Tag: maldives

40 Somali castaways sent back home after four years

Police have said that 40 Somali castaways that were found in the Maldivian EEZ on different occasions since December 2009 have been sent back to their country.

The police said that all these people were accommodated in Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial remand centre under police charge during their time in the Maldives.

Police said that the Somalis were successfully sent back after cooperation between the government and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

A joint operation was conducted with police Serious and Organized Crime Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Aviation Security to send them back, police said.

According to police, the Somalis were sent in a chartered flight and were accompanied with security officers.

The police said that the 40 Somalis included seven castaways rescued on December 2009, another five castaways rescued in the same month.

In 2010, authorities rescued seven Somali nationals on May 26, six were rescued on June 5, two on July 2, seven on November 28. Three more were rescued on 30 November 2010 and another three castaways rescued on December 2011.

In March 2012, a then-senior government official told Minivan News that the castaways under the custody of Maldivian authorities had refused to return home despite arrangements that were made for their safe repatriation.

According to the government official, who spoke to Minivan News on condition of total anonymity, the government had devoted “immeasurable amount of time and effort” over the past three years to safely repatriate several Somali nationals who have been discovered in Maldivian waters in dinghies lost at sea.

A delegation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) delegation arrived in the Maldives in 2012 to confirm the Somali’s preferences as no refugee can be repatriated without consent under the international conventions.

The Maldives cannot resort to the option of forced repatriation as Somalia is recognised as an unsafe state.

Maldives has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol citing “financial and technical capacity constraints” but the convention prohibits all states, regardless of whether they have acceded it, from returning a “refugee to a territory where his or her life or freedom is threatened”.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Supreme Court Judge’s sex-tape probe stalled as Criminal Court fails to provide warrants

The police have been unable to proceed with the investigation into the alleged sex-tape scandal of the Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed, after the  Criminal Court failed to respond to police requests for warrants, reports local newspaper Haveeru.

An official from the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) – which is constitutionally mandated to oversee the judiciary – was quoted in the paper as stating that it had received a letter from the police noting that the Criminal Court’s failure to respond to requests for two warrants – made three months ago – had forced them to halt the investigation.

According to the unnamed official, the warrants sought by the police included authorisation for the police to take a facial photograph of Judge Hameed for comparative analysis with the videos relating to him, and a second warrant requesting the court’s permission to search his residence.

In a bid to verify the claim, Minivan News contacted the Criminal Court’s Media Official Mohamed Manik. When asked about the case, Manik told Minivan News that he would call back after reading the Haveeru article, though he not responding to further calls at the time of press.

Spy-cam footage allegedly depicting the Supreme Court Judge indulging in different sexual acts with multiple foreign women surfaced on local media last July.

The case rose to prominence once more after the Supreme Court’s decision to annul the first round of the presidential elections in October. Images and symbols depicting scenes from the sex-tape formed a prominent part of protests against the court’s repeated interference in the election.

The videos appeared shortly after a film – also involving Judge Hameed – began circulating on social media in which the Supreme Court Judge appeared to be discussing political influence in the judiciary with a local businessman.

The videos came after the arrest of Ahmed Faiz – a council member of former President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP) and the then-Project Advisor at the Housing Ministry – while he was allegedly trying to sell a sex-tape of the judge.

The public circulation of the videos and widespread media coverage on the scandal prompted both a police and a JSC investigation into the matter.

The then-Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz has previously confirmed to local media that the police had been probing the case.

Police subsequently summoned Judge Hameed for questioning in the same month as part of its investigation into the video.

“We are currently investigating two cases concerning the video. One is the case of those who had been using the video to blackmail the people in it, and the other concerns the content of the video,” the spokesperson said at the time.

However, apart from the summoning the police remained largely silent on the matter.

The JSC – whose mandate includes looking into the disciplinary issues and ethical conduct of Judges – also formulated a five member sub-committee to probe into the matter.

The initial members of the committee included JSC Vice-Chair Abdulla Didi, commission members Latheefa Gasim, Ahmed Rasheed and two lawyers outside the JSC – Mohamed Anil and Hussain Siraj.

However, following Anil’s appointment to cabinet as the new Attorney General, he was promptly replaced by veteran lawyer and President of Maldives Bar Association Husnu Al Suood.

Minivan News attempted to contact Police Media officials and the JSC Spokesperson but they were not responding to calls at time of press.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Fairoosh removed from Head of Police Intelligence

Assistant Commissioner of Police Abdulla Fairoosh has been removed from his position as head of the police’s intelligence directorate.

The dismissal is part of a “routine” change to police management, police told local media.

Fairoosh has been transferred to the position of Head of the Services Development Directorate. Fairoosh held the position of acting Commissioner of Police until a new CP was appointed in the aftermath of the ousting of former President Mohamed Nasheed in February 2012.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Ahmed Areef is now the head of intelligence.

Meanwhile, the deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Department Chief Superintendent Mohamed Riyaz has been dismissed from his position and transferred to the Divisional Operation Command.

The head of intelligence under Mohamed Nasheed, Mohamed ‘MC’ Hameed, was removed from his position after Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan assumed the presidency.

He was then dismissed from the Police Services in August 2012, but the Civil Court ordered reinstatement in September this year. The police have said they will appeal the Civil Court verdict.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Supreme Court accepts case to disqualify MP Thasmeen

The Supreme Court has accepted a case filed by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) council member and prominent lawyer Mohamed ‘Wadde’ Waheed regarding the disqualification of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader and MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali from parliament.

Waheed claims Thasmeen had not paid back a MVR 1.9million (US$124,513) loan to Parliament Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim in accordance with a Civil Court ruling.

The Civil Court ruling required the repayment of MVR320,000 (US$20,779) each month for six consecutive months to clear the debt by April 2012, but Thasmeen only settled the debt in July 2012 after the High Court upheld the Civil Court’s ruling.

The Supreme Court in October stripped opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Azim and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Mohamed Nashiz over decreed debt. The pair were guarantors for five credit facilities worth MVR117 million (US$9 million) issued to Funadoo Tuna Products by the Bank of Maldives (BML).

The Civil Court in 2012 authorised BML to seize the assets mortgaged for the loans, which included Funadoo island, a yacht, and the Reethi Beach Resort following non-payment of the loan.

Supreme Court Justices Abdulla Saeed, Adam Mohamed Abdulla, Ali Hameed Mohamed and Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi voted to strip Azim and Nashiz of their seats citing Article 73(c) of the constitution which states: “A person shall be disqualified from election as, a member of the People’s Majlis, or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified, if he has a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgment.”

However, Chief Justice Faiz and Justice Abdulla Areef ruled that the guarantors would only have to bear responsibility if the debt could not be settled by selling the mortgaged assets.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

PPM allocates JP 30 parliament seats in upcoming race: media reports

The Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has allocated coalition partner Jumhooree Party (JP) 30 of the 85 parliament seats for May’s parliamentary elections, local media have reported.

According to Raajje TV and Channel News Maldives (CNM), leaders of the the two parties in a meeting on Sunday night agreed that the PPM will support any candidate put forth by the JP for 30 constituencies. The parties have not yet decided on the specific constituencies.

The PPM won the second round of the presidential elections held on November 16 with the JP’s backing. PPM offered JP 33 percent of government and a reported 35 percent of seats in local council and parliamentary elections.

On November 26, JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim stated in a party rally that they had sent a letter to the PPM’s leader and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom asking for clarification of which constituencies the party can contest in for the local council election.

Gasim had further said then that the government had thus far failed to allocate the promised state positions to the party, adding that he believed this could be due to the government being “hectically engaged in other governance matters”.

He said that in addition to parliament and local council seats, the party had asked the PPM leader about what other state positions would be granted to them.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

DRP announces rebrand effort

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has called for submissions for a new party color, logo and slogan in an effort to re-brand its image.

Once the largest political party in the Maldives, the DRP’s strength has declined radically after founder and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s split from the party in 2011.

The party’s elected council has now been dissolved with the leadership’s defection to the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and government aligned Jumhooree Party (JP).

Acting leader and MP ‘Colonel’ Mohamed Nasheed has previously described the party as now being in the “ICU”, accusing the party’s leadership of leaving behind MVR10million in debt (US$ 64,5161) and abandoning the party with its data and assets.

Speaking to the press yesterday, Nasheed said the party would offer MVR200,000 (US$ 12903) for the re-brand effort. Applications will be accepted up until December 15.

Nasheed said the party’s current color blue is not visible from afar. Furthermore, the current logo of a coconut frond and boat on a blue backdrop is complex, and hence, difficult to duplicate and print on campaign materials. The new logo must not contain more than three colors, and must retain its original content even if re-sized.

The new logo, slogan and color will be approved and new leadership elected during the party’s next congress.

Meanwhile, the DRP is undergoing an internal audit and has called for any party to whom the DRP owes money for materials or services rendered to come forward within 10 days with the necessary documents to prove the claim.

Nasheed has also pledged to offer the annulled position of “Supreme Leader” to former President Gayoom.

The title was annulled during the party’s April 2013 congress with a 602-10 vote.

Nasheed said he believed Gayoom had retired from politics and must be honored as DRP’s founder for “historical purposes.”

“We believe his sacrifice in founding the party must be recognized,” he said.

Recognising former leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali’s services to the party, Nasheed said he excluded Thasmeen in his criticism of the party’s former leadership and from accusations of stealing from the party.

The party intends win the mayorship of Male’ City Council and win at least 15 seats in parliament, Nasheed said.

Nasheed defected from the MDP to join the DRP in March this year claiming that the MDP is undisciplined.

According to the Elections Commission the DRP has 19,038 registered members at present.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Government requests bids for Hulhumale’ bridge project

The Economic Ministry has announced the opening of a bidding process for a bridge to be built between Male and Hulhumale at a press briefing held at the President’s Office today.

“We are looking for a party to design, operate and maintain [the bridge]. This means commercial components will have to come with this,” said Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb this afternoon.

“That is how this will become sustainable. As you know, a bridge will not be sustainable in the Maldives if it relies solely on the traffic. So, this will come with commercial components. It will become a very big investment.”

An announcement calling for expressions of interest has been placed in the government gazette today, with offers requested for the building, maintenance and operation of the bridge linking the two largest urban areas in the Greater Male’ area.

Bids from domestic and international parties will be accepted until December 29.

Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed described the building of the bridge as a “challenge”, but said the task is one of the key pledges of the coalition government.

He wants bridge work to start as soon as possible, promising that when the concession is awarded, investors will not suffer damages, and that the project will receive “protection” from the Maldives constitution.

Investor confidence in the Maldives had been negatively impacted under the Presidency of Dr Mohamed Waheed.

The country’s largest ever foreign direct investment deal – the US$500million lease to re-develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport – was unilaterally terminated by the government late last year.

Arbitration proceedings are continuing in Singapore, with Indian infrastructure giant GMR claiming US$1.4billion for “wrongful termination”.

Similarly, Malaysian firm Nexbis was given just two weeks to leave the country after the government terminated its deal to install and operate a border control system after the government suggested the MDP-brokered deal was causing “major losses” to the state.

The idea of a bridge linking connecting the islands of Male’ and Hulhumale’ – an artificially reclaimed island built to combat the rising population of Male  – was proposed during the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed in 2011.

The building of a bridge was to accompany the Veshi Fahi Male’ de-congestion programme – a flagship project of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government under its manifesto pledge to provide affordable housing.

The project was launched on November 10, 2010 to ease congestion in the capital and develop the Greater Male’ Region, consisting of Hulhumale’, Vili-Male’, Thilafushi industrial island and Gulhifalhu.

Following the ousting of Nasheed’s administration in February 2012, his successor President Mohamed Waheed announced it had been trying to get a US$150 million loan (MVR 2.31 billion) from Turkey’s Exim bank to fund the project.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Minister of Home Affairs orders the removal of “any material inciting hatred towards police”

Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer stated on Monday night that he had granted an order to police to remove any material which could be interpreted as “inciting hatred towards police”.

“I have notified every police officer and police station in the country of this order. I have ordered the removal of any material that may incite hatred towards the police – whether it is text, a drawing, a poster or a billboard – that is found in any area of the Maldives at any time.”

The Home Minister’s announcement was made during an event held in honour of retired Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz, who has left the services to pursue a political career.

“For a long time now, there have been attempts of different levels to ruin the reputation of the police force and to create hatred amongst the public for this institution. This is something that has been done in other countries too. But the thing is, peace and stability have never been established in such countries,” Umar said.

Umar pledged to make the police force an institution which is loved and respected by all citizens.

Calling on educated youth to join the police forces, the Home Minister said that it is through employing young, capable, educated persons that the police force can be further strengthened and developed.

The Home Minister further pledged to “destroy gateways through which drugs are brought into the country”, as well as to eradicate all such networks.

The biggest problem faced by the Maldivian society is the issue of drug abuse, he suggested, stating that he had already begun to take necessary measures to eradicate such networks in the near future.

He promised that the police would play a huge role in the operation, and opined that it would be near impossible to bring down other crime levels without first handling the issue of illicit drug sale and abuse.

“We are coming out on a war against the issue of drugs. I hope we will get your full cooperation in these efforts. We will completely destroy drug trade networks,” he told the gathered officers.

Newly appointed Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed, meanwhile, advised the police to speak “gently and caringly” when addressing citizens, and to maintain equal treatment to everyone.

He then said that police should become an entity which rids the community of the currently spreading “hatred and discord”, and that is should aim to bring back unity amongst the people.

“Aim to enforce law, not gaining popularity”: VP Jameel tells police

During the same event last night, Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed stated that the police’s primary objective should be to ensure that they impartially enforce law, rather than whether or not they are garnering support and popularity.

Jameel stated that there are complaints that some of the police stationed in atolls work differently from the norms, saying that this leads to public disapproval and gives rise to concerns. He said that there should be no discrimination in the enforcement of law.

“Those who are mandated to enforce the law must not question the fundamentals of the law itself. Police must not question the substance of a law. It is not the police who decides whether or not the substance of a given law is solid. The law is already passed, and the police’s duty is only to enforce it,” Jameel said.

“If the citizens are being disturbed due to a loud speaker, you must be able to stop the loud speaker. If citizens are getting harassed on the street in a manner that disturbs them, and there is a law banning such action, you should be able to stop it. If there are laws made to assist the people, the police must be able to enforce it. I hope you will work in that manner,” he stated.

Jameel said that, although at a low level, it had previously come to his notice that police officers had acted on their own accord in certain cases, despite actions to be taken being specifically stated in law. He said that such actions had inhibited the growth and development of the institution.

He added that it was only when crime rates go down and stability is maintained that the police can be considered as having fulfilled their mandate to its fullest. He further called on the police to help the government implement a social protection system, saying that one of the strongest pleas of the public is to remove the political polarisation and to establish unity and oneness among the people.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Maldives absent from Corruption Perceptions Index for second consecutive year

The Maldives has again failed to appear on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) after the anti-corruption organisation was unable to secure the minimum required information necessary.

“We didn’t make the index as the required minimum of three sources of information was not received by TI,” explained Transparency Maldives’ Advocacy and Communications Manager Aiman Rasheed.

The CPI scores are base on a minimum of three expert sources – usually from international organisations with expertise in governance of business climate analysis. Examples include the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Global Insight, or the Asian Development Bank.

Transparency International was only able to obtain information from two sources for this year’s list.

Asked if he thought the absence of the Maldives from the CPI for a second year would have a negative impact on perceptions of the country, Rasheed was dubious.

“My honest opinion is that it can hardly get any worse, we’re already in the bottom of the pile. The developments in 2012 and 2013 do not appear to have improved the public sector in terms of reducing corruption and empowering those who fight corruption,” he said.

He did admit, however, that the Maldives failing to appear on the index for two straight years would raise questions, though he stressed that multiple organisations involved in the collection and analysis of the required data made the assignation of blame to individual bodies unhelpful.

“The problem is that Maldives is a small country and the interactions of international institutions – from which the data is derived – may be limited, as well as the required information may not have been obtained in time, or the data that eventually do come through may not be utilized due to data quality,” continued Rasheed.

After moving up to 134th (of 182 listed states) in the 2011 index, the Maldives did not appear on the 2012 list.

Following the Maldives 2011 appearance in the list, Rasheed described the corruption in the Maldives as “grand corruption” when compared to smaller lever problems elsewhere in the region.

“In the Maldives there is corruption across the judiciary, parliament and members of the executive, all of it interlinked, and a systemic failure of the systems in place to address this. That why we score so low.”

The interference of the judiciary in this year’s presidential elections was roundly criticised internationally after the initial poll was annulled following a questionable Supreme Court ruling regarding fraudulent votes.

This year’s lists consists of just 175 states, with Denmark , Finland and New Zealand taking the top spots for the third year running.

The two positions at the bottom of the table were again occupied by North Korea and Somalia, again for the third consecutive year.

The CPI measures perceived levels of public sector corruption across the globe and is the most widely used indicator of corruption used worldwide.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)