Tag: maldives

Defence minister acquitted of terrorism

The criminal court has acquitted defence minister Moosa Ali Jaleel of terrorism charges related to the detention of a judge, an incident over which former president Mohamed Nasheed has been jailed for 13 years.

The court said there was insufficient evidence to prove Jaleel’s involvement.

Jaleel, who headed the army during the 2012 military detention of criminal court chief judge Abdulla Mohamed, maintains he had no role or influence in the arrest. He said the post of chief of defence forces had been reduced to a ceremonial position.

Five senior state officials were charged with terrorism and tried separately over the judge’s arrest.

The criminal court on March 13 sentenced Nasheed to 13 years in jail in a trial widely condemned for a lack of due process.

Verdicts in the trials of ex-defence minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu, ex-colonel Mohamed Ziyad and MP Ibrahim Mohamed Didi, who was the Malé area military commander at the time, are still pending.

Judge Abdulla’s arrest sparked 22 nights of violent anti-government protests, culminating in a police and army mutiny on February 7, 2012. Nasheed resigned on the same day, but later said it was under duress.

Jaleel also resigned as chief of the defence forces then, but in 2014 joined the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives and took on the role of Maldives Ambassador to Pakistan. He was appointed as defence minister in January.

Verdicts in Tholhath, Jaleel and Ziyad’s trials were initially scheduled to be delivered at the same time, but were repeatedly cancelled, and the criminal court finally delivered a verdict only in Jaleel’s trial last night.

Opposition MP Didi’s case did not progress beyond a few hearings as he had to be flown abroad for medical treatment half-way through the trial. He has not yet returned.

The criminal court last night said despite Nasheed’s conviction, there was no evidence to suggest Jaleel’s involvement in the arrest.

During past hearings, Jaleel said he had taken part in meetings between the heads of the police and military at which they discussed challenges posed to law enforcement and domestic security by the criminal court’s alleged release of dangerous criminals and refusal to grant search and arrest warrants to police.

However, Jaleel said that the issue of arresting the chief judge of the criminal court was not raised during any of the meetings.

He also admitted to attending a meeting to discuss the issue with the Supreme Court.

President Abdulla Yameen appointed Jaleel to the cabinet on January 20 shortly after sacking former defence minister Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim, who was recently sentenced to 11 years in jail over weapons smuggling.

On March 8, Jaleel led a motorcycle rally by the PPM calling for a speedy judgment in Nasheed’s case.

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Power subsidy deadline extended amid public anger

The government today extended a deadline for households to seek subsidies for electricity by a month as hundreds queued up for hours to submit forms.

Shops in Haa Dhaal Vaikaradhoo shut down today to join growing protests against the government’s decision to cut subsidies for businesses, and Gaaf Dhaal Gahdhoo council said it will now seek rent on lands leased to the state owned electricity company.

The government says the current blanket electricity subsidy benefits the affluent over the needy, and targeting subsidies will rein in expenditure and increase aid to the poor.

But many who queued up to submit forms today were unsure whether they would receive the subsidy as the government has not yet revealed the criteria for a successful application.

“I really don’t know if I will get subsidies. But I’m applying in the hope the government will be fair about it,” applicant Abdul Latheef said.

In an interview with Haveeru last week, the chief executive of the National Social Protection Agency, Mujthaba Jaleel, said that “everyone who applies for subsidy will get it.” But yesterday he said that “the criteria have not yet been set”.

Mujthaba was unavailable for comment today.

People in queues today complained of the extensive documentation required for the application, which includes rent contracts, wage details, and the number of household appliances that use power.

“This application form is a hazard. We have to get a lot of unnecessary documents. It would have been better if they set up an online system instead of making us wait in queues for hours, only to later reject my application,” Mohamed Yoosuf said as he waited in a queue.

The new deadline for form submission has been moved from April 9 to May 9, Ahmed Nihan, an MP for the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives, said in a tweet.

However, the government has stood by its decision to cut subsidies for businesses, despite critics claiming the move would destroy small and medium-sized enterprises on rural islands. Some businesses say their bills have doubled or tripled.

After closing shops earlier this week, businesses in Haa Dhaal Kulhdhuffushi, Gaafu Dhaal Thinadhoo, and Addu City have set up committees to negotiate with the government.

Gahdhoo in Gaaf Dhaal asked state electricity company Fenaka to pay the council MVR 506,840 (US $39,585) for plots of land rented to the company.

“Fenaka has never cooperated with us. Once we got lights to put in the harbour area but Fenaka refused to give power. Then this issue has come up with subsidies. So we have also severed ties with them,” councilor Mohamed Shujau said.

Businesses in Vaikaradhoo are also preparing a petition after a one day shop shut down, while those on southern Fuvahmulah have already submitted a petition demanding a fair price for electricity.

Shop owners have also taken issue with the higher electricity prices in the atolls as compared to Malé City.

Electricity prices are up to 72 percent higher in northern Haa Alif , Haa Dhaal, and Shaviyani Atolls and up to 37 percent higher in Addu City and Fuvahmulaku than in Male’ City, according to figures from Fenaka.

 

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India steeply increases aid to Maldives

India has increased its aid budget for the Maldives more than sixfold this year.

According to the budget of India’s Ministry of External Affairs for 2015-16, the country allocated INR 250m (US $4m, MVR 61.6m)  for Maldives last year, but this year the figure will shoot up to INR 1.83bn (US $30m, MVR 450m).

Objectives for the Maldives include setting up a police academy and the construction of a composite training centre in Male’, the budget says.

“A large proportion of the budget of the ministry is allocated towards technical assistance programmes in neighbouring countries and other developing countries,” said the budget.

Countries receiving Indian aid and loans include Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, African countries, Latin American countries and Eurasian countries.

India will be giving INR 6.76bn (US $110m, MVR 1.67bn) to Afghanistan this year, less than last year’s INR7.1bn, as New Delhi seeks to help the war-torn country rebuild.

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Jailed ex-minister Nazim to travel abroad for treatment

Jailed former defense minister Mohamed Nazim has been authorised to travel overseas for medical treatment for a potentially life threatening condition.

He will be allowed to leave the country for a set period of time, a media official from the Maldives Correctional Service said.

However, the jailed politician’s family said they had not yet been told about his permission to leave.

“The family has not been officially informed of the [authorisation] to leave the country. We are working on it,” said Adam Azim, Nazim’s brother.

The family declined to reveal details of Nazim’s medical condition, but said it needs to be monitored and treated.

“We are very concerned. But the government doesn’t seem to feel any urgency at all,” he said.

Nazim was arrested and fired from the cabinet in January after police found a gun during a controversial raid on his home, and in March was handed an 11-year jail sentence for smuggling illegal weapons.

After the midnight police raid in January, officers said they had confiscated a pistol, bullets and a pen drive containing information that Nazim was plotting a coup d’etat and planning to harm the president, police commissioner and tourism minister.

Nazim says the items were planted, and the opposition has been campaigning for his release.

He requested permission to travel overseas three weeks ago after his doctor advised him to undergo some tests unavailable in the Maldives.

Nazim’s lawyers are meanwhile compiling their appeal against his sentence.

“Lawyers are working on the appeal round the clock, listening to recordings, and hoping to file by Thursday or Sunday,” said Azim.

The correctional service said Nazim’s family would need to notify them of which country he plans to travel to so that they can check it is a country approved for Maldivian prisoner visits.

No prison guards will travel with him, but the correctional service and a guardian from the family will come to an agreement under which the guardian will be responsible for the inmate.

The spokesman said that inmates are usually allotted three months for overseas treatment, but that the medical board can extend the period if treatment is taking longer.

Nazim’s family had a monthly visit with him on Monday at Humafushi jail for two hours and reported he was in “high spirits”.

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Amal Clooney and other heavyweights to represent jailed ex President Nasheed

Jailed opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed has unveiled an international legal team including heavyweight human rights lawyers such as Amal Clooney.

Clooney, who has advised the UN and is the wife of Hollywood actor George Clooney, is accompanied by Jared Genser, the founder of the renowned campaign group for political prisoners Freedom Now, and Ben Emmerson, former UN rights chief on counter-terrorism and human rights.

Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail last month on terrorism charges in a trial heavily criticised by observers including the UN and Amnesty International for its apparent lack of due process.

The former president hopes to increase international pressure on President Abdulla Yameen, who has so far remained silent in the face of the opposition’s daily protests, and calls for dialogue and a presidential pardon.

“I am very pleased to have such an extraordinary team agree to take up my legal defence internationally,” he said in a statement today.

Nasheed said he is determined to “ensure the world understands the injustice of my detention and the broader suffering of the Maldivian people under President Abdulla Yameen.”

President Yameen maintains he has no role in the trial, but called on the international community to respect the Criminal Court’s verdict.

The international team will push for Nasheed’s “freedom from arbitrary detention” through international lobbying and legal mechanisms such as the UN working group on arbitrary detention, the former president’s domestic legal team says.

The working group’s decision on Nasheed’s detention will affect the international community’s policy towards the Maldives, and would inform decisions on possible sanctions, they added.

Genser has represented Nobel Peace Prize laureates Aung San Suu Kyi and Liu Xiaobo, while Clooney has counseled political prisoners such as the former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko and Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy.

Emmerson, meanwhile, is currently the British judge on international tribunals on Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Nasheed on March 19 announced he would not seek an appeal after the Criminal Court failed to release required case documents on time, and said he is now seeking a political solution involving president Yameen.

The High Court still says Nasheed can appeal, claiming judges are authorized to accept late appeals if a “reasonable justification” is given, but Nasheed’s lawyers say Supreme Court has taken away the discretionary powers to judges in a new ruling in January.

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party describes Nasheed’s conviction as part of a broader government plan to silence dissent, a claim Yameen denies.

Since Nasheed’s conviction, former defence minister Mohamed Nazim has been sentenced to 13 years in jail on smuggling weapons and ruling party MP Ahmed Nazim was yesterday sentenced to 25 years in prison on corruption charges.

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Politicians line up to replace jailed MP

Would-be candidates are already setting out their stalls for the parliamentary by-election in Meemu atoll Dhiggaru after the seat’s previous incumbent was jailed for 25 years yesterday.

Ruling party MP Ahmed Nazim, a former deputy speaker of parliament, was found guilty on Monday of defrauding the state of MVR 1.4 million (US $91,400) and sentenced to 25 years.

Members of both the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and the opposition have expressed an interest in replacing him in the Majlis (parliament).

Among these are Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) member and Meemu atoll Muli island councillor Ibrahim Zaki, ruling party member and Meemu atoll councilor Moosa Naseer, and Adhaalath Party spokesperson Ali Zahir.

“I have decided to run for Dhihgaru constituency and I will apply as soon as the elections commission gives notice,” said Ali Zahir.

Elections must be held to fill parliamentary vacancies within 60 days under the constitution.

Meanwhile, the MDP has condemned Nazim’s conviction, saying several aspects of the process violated his rights.

“The lower court and the High Court threw out the case. So the state had appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling. But instead the Supreme Court ruled on the case,” said MDP MP and spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy.

“So literally Nazim did not have a chance to defend himself,” Imthiyaz added.

He noted that former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, accused of plotting to assassinate President Abdulla Yameen, and ex-president Mohamed Nasheed, accused of terrorism over the arrest of a judge, received shorter sentences than Ahmed Nazim.

“[They] were charged with more serious crimes. So I don’t see the fairness in this conviction,” he said.

“It seems that the courts had all ruled in favor of Nazim when he was in favor with the government. But after his spat with [Tourism Minister Ahmed] Adeeb, the courts had turned against him,” Imthiyaz said.

Nazim, an ex-deputy speaker of parliament, was found guilty of defrauding the state by submitting bids on behalf of non-existent companies to supply 15,000 national flags to the now-defunct atolls ministry.

He faces three more outstanding corruption charges.

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Mahloof censured over areca nuts as charges loom

Detained parliamentarian Ahmed Mahloof has been denied family visits over the discovery of areca nuts in his pocket, as police prepare to bring charges against him.

Mahloof’s wife, Nazra Naseem, said police cancelled a family visit planned for Saturday on the discovery of the “illegal” areca nuts.

The most high-profile defector from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Mahloof has been attending Majlis (parliament) because of a rule specifying that detained lawmakers must be brought to sessions.

“MPs have access to things like areca nuts in the Majlis during meal times. I think that if it is unlawful, it is the police’s responsibility to make sure these things are inaccessible to him,” Nazra said.

Police said they had sent charges of disobedience to order against Mahloof to the prosecutor general’s office relating to events at a protest on March 25, but said it would be for state prosecutors to decide whether to proceed with the case.

Mahloof, a close associate of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was expelled from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in February after he publicly criticised President Abdulla Yameen and the government.

He is now part of the Alliance against Brutality, an anti-government coalition. He was arrested at an opposition protest on March 25 on suspicion of disobedience to orders after police said he had passed a barricade.

Mahloof has been repeatedly re-detained since then after refusing to accept a conditional release that would require him to stay away from protests for 30 days.

Other opposition figures have suggested that authorities may be planning separate charges against him.

Sheikh Imran Abdulla, head of the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, tweeted that the government was seeking to press terrorism charges against Mahloof.

After his latest court hearing, an altercation took place in which Mahloof’s wife said police pinched her, twisted her arm and tore buttons from her top. Police have denied this.

Nazra has filed complaints with the Human Rights Commission and Police Integrity Commission over the incident on Monday.

Jeehan Mohmood, a member of the Human Rights Commission, confirmed that it was investigating Nazra’s case, while Abdul Aziz Yoosuf, director general of the Police Integrity Commission, told Minivan News the PIC was also looking into the incident.

“My hope is that the independent institutions will look into my case as tomorrow another woman may be treated the same way,” said Nazra.

Separately, the Human Rights Commission is also reviewing 20 cases of protesters who were released from detention on condition they stay away from protests, Jeehan told Minivan News.

Photo of police forcing Mahloof into a police vehicle on April 3, taken by Munshid Mohamed. 

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Maldivian student evacuated from war-torn Yemen

A Maldivian student has been evacuated from Yemen’s capital along with hundreds of Indian nationals fleeing air strikes in an escalating sectarian conflict.

The student was flown from Sana’a to Djibouti yesterday and is now in India’s Mumbai, his family has confirmed. He is to arrive in Maldives tomorrow morning.

The student had gone to Sana’a in December last year to study the Qur’an.

The Foreign Ministry last week said families of two more students had asked to be evacuated.

But deputy minister for foreign affairs Fathimath Inaya told Minivan News the government the other two students, who are safe, had chosen not to leave the country yet.

According to Yemeni media, at least 500 foreign nationals have been evacuated from Sana’a since Thursday. The UN and diplomatic missions pulled their staff out last week.

A Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Yemen for nearly two weeks in an attempt off an insurgency led by Shia Houthi rebels.

The rebels took control of Sana’a earlier this year, forcing Yemeni President Abdabbauh Mansour Hadi to flee the country in February.

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Maldives ‘open for Japanese investment’

Foreign minister Dunya Maumoon said today that the Maldives is open for Japanese investments, as the east Asian country donated MVR 64 million (US $4m) of “disaster reduction equipment”.

“The Maldives is open for Japanese investment. Be it airport development, or tourist resort development, or transportation sector development, the Japanese investors will have the full guarantee that their investment will be fully protected,” Dunya said.

She was speaking at a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today for the signing of the Japanese aid deal.

The foreign ministry had not specified what the equipment consisted of at the time of going to press.

The government said in June last year it was in talks with the Japan Bank to secure a loan of US $200m to help redevelop the country’s main international airport, but this month it said it was looking to the Saudis for the cash.

In her remarks, Dunya expressed appreciation from the Maldives to Japan for nearly four decades of support, which have included providing the sea wall around Malé and constructing primary schools.

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