Tag: maldives

HRCM members summoned to Juvenile Court again over confidential report

With additional reporting by Ahmed Nazeer

Members of the Maldives Human Rights Commission (HRCM) refused to attend a Juvenile Court meeting yesterday (April 1), after having asked the Supreme Court to rule on the legitimacy of the court’s actions.

The commission has contended that the Juvenile Court is in violation of “the legal principles and procedures followed in contempt of court cases.”

A press statement from HRCM released yesterday evening noted that the Prosecutor General’s Office had not charged the commission with contempt of court because only the Supreme Court could initiate such cases of its own accord.

Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem has told Haveeru that the court does not have the authority to summon HRCM members over contempt of court charges.

The court has been requesting the meetings in order to question HRCM members about a confidential report concerning the sentencing of a 15 year old rape victim to flogging and house arrest in 2012.

”We are trying to summon the HRCM members regarding a report they sent to the Juvenile Court on 5 December 2013, in which the HRCM has included false information about the Juvenile Court and it also contained things that could be considered as an attempt to influence the court’s work,” Juvenile Court Spokesperson Zaima Nasheed told Minivan News today.

Zaima has argued previously that the constitution states no public officials can “interfere with and influence the functions of the courts”, instead they must “assist and protect the courts to ensure the independence, eminence, dignity, impartiality, accessibility and effectiveness of the courts.”

The HRCM press release added that the report referred to in the media was a confidential document, which had only been shared with relevant authorities or state institutions.

“We assure that the report does not include any false statements that hold the Juvenile Court in contempt,” the press release stated.

Previous meetings

After refusing to attend the meeting yesterday, the Juvenile Court sent an official court summons  for today (April 2) to each individual commission member, according to local media.

Following the official court summons, the HRCM members appeared before the court this morning at 10am and were told to respond in writing before 3pm.

The HRCM was first summoned to the Juvenile Court on March 12, with a further request to meet made on March 17 after members failed to accede to the previous requests – all five members of the HRCM subsequently attended on March 17.

The HRCM is reported to have agreed to cooperate at this meeting, on the condition that it was given a period of ten days after the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 22 before the first questioning session.

The 15-year-old rape victim from the island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll was convicted of premarital sex at the Juvenile Court and sentenced to 100 lashes and eight months of house arrest.

In June 2012, the girl gave birth to a baby that was discovered buried in the outdoor shower area of her home. Her stepfather was later charged with child sexual abuse, possession of pornographic materials and committing premeditated murder.

An official from the Prosecutor General’s Office told Minivan News in January last year that the fornication charges against the minor were related to a separate offence of premarital sex that emerged during the police investigation. The charges were filed on November 25, 2012.

In its verdict, the Juvenile Court ordered the state to transfer the girl to the Children’s Home in Villingili to enforce the sentence of eight months house arrest, according to local media reports.

Following the 15 year-old’s conviction, local NGO Advocating the Rights of Children (ARC) called on the Maldivian government to pass legislation concerning the treatment of sexual abuse victims.

ARC also previously called for reforms of the juvenile justice system and reform of the current protection mechanisms provided to minors who are kept in state run institutions, such as homes and foster programs.

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Ministry of Environment holds panel discussion to reflect on World Water Day 2014

The Ministry of Environment and Energy yesterday (April 1) held a panel discussion as well as a question and answer session to mark the occasion of the World Water Day 2013, which fell on March 22.

According to the press statement, the presentations covered a range of topics from water and energy, the history of water and sewerage systems in Maldives, the current plans and policies of the government including summary information on projects, meteorological aspects related to water security, water as a human right, issues related to water quality, and how water is related to climate change.

The event was held mainly for the students studying environmental management, journalism, and teaching at the Maldives National University (MNU). Their participation was intended to enrich their knowledge and to orient them towards environmental issues in Maldives, the ministry’s press release stated.

The event was held in association with the Faculty of Science at MNU, with a welcome address given by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr Ali Shareef, followed by the speech by the State Minister for Environment and Energy Hasan Shah.

Minister of State for Environment and Energy Abdul Matheen Mohamed has previously told Minivan News that the government is emphasising integrated systems in order to make the best use of the water resources currently available in the country.

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Comment: Juvenile crime – the consequences are anything but minor

This article was first published in the Police Life. Republished with permission.

Anyone below the legal age of 18 is seen as a minor in the eyes of the law in the Maldives. As such, their parents are their guardians and it is believed that they have certain leniencies afforded to them.

This is reflected in the increasing trend of juvenile crime in the Maldives. The underlying logic behind this trend seems to be that minors cannot be persecuted by the law and they would somehow avoid harmful consequences.

But this is a total misconception – while there are leniencies, they are not without limits, and are intended to offer a chance for the youth to redeem themselves or to turn their lives around at an early stage.

According to Maldivian law, any juvenile offender will only receive one third of the sentence – for example, a sentence of 15 years in prison maybe reduced to 5 years instead. Though this leniency exists, it is by no means a way to walk away without consequences. The individual will be monitored for a long period of time.

Another misunderstood leniency is one that is offered only to individuals committing their first offense. Depending on the nature of the crime, there is a delaying of carrying out the sentence for a set period of time. This is done to give the first offender a chance of redemption. But this leniency comes with certain terms and conditions.

One of the conditions is that if any additional crimes are committed during the set duration the sentence is delayed, the sentences for both crimes would be carried out together – for example, if a 5 year sentence for a crime was delayed from passing and the individual committed another crime that resulted in a 5 year sentence, they would get a 10 year sentence.

If the set duration passes without any criminal activity, the first offender is pardoned. But this is a leniency offered once and only once. Any further criminal activity from the same individual will not be afforded any such leniency.

Another thing to consider is that even if it is a first offense, the type of crime committed is also an important deciding factor. If it is a serious crime such as murder, the aforementioned leniency will not be afforded.

When talking about juvenile offenders, it is also important to shed some light on what is known as the “community conference”. It is a group of professionals and related individuals who come together to assess the progress of the minor to deem whether they are fit to continue being part of the society.

The conference contains the juvenile offender themselves, their parent/s, a judge, a prosecutor from the Prosecutor General’s Office, a representative of the FCPD (Family and Child Protection Department) of the Maldives Police Service and a representative from the Juvenile Justice Unit.

They come together to discuss the progress of the youth in terms of rehabilitation, trends in behaviour, risk factors and also to assist the youth in their re-entry and reintegration into society.

The ongoing misconception that because the youth of the nation are a protected and cherished group, they are exempt from consequences is a very harmful one. It results in many “at-risk” youth opting to delve into criminal behaviour and because it allows other, older individuals who are involved in criminal behaviour to exploit these minors for various criminal endeavors.

But the sad truth is that such thinking often results in many youth with untapped potential getting caught up in criminal or anti-social behaviour and paying a hefty price for it.

While there are leniencies to protect our youth, they are there to afford them chances of redemption and to give them the opportunity to better themselves while they still have time. Said leniencies are also not limitless and come with various terms and conditions that must be met. The goal is rehabilitation and crime prevention rather than simply punishment.

So it is important to always remember that even juvenile crime is not without consequence.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Against the current – Turtle conservation in the Maldives

Collecting turtle eggs is still legal and will remain so until at least 2015, according to government regulations, despite recent scientific reports stating that the population of the majority of turtle species is declining.

“We have a moratorium that will end at 2015, then we will look at other measures that we have to take,” explained Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Mohamed Shainee.

With turtle population numbers declining and some species at serious risk of complete extinction, organisations are working hard to protect turtles from further degradation at the hand of both humans and the environment.

The biggest threat to turtles, according to Sam Hope – Marine Discovery Centre Manager at Four Seasons Kuda Huraa – is egg collection and trade.

“There is a ban on catching and killing turtles in the Maldives, and that has been in places since June 1995, however, there isn’t a ban on egg collection,” stated Hope.

According to the fisheries regulations, the” catching, fishing, collecting or killing” of sea turtles is illegal across the entire country. The collection of sea turtles and eggs is also illegal say the regulations, but this is only applicable to 14 islands out of a possible 1,192.

The continuing secret slaughter of turtles was demonstrated last year after photographic evidence the practice emerged, showing dozens of dead sea turtles loaded onto a dhoni.

More recently, an article by Dr Agnese Mancini – an expert on turtle conservation – reported a decline in the population of  the majority of turtle species found in the Maldives.

Published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the report established that while quantitative data on turtle numbers is scattered, the data collected recently from the entire Indian Ocean indicates negative trends in population numbers for all of the species, barring the Olive Ridley species.

Despite these findings, the laws governing the collection of turtle eggs remains the same and will do until at least 2015, stated Dr Shainee.

“Before that we will start planning for the next steps, and increasing our understanding – we will try and get stakeholders on board,” he said.

When asked if he thought the ban on egg collection should cover all islands of the Maldives, Shainee said that all islands would be protected, but that efforts needed to be focused.

“The rest of the islands we will do, but if they are not nesting islands there’s no point in unnecessarily restricting. For those areas that we know, we want to protect.”

Conservation efforts

Protecting endangered sea turtles is vital given the environmental pressures the Maldives already faces – pressures which themselves amplify threats to turtles.

In response to some of these threats, Four Seasons has teamed up with local environmental agency Seamarc to implement a number of valuable conservation programmes across the Maldives – based from their two on-site Marine Discovery Centres.

Among the pair’s successful projects is the ‘Head Start’ programme run from the Kuda Huraa resort – a fledgling project which has shown great potential to help increase the local turtle population.

The likelihood of turtle hatchlings surviving is estimated to be around 150:1, and so marine biologists have been hand-rearing a select few young turtles at the Marine Conservation Centre in order to give them a greater chance of survival.

“Where we do get a hatchling nest, we allow all of them to run down to the sea – because that’s very important for their development – but when they reach the sea we collect just two for our Head Start programme,” explained Hope.

Marine Biologists at the Marine Discovery Centre, Four Seasons

“The Head Start programme is aiming to provide a safe environment so those turtles can go through the early stages of development and avoid those early stages of danger.”

“Because turtles have got a pretty rough deal- anything from ants to rats, cats, seabirds, fish and sharks- its really tough when you’re only 4-5 inches long with no defence techniques at all -apart from looking incredibly cute.”

“So we bring them back here, place them into our pools where we do a weekly check up where we weigh and measure them. The weight is very important to their health, and we’re working hard to understand the sea turtle dietary requirements,” Hope continued.

“When the Head Start gets to 18cm – which takes about 13 months – we put a satellite tracker on their back and we send them out into the big blue. We download from the satellite every two days, and download the data into google maps.”

The tags are semi-permanent, meaning the researchers can see how far the turtles have travelled for up to 10 months.

To date, the Head Start programme has reared and released 37 turtles, with 16 tagged for satellite tracking.

There are a number of resorts which are contributing valuable work to environmental conservation, but in order to push this movement to the next level, Hope notes that the links between resorts and local communities need to be stronger.

“There needs to be more trust between resorts and local communities” he states. “What would really benefit the movement is a bottom up management, led by a greater amount of community work and community led projects.”

Regarding the laws against turtle egg collection, Hope said that it was unlikely all islands are being used for turtle nesting, but admitted there was a dearth of local knowledge which Seamarc was attempting to address with local surveys and community assessments.

“Turtles sometimes switch nesting beaches if the beach condition becomes degraded which means that they may start using unprotected islands in the future if they are not already. Before we can decide on scientific policy we require scientific fact on which we can base decisions.”

“It is our hope that our work will shed more light on the extent of turtle nesting activities in order to further protect these endangered species.”

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New police policy to protect identity of suspects until prosection

The police have introduced a new policy which will protect the identity of persons taken into police custody until the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) charges them in court.

Newspaper Haveeru has reported a police media official as saying that the police will no longer reveal the names of suspects arrested before they are officially charged in the court – though it was noted that this policy remains at the discretion of senior officers.

The paper noted that police had not revealed the names of suspects arrested in connection with the stabbing of former MP for Feydhoo constituency Alhan Fahmy.

Haveeru reported that the official told the paper that the new policy was made after an agreement signed between the police and PGO.

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Government to showcase five development projects at Singapore investment forum

The Ministry of Economic Development will be presenting five investment opportunities planned for the country’s development at the Maldives Investment Forum in Singapore this month.

The forum will aim to increase the interest of Asian-region investors, and will be the first forum of such a scale to be hosted by the Maldives in another country.

President Abdulla Yameen will also be attending the forum, which is scheduled for April 25 at the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore.

“It is a showcasing of the largest infrastructure projects, for company registration, to the international investment community. The keynote will be by the president and we are working on the details for the showcase,” said Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Economic Development Yusuf Riza.

“We have had forums of this sort before, but not at this level, not with the president there – this has been done at the ministerial level.”

Although Riza said the details of the projects were yet to be announced, local media outlet Haveeru has reported details of the developments to be presented to potential investors.

These are reported to be: the development of Ihavandhippolhu as an economic zone, a project to develop ‘I-Heaven’ and Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), the second phase of Hulhumalé’s development, a project to develop the current commercial harbour at Thilafushi, and a scheme to extract fuel and gas from the Maldivian region.

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Foreigners’ enrollment extended while Majlis considers amendments to Pensions Act

The Maldives Pensions Administration Office (MPAO) has extended enrollment for foreign employees onto its retirement pension scheme until May 15 following an amendment introduced in the Majlis earlier this week.

The enrollment of foreign workers into the scheme – mandated by the first amendment to the 2009 Pensions Act – was scheduled for completion today (April 1).

“We had decided that the date of enrollment should be before 1st April 2014, but now there is a proposed amendment to the Pensions Act in the parliament to make it voluntary for foreigners,” said MPAO Director Ismail Sujau.

“We are giving the delay for one and a half months for foreigners to complete their enrollment and also pay the contributions,” he added.

Sujau confirmed that the scheme will require a contribution of seven percent of employees’ earnings, matching a seven percent contribution from their employers.

The collection of contributions will be still be collected by employers before the end of April, to be handed over to the pensions office by May 15 as originally planned, he explained.

The proposed amendment – submitted by Maavah MP Abdul Aziz Jamaal Abubakr earlier this week – has been welcomed by many expatriates who fear they will struggle to reclaim their contributions upon leaving the Maldives.

“My biggest concern is not getting our money back when we leave, and if we do get it back, getting it back in rufiyaa,” said Varsha Patel, a teacher at Lale Youth International School in Malé.

“Why don’t they just call it an income tax rather than pension?” asked former teacher Rachel Evans*, aged 35.

“Nobody is dumb enough to believe we’re ever going to see that money again. It takes six months to get work visas processed. No way will they ever be able -or willing – to refund this pension at the end of a foreigner’s contract,” she added.

After submitting the amendment this week, Abubakr told local media he felt it would be better for both employees and employers to make the scheme voluntary for foreigners.

“Its enforcement may create difficulties for the employee – it may even result in monetary problems. If he can’t attain his money when he is about to leave the country, then he would face many difficulties. That would even be against his rights,” the Maavah MP told Haveeru.

Contribution concerns

Speaking with Minivan News today, Sujau assured that the regulations allowed for the retrieval of funds, but admitted that specific details of the rebate mechanism were yet to be decided upon.

“There has been a lot of concern – we understand that – even when we have had so many public information sessions,” he said.

“We have heard many concerns, especially when they withdraw the funds. We are collecting the funds in Maldivian rufiyaa and definitely we are paying out in Maldivian rufiyaa so they have a concern because local currency they make not be able to take it back and trade. They can only trade to dollars or some other foreign currency.”

Sujau said that the contributions will be transferred to rufiyaa denominated accounts, or given out in cash, though he acknowledged that transfers to foreign currency accounts had not yet been organised.

“That arrangement we have not been able to make yet. This something we will look into as it progresses.”

A heavy import-export imbalance in the Maldives results in a perennial foreign currency shortage, while a dominant tourism sector – which deals almost exclusively in US dollars – results in a weak local currency.

“What’s the point of them refunding a worthless currency when they could just call it an income tax and keep the money”, asked Rachel.

Meanwhile, Varsha – 26 -suggested that employees had been given inadequate notice of the scheme and insufficient information about how to reclaim contributions.

“We were not really given enough notice – I was only told last month. I’m not very happy to be having a pay cut for no reason.”

After the introduction of the 2009 Pensions Act, the initial regulations made no distinction between local and foreign employees – who were both included in the first phase of the scheme for public sector workers, explained Sujau.

However, just prior to the adoption of private sector workers into the scheme in  May 2011, an amendment was passed requiring separate regulations for foreigners to be drafted within 12 months, and for enrollment to be completed within three years.

Regarding complaints about the scheme, Sujau noted that his office was responsible only for the practical application of governmental decisions.

“As far as the MPAO is concerned, we are an implementing agency, we don’t make policy – we just adopt whatever is in the Pension Act and follow,” he said.

*Name changed as individual wished to maintain anonymity

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Sheesha brothers file case to retrieve stolen funds from State Bank of India

The Sheesha brothers have have filed a case with the Civil Court to implement the court’s January 16 ruling which had ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to pay them MVR13.5 million plus interest within one month.

During a press conference held yesterday the brothers and their lawyer Abdul Nasir Ibrahim revealed that SBI had not paid the money to the company according to a Civil Court ruling, and that the court had now accepted the case.

On January 16, the Civil Court had ruled that SBI had to pay the brothers’ motorcycle importing company MVR13.5 million outstanding from the total MVR18 million that had been discovered missing from its account in November 2011 after a series of unauthorised transfers.

Nasir said yesterday that he had met with SBI before filing the lawsuit and that the bank had told him that it would transfer the money only if the Civil Court deemed that the previous court ruling should be implemented.

Nasir told the press yesterday that, although SBI had the right to appeal the Civil Court ruling at the High Court, ruling was now in existence and had to be implemented unless the High Court rules otherwise.

Having met with the Maldives Monetary Authority governor – then Dr Fazeel Najeeb – regarding the issue, Sheesha’s lawyer had been told to find a solution through the courts. Nasir also called on the MMA to take action against SBI for not implementing the Civil Court’s ruling.

Following the discovery of the unauthorised removal of the funds, the company – owned by Ahmed Hassan Manik, Hussain Husham, and Ibrahim Husham – told local media that the money had been transferred to a Bank of Maldives account using a forged document faxed to SBI with Manik’s name and signature.

The brothers said they would sue SBI and requested that the bank take full responsibility for the theft – which had comprised of two transactions totalling MVR18 million.

The Prosecutor General’s Office pressed charges against seven people in connection with the case in May 2013, including a retired Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) colonel, and two staff members from SBI.

In November 2011, the Criminal Court issued an Interpol red notice to apprehend three persons suspected to be involved in the case.

Local newspapers at the time reported that Colonel Shaukath Ibrahim’s bank account was used to transfer the money and to withdraw it.

Yesterday, Sheesha’s lawyer told the press that the Civil Court had ruled SBI had neglected its responsibilities and that its negligence had caused the loss of the company’s MVR18million.

Of the total MVR18 million stolen, local media has reported that the company was able to recover MVR4.4 million from the Bank of Maldives account that the money had been transferred to.

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Majlis committee approves candidates for PIC and MMA, rejects prosecutor general nominee

Parliament’s independent commission’s oversight committee has interviewed and decided upon appointees to the posts of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governer, and Prosecutor General (PG), as well as a member of the Police Integrity Commission (PIC).

The committee’s Deputy Chair Rozaina Adam told Minivan News that the committee had approved nominees based on a grading scheme, and that each nominee needed to get over 75 percent of marks to be approved.

“Nominees for two of the posts we discussed yesterday received the required percentage of marks, the other didn’t. Approvals are based on a preset grading scheme, and not on members’ opinions,” Rozaina explained.

The committee approved Dr Azeema Adam for the post of Governer at MMA and Aiminath Rukshana to be a member of the five member PIC.

Presidential nominee for the post of Prosecutor General, Maumoon Hameed, did not receive sufficient marks for approval.

Dr Azeema Adam has served at the MMA since 1991. She is currently serving as Assistant Governor and Chief Economist, Monetary Policy, Research and Statistics at the MMA.

Adam has a PhD in Economics from the University of Canberra and a Masters Degree in International Development and Finance from the University of Leicester.

Her nomination for the governors role came after Yameen had previously forwarded the name of Ibthishama Ahmed Saeed, an associate director at the Bank of Maldives, before withdrawing it amid suggestions the candidate was not qualified for the role.

Previous governor, Dr Fazeel Najeeb, resigned in December citing personal reasons – though he urged the government to reduce expenses and refrain from printing money during his final press conference.

Presidential nominee to the police watchdog body, Aiminath Rukshana, also received the required 75 percent marks. Rukshana is originally from Liyaage in Maafannu ward of Malé City.

Presidential nominee to the post of prosecutor general, lawyer Maumoon Hameed was not able to receive the required percentage of votes.

The PG’s position has been vacant since former PG Ahmed Muiz resigned from the post prior to a scheduled no-confidence vote. The duties of the PG are currently being temporarily conducted by Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem.

After a running dispute with the PG’s Office over the acceptance of cases following the expiry of the constitutionally mandated period for appointing a new PG, the Criminal Court resumed accepting new cases after repeated interventions by the Supreme Court.

President Abdulla Yameen has recently accused the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party – holder of a majority of seats in the oversight committee – of obstructing the government’s attempt to appoint a new PG.

Lawyer Maumoon Hameed is the son of the Gayoom administration’s Atolls Minister Abdulla Hameed, and the nephew of incumbent President Yameen and ruling Progressive Party of Maldives leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

MP Rozaina Adam stated that the committee will present the report on its decision to the parliament speaker on Tuesday.

A final decision on the appointments will be taken through a parliamentary vote. The vote has thus far not been scheduled on agenda.

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