budgetary and societal challenges facing the judiciary and wider legal community, as well as the politicisation of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and its failure to appoint qualified judges under Article 285 of the constitution.
The Special Rapporteur also expressed “deep concern” over the failure of the judicial system to address “serious violations of human rights” during the Maldives’ 30 year dictatorship, warning of “more instability and unrest” should this continue to be neglected.
“It is indeed difficult to understand why one former President is being tried for an act he took outside of his prerogative, while another has not had to answer for any of the alleged human rights violations documented over the years,” Knaul wrote.
The government, which made no response to Knaul’s initial statement in February, on May 28 issued a statement via its Permanent Representative at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Iruthisham Adam.
“Engagement between national governments and international actors should not undermine national jurisdiction and the court system of any country, especially relating to ongoing cases,” reads the statement.
In light of this the Maldivian delegation, said Adam, “wishes to discuss specific matters contained in the report with the rapporteur.”
At the same time the statement “welcomed” the UN Rapporteur’s report and “fully acknowledge[s] that the various challenges she has identified and raised in her report are in fact the residue challenges present in a system in the midst of democratic consolidation.The Maldives judicial system continues to be hampered by structural deficiencies and resource constraints in addressing the difficult challenges facing the country in general.”
The chief suspect alleged to have murder parliament member and prominent religious scholar Dr Afrasheem Ali, Hussain Humam, has retracted his previous confession to the crime, claiming it was obtained by police through coercive means.
Humam – who has been linked with smuggling drugs, gang violence and several other high profile crimes – confessed to the killing on May 22, answering “yes” in court when state prosecutors produced a statement detailing the murder and asked him if it was his.
According to that statement, Humam claimed the idea of killing Dr Afrasheem was given to him by Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officer Azleef Rauf, whom he met at a baibalaa tournament held in 2012.
The pair later met in person again at a coffee, according to the statement, along with two other individuals Humam identified as Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid (son-in-law of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik) and his brother ‘Jana’.
According to the prosecutor’s statement, Humam was promised a sum of MVR 4 million (US$260,000) for murdering the religious scholar. The statement said Humam later asked Azleef Rauf why Afrasheem was to be murdered, and was told that one of the reasons were Afrasheem’s remarks during the day former President Mohamed Nasheed controversially resigned.
State prosecutors accused Humam, along with Ali Shan – who is also facing the same charges – and a minor identified as ‘Nangi’, of going to the residence of Dr Afrasheem and murdering him with a machete and a bayonet knife.
Humam’s retraction of his statement during yesterday’s court hearing is the second time he has denied committing the murder.
Court denies request for psychological testing
During the hearings, Humam’s defence lawyer requested the judge allow Humam’s sanity and mental stability be tested, claiming that Humam’s father had told him that the suspect had a mental disorder. He stressed that Humam himself had told Haseen that he wanted to consult a psychologist.
Haseen also took an oath swearing that he had never asked Humam to deny the charges levied against him, in response to ongoing public rumour that Haseen was behind Humam’s new denial.
Responding to the request made by Haseen, Judge Abdulla Didi denied the request for psychological testing, stating that Humam’s lawyer had not mentioned such a psychological disorder during the hearings held to extend Humam’s detention.
The judge further claimed Humam had pleaded with him to continue the trial behind closed doors.
Humam’s defence lawyer was allowed to enter the court only after Humam stood up without the permission of the judge and requested that his lawyer be present , and that he wished to proceed with his lawyer.
Speaking in the defence of the accused, Haseen contended that Humam had told him that the confession that he had given during the previous hearing was a result of threats by police.
His lawyer said Humam was warned that should he fail to comply with the deal offered by the police, they would charge him with other crimes of which he was accused.
The police also assured Humam that he would not be sentenced to death should he confess to the crime, Haseen alleged.
Witness’s narrative of the incident
During Saturday’s hearing the state presented two witnesses, included a minor alleged to have gone with Humam to Afrasheem’s residence, and the doctor who inspected the body.
The minor, who gave evidence over a distorted audio link and responded to questions from Humam’s defense lawyer Abdulla Haseen, said he knew Humam even before the events that led to the murder of the MP.
According to the minor, Humam had called him and told him that there was a ‘mission’. On the day the murder was carried out, Humam called him and requested him to meet up at Usfasgandu, while informing him that he had received briefings of what they needed to do to complete the said mission.
The witness told the court that he had gone to Usfasgandu, where he met with Humam and Ali Shan. After meeting up, the three then headed to ‘pad-park’ near Usfasgandu, where he claimed he saw Shan wielding a knife.
The witness told the court that they left the park and headed to ‘Kuda Kudhinge Bageecha’ – a children’s park located in front of Dr Afrasheem’s house. He claimed that Humam entered the residence and seconds later, a man carrying a stack of books entered into the same house, followed by Ali Shaan.
After a short while, Shaan called him. When he had entered the premises, he told the court he saw the man with the books brutally injured, lying on the floor.
The witness claimed that Humam was wielding a bloody knife and holding the hand of the injured man, which was also covered in blood. He also claimed that Ali Shan too had a knife.
Responding to the questions posed by Humam’s defence lawyer, the witness claimed he had given evidence to the court on different occasions during November 2012.
When Haseen questioned whether the witness had been involved with previous criminal activities carried out by Humam, he answered stating that he had not, but said he had knowledge of what Humam had been doing.
As soon as Haseen began questioning the witness about his own criminal records, Judge Abdulla Didi stopped him stating that the questions did not have any relevance to the case at hand.
The doctor who had inspected the body of the deceased Afrasheem told the court through the assistance of a translator that there was no sign of life in Afrasheem’s body when he was brought to the hospital.
Explaining his observations, the doctor said that Afrasheem’s body had suffered severe injuries of the kind which could lead to death.
Next hearing
State prosecutors argued that Humam had confessed to the crime during the last hearing, as well as during a hearing held to determine the extension of his custody.
Therefore, the prosecution contested that it was a legitimate confession according to the constitution, that that therefore they felt that the court could issue a verdict based on the confession.
The judge concluded the hearing without announcing the date for a next hearing.
The government remains locked in negotiations to find a “permanent” waste management solution in the Maldives following concerns about a recent build up of garbage in Male’, State Environment Minister Abdul Matheen Mohamed has said.
Matheen told Minivan News that although immediate concerns about garbage levels in the capital had been dealt with by Male’ City Council (MCC), which was in the process of “clearing” waste disposal sites on a daily basis – uncertainty remained on a long-term solution to dealing with trash.
At present, waste from across the country is shipped over to the island of Thilafushi near Male’ – an island that serves as the country’s key site for processing and burning garbage.
Certain councillors and MPs from Male’ last week claimed that a failure to deal with a build up of waste in the capital in recent months had escalated into a “national disaster” that could have potential health and safety implications for the public if not addressed.
However, Matheen added that the Finance Ministry’s decision last month to provide an estimated MVR 7 million (US$454,000) in funding to the MCC to try and clear trash from waste sites in the capital had already shown positive results.
“The MCC is clearing waste daily, the crisis is over,” he said. “Right now I believe that trying to manage waste in Male’ is not the best solution. If this waste can be shifted to Thilafushi that may be for the best.”
State negotiations
Matheen said that the government was committed to seeking financing for alternative waste management schemes, while also renegotiating a deal signed by the former government with Tatva Global Renewable Energy.
The government of former President Mohamed Nasheed signed a contract with Tatva in 2011 to allow the India-based company to take over handling of waste in the capital – as well as from nearby inhabited islands and resorts properties.
The agreement also outlined a means of generating power from recycling waste products brought to Thilafushi in an attempt to cut down on trash being burned.
By December last year, President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s administration announced it was in the process of renegotiating Tatva’s agreement in a bid to replace the deal with what Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela at the time called a “mutually beneficial” agreement.
Just last week, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad said that although the new agreement with Tatva was yet to be signed, a deal was expected to be finalised in the coming days.
However, Matheen today claimed that no agreement had been reached as yet over the negotiations, which he claimed appeared to be nearing some form of conclusion.
“The process has taken so much time. We will have to take a decision soon [on whether to sign the Tatva deal],” he said.
According to Matheen, the discussions with Tatva Global Renewable Energy had been complicated by having to find an agreement between a number of different parties; including the government, the MCC, service providers like the State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) and management at Thilafushi.
He alleged that another concern about the deal was the need for Tatva itself to find sufficient investment to back its own part of the proposed waste management scheme.
A spokesperson for Tatva was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.
Matheen said that the government was waiting to see if an agreement could be reached with Tatva over the deal, adding that authorities would otherwise seek to open discussions with other service providers to try and find an alternate means of waste management.
Male’ clean up
While the negotiations continue, Male’ Councillor Mohamed Abdul Kareem confirmed to Minivan News that despite difficulties earlier this month, the council had now almost dealt fully with waste build-up in the capital after receiving funding from the Finance Ministry.
“The only problem we have had with waste management has been the budgeting issues, other than that, we have the technical expertise to clean the waste,” he said.
Kareem claimed that upon receiving funds from the government, the MCC had been able to hire special dhonis (boats) to clear garbage from disposal sites in Male’ that had been allowed to build up over a period of several months. The build up of waste had led to disputes between the council and various state bodies over responsibility for clearing the waste.
Waste being cleared from Male' Saturday (June 1)
With a proportion of funding now having been received by the MCC from the Finance Minsitry, Kareem said the council had been able to clear waste yard number two in Male’ of rubbish. The site was now being “treated” to try and reduce odours that had built up at the site as a result of recent wet weather, before it would again start receiving waste.
He added that the site was presently being cleared and would not be temporarily open for use until the council completed its treatment and renovation.
Kareem claimed that as long as the government continued to provide funding for the MCC to handle waste management in and around the capital, the MCC did not expect to have any similar problems cleaning waste in the future.
He alleged last month that following the initial signing of the Tatva waste management deal under the previous government in May 2011, the MCC had not been provided with a budget for waste management – even after the deal was stalled by the present administration.
Waste concerns
In April, divisions were reported to have arisen between different ministerial bodies and the private sector over who should take responsibility for garbage being dumped into the sea.
Earlier this year, Minivan News reported that government authorities were working on trying to create functional waste management projects that would serve as an alternative to shipping waste to Thilafushi, despite numerous failed attempts in the past.
The Maldivian citizen who conducted a terrorist attack against Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in 2009, was brainwashed during his madrassa education in Pakistan, claims his brother.
On May 27, 2009, Ali Jaleel – along with two other men – stormed Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters in Lahore and detonated a car bomb that killed about 30 people and injured 300.
Jaleel allegedly received funding from a US citizen, Reaz Qadir Khan – currently charged in the US with conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist – to pay for admission into a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.
Jaleel was brainwashed while studying at the Pakistani madrassa Jamia Salafia seminary, his brother Jalla claimed in an investigative feature story, conducted by US publication The Oregonian.
“He had been brainwashed,” Jalla told the US publication. “He thought jihad was the best way to meet God.”
Jaleel began his studies at the Jamia Salafia seminary in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in 1995. When Jaleel returned to the Maldives a year after beginning his studies at the Pakistani madrassa, he was “different”, according to The Oregonian.
Jalla explained that in addition to the changes in Jaleel’s appearance – he grew a beard and wore salwars, a popular form of Pakistani dress – “Ali was righteous and distant”.
Although the brothers previously had a very close relationship, a rift began to develop due to Jaleel’s new-found ideology and behavior.
By 2001, jihad became the only thing that mattered to 22 year-old Jaleel, who spoke of emigrating to Yemen and “being a messenger for Allah” and had abandoned his previous dreams of becoming a “sports here”, according to Jalla.
Madrassa drive
In the late 1970’s, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom wanted to westernise the islands to prepare Maldivians for the introduction of international luxury tourism and believed education was “the key”, according to The Oregonian.
However, few educational options were available in the Maldives beyond a 10th grade education, with opportunities to study abroad limited to “well connected” Maldivian families.
India and Pakistan responded by offering inexpensive postsecondary education opportunities to Maldivian citizens at religious schools, beginning in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.
“It was very cheap. Pakistan said, ‘Give us your kids, we will teach them the Quran,'” President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad told The Oregonian, in regard to the “madrassa drive.”
Maldivian government officials began expressing their concern in 2006 that Maldivians were returning from their madrassa studies in Pakistan with radical beliefs, according to the US publication.
Imad claimed that the Maldivian government is no longer sending students to study in Pakistan, because “the risk is perceived to be too great”.
“When people say, ‘jihadis,’ we’re scared, damn scared,” Imad said. “It’s going to hurt our economy.”
Unclear government policy
Whether Maldivian students are still traveling to Pakistan for their postsecondary studies, or if there is a monitoring policy in place for the madrassas they are attending, remains unclear.
Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told Minivan News to ask the Education Minister.
The Education Minister Asim Ahmed and Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdullah were not responding to calls at time of press.
Religious conservatism and extremist violence have been increasing in the Maldives over the past decade, while incidents of Maldivians joining overseas jihadist groups are becoming more common, according to a 2013 report published in the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) Sentinel, a publication based out of the West Point military academy in the US.
The report found that education in foreign madrasas has also contributed to growing extremism within the Maldives, with students “unwittingly attending more radical madrasas” and preaching these views upon their return.
“The offer of free education in madrasas in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is widely acknowledged as a core means of radicalising Maldivians locally, with well-meaning parents sending their children off on scholarships to ‘study Islam’,” the report states.
Following the 2007 terrorist attack in Male’s Sultan Park, “Gayoom himself warned of this problem”.
“Maldivians are influenced by what is happening in the world. They go to Pakistan, study in madrasas and come back with extreme religious ideas,” the report quoted Gayoom as saying.
However, in August 2012, the Maldivian government said there was no truth in claims Maldivian citizens were being radicalised at Pakistan-based madrassas, following the publication of the US State Department’s 2011 terrorism report.
Active steps had been taken against permitting clearance for local students to study in any madrassas in Pakistan, President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza said at the time.
“No Maldivians right now are being trained in Pakistani madrassas. Steps are being taken to ensure this with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and authorities in Pakistan,” he said. “We will not issue visas to go there in this regard. So to say that such a threat exists is definitely not true.”
However, the following month, former State Minister of Education Aminath Ali highlighted the need to simplify the Pakistani visa procedure for Maldivian students hoping to enter the country’s higher-learning institutions.
Waheed claimed an increasing number of young Maldivians “are embracing a version of Islam which is more strict than the traditional Islamic values [of the Maldives].”
In late 2010, a diplomatic cable was leaked that highlighted United States diplomats expressed concern back in October 2008 regarding the activities of “al-Qaida associates” in the Maldives.
“While many Maldivian participants of extremist online forums aimed to ultimately fight Coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, mid-October 2007 debrief information following the September 29 bombing in Male’ that targeted tourists indicates at least two of the operatives participated in the attack in exchange for travel from the islands after the operation and arranged study at a madrassa in Pakistan.”
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While riot police baton-charged the front line of protesters on February 8, Minivan News observed riot police also charging the crowd from a narrow alley leading to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) area.