maldives – Page 256 – Minivan News

Week in review: October 26 – November 1

The biggest headlines in the Maldives this week came out of the People’s Majlis, beginning with the MNDF going into the parliament to block the entrance of two opposition MPs who had been stripped of their seats by the Supreme Court.

After some scuffles, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Azim was handed over to police, who subsequently extended his detention to 15 days.

Azim had arrived to take part in the emergency session which eventually passed a motion supporting the transition of presidential power to the speaker of the house should no president-elect be determined by November 11.

After calling on the MNDF to ignore the Supreme Court’s decision to remove Azim and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party MP Mohamed Nashiz, Speaker Abdulla Shahid took the decision to appoint a serjeant at arms to oversee future security at the Majlis.

The constitutionally protected status of the Majlis premises was used to full advantage by MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor this week who sought sanctuary from arrest by police who wished to present him in court in relation to drug and alcohol offences.

After threats to try Hamid in absentia, the Criminal Court sentenced him to six months in prison for failure to attend hearings.

The Majlis also found time this week to receive the MVR16.4 billion (US$1 billion) budget for 2014, as well as accepting a bill that would criminalise calling for, endorsing, or taking part in a tourism boycott.

One person not present in the Majlis this week was now-former Attorney General Azima Shukoor, who was removed in a unanimous vote of no-confidence. This day’s proceedings were not without additional incident, however, as mysterious pills – rumoured to be laxatives – were found in a Majlis’ coffee machine.

The week’s events will not have reassured the Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, who wrote to Speaker Shahid requesting an urgent visit to the country to assess the situation.

Mandatory excess

MPs were not the only ones feeling persecuted this week, as Supreme Court took aim at MDP aligned broadcaster Raajje TV for allegedly defaming its reputation. The station – decimated in an arson attack earlier this month – also reported fresh threats against its premises.

The Maldives Media Council and Reporters Without Borders joined station management in arguing that the police were acting outside of their mandate, encroaching upon an investigation that rightly fell within the purview of the broadcasting commission.

Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz warned media outlets that action would be taken against anyone found to be reporting “invalid information, if it relates to courts or judges”.

After levelling similar accusations against the police in relation the delayed election, the Human Rights Commission this week told Minivan News that it felt the police were now attempting to intimidate its staff.

It was the Supreme Court itself, however, that came in for the most stinging criticism this week as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay launched an offensive on the apex bench, accusing it of “interfering excessively in the Presidential elections”.

After being accused of “subverting the democratic process”, the Chief Justice quickly hit back, labelling Pillay’s comment “irresponsible” and “poorly researched”.

Reputation at stake

The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office also expressed its concern this week that repeated delays to the presidential election could hurt the Maldives’ economy as well as its international reputation – something not helped by an attack on the Indian High Commissioner’s official vehicle.

FCO minister Hugo Swire urged stakeholders to allow the Elections Commission “the space needed” to prepare for the elections – a request not heeded by either the government nor the presidential candidates who pleaded with the EC to move polls forward in order to avoid the impending constitutional void.

The Elections Commissioner responded that an expedited poll was not possible, regardless of any amount of government assistance – not even the police’s new-found ability to verify fingerprints at 25 times its previous speed.

Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek also revealed that the EC had found at least four of the 18 people deemed dead by the Supreme Court annulment to be alive and “quite fed up”.

MDP candidate Mohamed Nasheed told the press of diplomatic murmurings regarding likely economic sanctions should no new president be found by November 11.

He went on to suggest the way out of the impasse might be for either one of the three candidates to pull out of the poll, or for the Supreme Court to un-annul the first round – making the November 9 poll a two horse race.

Finally, the World Economic Forum’s gender gap index found the Maldives a mediocre place to be a woman, with the country scoring highly in terms of education and health but falling behind in economic and political parity.

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Majlis speaker swears in sergeant at arms

The People’s Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid has today sworn in former Maldives National Defense Forces (MNDF) officer Mohamed Haleem to the newly announced position of sergeant at arms.

The sergeant at arms is to oversee security of the Majlis premises – a task currently carried out by the MNDF.

The Majlis is also looking to hire two deputies and four assistants to the sergeant at arms and 100 security officers. Once the new security unit is established the MNDF will no longer oversee the security of the legislature.

The appointment of an independent Sergeant at Arms comes at a time when several MPs belonging to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) are being tried for criminal charges.

The Criminal Court today sentenced MDP MP Hamid Abdul GHafoor to six months in jail for failure to attend a trial over an alleged refusal to provide urine.

The court has issued several arrest warrants, ordering the police to arrest Hamid and present him at court. The police were unable to do so, however, after Hamid took refuge inside the Majlis premises.

Hamid claims the trial is “politically motivated” and contends the Criminal Court scheduled hearings during Majlis work hours.

Article 11 of the Parliamentary Privileges and Powers Act says an MP cannot be summoned to court during Majlis sittings or parliamentary committee hearings.

The MDP and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) currently control a simple majority in parliament. The DRP decided to back the MDP after MDP’s Mohamed Nasheed gained 45.45 percent of the vote in the annulled first round of presidential elections on September 7.

The MDP has condemned the judiciary’s attempts to “purge” its MPs.

On October 24, the Supreme Court stripped MDP MP Ali Azim and DRP MP Mohamed Nashiz of their seats over decreed debt. However, the Parliamentary Privileges Committee said they do not accept the Supreme Court’s “politically motivated” verdict and said Azim and Nashiz’s parliamentary membership continues.

When Azim attempted to attend a Majlis sitting on October 26, the MNDF blocked entry. Shortly afterwards, officers clad in combat fatigues stormed the Majlis and removed Azim from its premises, and handed him over to police officers waiting outside.

Azim is currently in police custody on charges of assaulting a police officer.

Speaker Shahid has condemned the MNDF’s actions stating that the MNDF are to follow his orders within the Majlis premises.

Article 4 of parliamentary regulations read: “Unless otherwise explicitly stated in the Constitution or laws, the Majlis building, hall, the pathways and corridors leading to the hall within the Majlis premises and the Majlis courtyard is under the control and orders of the Majlis Speaker.”

Three MDP MPs are currently on trial, while police have asked the PG to prosecute four additional MDP MPs.

MP Ali Waheed is on trial for disobedience to order for crossing a police barricade, while Hamid and Abdulla Jabir are on trial for alleged alcohol and drug abuse.

Police are charging MPs Alhan Fahmy, Imthiyaz Fahmy, and Mohamed Rasheed with contempt of court for criticizing the Supreme Court, and MP Ibrahim Rasheed with assaulting a police officer.

The MDP notes corruption charges against several government aligned MPs have been dropped since the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.

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2.2 percent voter registration forms sent to police have been rejected: DNR

Department of National Registration (DNR) Director Fareeda Yoosuf has stated that 11 out of the 500 voter re-registration forms sent to the police for verification have been rejected to date.

Meanwhile, police have announced they are able to verify fingerprints 25 times faster than they had previously stated.

“The DNR is just acting as an intermediary between the Elections Commission [EC]and the police. Once we receive forms from the EC, we forward it to the police who will carry out the verification process. Once we hear back from them, we deliver their results to the EC,” Fareeda explained.

“So far we have received 350 re-registration forms from the EC on Tuesday, and 150 forms on Wednesday. Having sent them to police promptly, we have heard from them that 11 of the forms have been rejected. We haven’t reviewed the report, nor asked for specifics, therefore we can’t say whether these forms have been rejected due to issues with the fingerprint, or some other issue,” she stated.

“As this is a matter related to the election, it is the EC that will decide on how to proceed with the matter. We have sent them the forms and the police report. It is their responsibility to follow it up and decide what to do about it,” Fareeda said.

Meanwhile, the police released a statement on Tuesday stating that they had completed the fingerprint verification process of 350 forms sent in by the DNR. The statement does not mention finding any irregularities in the forms.

Minivan News was unable to contact police media officials or the EC secretary general at the time of press.

Fingerprint verification

Although the Supreme Court ruling issued on September 13 orders the EC to verify fingerprints on re-registration forms through the DNR, Fareeda stated that the department does not possess the capacity or the resources to conduct the process.

The DNR therefore sends the forms they receive from the EC on to the police, who carry out the verification process.

While police routinely fingerprint those arrested and the DNR fingerprints those issued new ID cards, no institution in the Maldives has the capacity to verify fingerprints on the scale of a national presidential election.

The police initially said on October 14 that with the capacity they have, it would take them five minutes to verify a single fingerprint. As each re-registration form has fingerprints of four different people – the voter, the bearer who submits the form and two witnesses – each form would then take 20 minutes for verification.

However, on October 23 – 9 days after the initial statement – police announced that they have “increased capacity” to the level where they can verify five fingerprints in one minute, which amounts to 75 form verifications in an hour.

A statement on the police website quotes Assistant Commissioner of Police Hussain Adam as stating that the institution has increased capacity by deciding that, in addition to the automated verification system, police will also manually verify fingerprints.

He explained that manual verification meant that “fingerprint experts” will judge the legitimacy of a fingerprint by looking at it with the naked eye.

“There are certain things in every person’s fingerprint that need to be counted. This can be done by experts just by looking at it with the naked eye. We have decided to use this approach. It can be done,” he stated.

The Jumhooree coalition has maintained that they need at least five percent of the re-registration forms to have the fingerprints verified, while the Progressive Party of Maldives continues to demand that ten percent be verified.

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Criminal Court sentences MP Hamid to six months for non-compliance with court summons

The Criminal Court has sentenced Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor for not complying with the court summons in a case where he was charged for refusing to provide a urine sample to police.

Criminal Court Spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Manik today confirmed that the court has sentenced Hamid to six months in prison.

“He was sentenced for not complying with the court orders,’’ he said. ‘”The other case where he is charged for not giving the urine sample will continue.’’

Hamid’s lawyer and former deputy prosecutor general Hussein Shameem today told Minivan News that he had not officially received information about the court verdict but that he had heard it through the media.

‘’In the past eight years no one was sentenced to six months in a case where a person failed to comply with court summons,’’ he said.

Shameem said that normally the court sentences for not complying with court summons were a fine of MVR75 or a four month jail sentence.

He said that he will decide on appealing the case after he gets the court verdict officially.

According to Shameem, the court could sentence Hamid to an additional one year if it finds him guilty of the original case where he was charged for denying a urine sample to police.

Meanwhile, Hamid has issued a statement on the MDP’s website saying that he was not provided with an official requisition form as is required under article 7 of regulations on procuring, transferring, and testing urine samples and that he was not instructed to provide a urine sample as per regulations.

‘”At the hearing of the case held on 9 October 2013, the prosecution (state) lawyer had repeatedly failed to respond to my lawyer’s query whether I was instructed to provide a urine sample through an official requisition form as per regulations,’’ Hamid said in the statement.

“Therefore, this is an irrelevant and unsubstantiated case of political predation by the Maldives Police Service, the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Criminal Court, in direct contravention and disregard to official procedures and laws.’’

He said that he had been attending the court according to the summons until 23 October, when there had been a parliament sitting scheduled meaning he was unable to attend, sending a letter to the court informing it of such.

Hamid said that the court did not respond to his letter.

Majlis refuge

Parliament yesterday brought an amendment to its regulations, allowing MPs to attend parliamentary sittings and voting even if they are convicted of a criminal offence.

A total of 10 people were taken into police custody on November 16 after police raided and searched Hondaidhoo with a court warrant. Officers alleged they found large amounts of suspected drugs and alcohol upon searching the island.

In August this year Criminal Court Media Official Ahmed Mohamed Manik told Minivan News that the PG had charged MDP MPs Abdulla Jabir and Hamed with smuggling alcohol into the country and consuming alcohol.

Jabir and Ghafoor were also both charged with objecting to urine testing and possession of cannabis.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair and his wife Mariyam Faiza were also charged for objecting to take a urine test, said Manik.

Additionally, the son of former President Nasheed’s Special Envoy, Mohamed Hamdhoon Zaki, has been charged for trafficking illegal drugs into the country – the penalty for which is 25 years and can be fined up to MVR10million.

On 24 October, the Criminal Court issued a warrant to arrest and summon Hamid to the court, but the MP took refuge in the parliament building on the same day meaning police were unable to arrest him.

Article 11 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act states that an MP cannot be summoned to court when Majlis sittings or parliamentary committee hearings are scheduled.

The parliament has also scheduled a no-confidence motion against Prosecutor General [PG] Ahmed Muiz for being biased and also for not fulfilling his legal duties in taking action against police and military officers who violated the law on February 6 and 7, 2012, after the Commission of National Inquiry’s (CoNI) report found that officers had violated the laws.

The issue has been now scheduled to next Monday after the PG told the parliament that he needed more time to respond to the no-confidence motion.

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Man arrested for vandalism of Indian High Commissioner’s Car

The police have arrested a 22 year-old suspect in connection with the vandalism of the Indian High Commissioner’s Car on Monday (October 28).

The police obtained a warrant from the Criminal Court to arrest the man, but have not provided any further details on the case. The case is being investigated by the Serious and Organised Crime Department.

The rear window of High Commissioner Rajeeve Shahare’s car was smashed on Monday evening whilst parked outside of the High Commission in Male’.

A statement released by the Indian High Commission described the attack, noting that a police officer was observed by High Commission security staff as witnessing the attack but failing to react.

“The Indian High Commission security guards observed on the close circuit TV that the culprit purposefully approached the Indian flag car, pelted two metallic objects at the car one of which smashed the rear windshield, and ran away thereafter,” said the statement.

“It is evident that there was malicious intention to cause damage to the property and perhaps to the occupant of the car. Importantly, the High Commissioner was in the car just a few minutes before the attack,” it continued.

The President’s Office on October 29 assured that such “cowardly” attacks against foreign diplomatic personnel and property would not be tolerated.

“The close and friendly relation that exists between the Maldives and India is based on mutual respect, understanding and reinforced by a shared vision of a better future for our people,” it said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also expressed concern over the attack on the diplomatic vehicle.

“The Ministry wishes to call on all members of the public to refrain from activities that might undermine the close friendly relations that exist between Maldives and its close and friendly neighbours,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday (October 29).

The Maldives’ traditionally close ties with India have come under increasing strain under the current government, with the cancellation of a deal to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in December 2012 the most contentious issue.

The 25-year, US$500million, lease signed with Indian infrastructure company GMR was terminated after a long and at times xenophobic campaign from government-aligned parties.

The campaign sparked a diplomatic row after President’s Office spokesman Abbas Adil Riza accused Indian High Commissioner D.M. Mulay of being a “traitor and enemy of the Maldives and the Maldivian people”.

The President’s Office quickly distanced itself from these remarks. Both men have since left their posts.

GMR is currently seeking US$1.4billion in compensation in a Singaporean court of arbitration – a figure greater than the Maldives’ annual state budget.

On February 15 this year, the Indian government revoked a special quota afforded to the Maldives for the import of aggregate and river sand, resulting in a weakening of the construction sector in 2013.

The Indian High Commission itself became the scene of political drama as former President Nasheed temporarily sought refuge inside the diplomatic mission after police attempted to arrest him to ensure his appearance in court.

Following Monday’s attack, the Maldivian Democratic Party described the rhetoric of the past few months as “hate mongering targeting Indian officials.”

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Reporters Without Borders blasts “persecution” of Raajje TV

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released a statement further criticising the “persecution” of Raajje TV, after the recent initiation of a Supreme Court ordered investigation into its content.

The station is currently under investigation by police after the court ordered they look into an October 19 news report which is alleged to have defamed the institution.

“Not only is the accusation spurious but the investigation has been assigned to the police, which has no competence in such a matter,” RSF said.

“As the Maldives Media Council, the Maldives Broadcasting Commission [MBC] and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party have all said, such an investigation is the Council’s responsibility.”

Raajje TV CEO Yamin Rasheed told Minivan News yesterday that, whilst both himself and the station’s News Head Asward Ibrahim had been summoned to police, he was only only willing to cooperate with the MBC.

“I won’t co-operate with police, but if the police and broadcasting commission get together and find a solution, I am willing to cooperate – if the broadcasting commission direct us to do so,” said Yamin.

Yesterday’s RSF statement sought to remind the Maldives police of its duty to guarantee freedom of information and media independence.

“The police should concentrate on identifying and arresting the perpetrators and instigators of the arson attack that gutted the station’s premises on 7 October instead of worrying about the quality of its programmes,” read the RSF statement.

Following the destruction of the station’s main studios by masked men earlier this month, RSF strongly condemned the attitude of police who failed to prevent the premeditated attack.

The day after the attack, Chief Superintendent of Police Abdulla Nawaz suggested that protests conducted nearby by the Maldivian Democratic Party – with whom Raajje TV is aligned – had diverted police resources on the night of the attack, before arguing that Raajje TV staff had been negligent in not protecting the premises.

Police have today revealed that seven men and one minor have been arrested in relation to the attack.

“This unconstitutional order follows a failure on the part of the police to protect Raajje TV’s headquarters although they had been informed about the threats it had received, and it shows that the authorities are endorsing an offensive designed to silence Raajje TV by any means necessary,” read this week’s RSF statement.

After receiving fresh threats against its premises this week, Raajje TV has been advised by police to hire additional private security.

“The Police also responded to RaajjeTV’s request of Police security stating that there are difficulties in placing Officers for security but the building and the area will be specially patrolled,” read a police statement yesterday.

Since the controversial transfer of power on February 7, 2012, Raajje TV has faced increasing threats. In July 2012, the police and the President’s Office had said it would not cooperate with the TV station, blocking the station from President’s Office’s press conferences and police protection at protests.

The Civil Court has since ruled that the police and President’s Office’s decisions to ostracize the station were both unconstitutional.

In August 2012, critical cables in the station’s control room were cut, terminating the station’s broadcast. Several Raajje TV journalists have also reported arbitrary arrests and assaults.

In February 2013, men wielding iron rods on motorbikes assaulted Asward leaving him with near near-fatal head injuries.

“The same political alliance is behind the fresh threat, which says Raajje TV should be gone from the scene to meet their political needs,” Yamin told Minivan News this week.

The Maldives plummeted to 103rd in the RSF Press Freedom Index this year – a fall of 30 places and a return to pre-2008 levels.

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Pronounced dead: ‘Deceased’ voters found to be alive

When Ahmed Naseem, 48, attempted to verify his information on the voter registry for the new presidential elections scheduled for November 9, he found he had been taken off the list.

The Supreme Court in its verdict annulling the first round of presidential election held on September 7 had deemed him dead and had counted his vote as fraudulent.

“I am saddened and quite fed up. I have been deprived of my right to vote,” Naseem told Minivan News. “Now I have to go to court to regain my identity.”

The Supreme Court annulled the September 7 vote, citing widespread electoral fraud despite unanimous international and domestic praise of a free and fair electoral process.

The apex court claims 5623 ineligible votes were cast – a number that could have altered the narrow margin between the second and third placed candidates.

These votes include votes allegedly cast by 18 dead people, 7 minors, 225 people without authentic identity cards, 773 people with discrepancies in their national identification numbers, 2830 people with discrepancies in their addresses, 952 people with discrepancies in their names, 7 people who did not exist, and 819 people whose national identification numbers were written down wrong by election officials at the time of voting.

Naseem said the Elections Commission had told him he will not be allowed to vote unless he obtains a court document confirming that he is in fact still alive.

“Now, I will not be able to use my identity card for anything,” he said.

Naseem’s wife, Mariyam Zubair, has written to the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz today informing the apex court that her husband is alive.

“The Supreme Court’s verdict no 2013/SC-C/42 has deemed me to be a widow by law,” the letter shared on Twitter said. “I request you to annul [the Supreme Court] decision that my husband is dead and remove my widowhood.”

Back from the dead

Speaking to Maldives Broadcasting Corporation’s Raajje Miadhu (Maldives Today) program, EC President Fuwad Thowfeek said the commission had discovered that at least four of the eighteen people deemed to be dead in the Supreme Court verdict were in fact alive.

In addition to Naseem, the EC had found that Mohamed Ahmed of Addu Atoll Maradhoo Island, Fathmath Didi of Addu Atoll Hithadhoo Island and Khadeeja Gasim of Laamu Atoll Fonadhoo Island were alive.

“Like this, many people who are alive and had voted have been deemed by the Supreme court as votes cast by dead people, and based on that, they have annulled the election,” Fuwad said.

The EC and the Human Rights Commission have criticized the evidence used by the Supreme Court to annul the vote.

In an interview on October 19, Fuwad suggested the Supreme Court was disenfranchising individuals by invalidating votes of those who had address or name mismatches between their identity cards and the voter registry.

“For example, a person called Mohamed Waheed Hassan, may have his name on ID card as Mohamed Waheed. When we gave him the right to vote, they counted it as a fraudulent vote. But the ID card number, address, date of birth and photo is the same … We know it is the same person, the date of birth is exact, the ID card number is the same, photo shows it is the right person,” said Fuwad.

“When we give these people the right to vote, [the Supreme Court] has said that is giving the right to vote to a person who doesn’t have the right to vote,” Fuwad said.

The HRCM, in a leaked report, conducted an analysis of the Supreme Court’s evidence, finding only 1033 of the 5623 votes could be considered irregular.

The commission said the EC may have given 952 individuals with differences in the spelling of their names the right to vote to ensure an eligible voter is not disenfranchised, especially in cases where all other information and picture on the identification documents match.

Further, the commission notes that the 2830 cases of address mismatch should only be counted as evidence if any individual has used the discrepancy to violate another person’s right to vote.

“We do not believe address mismatches can influence the result of this election as this is not constituency specific,” the report said.

Dissenting judges in the Supreme Court verdict said it is the High Court, not the Supreme Court who has jurisdiction over the case. Further, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz and Justice Abdulla Areef only noted 473 cases of possible fraud.

A new presidential election has been set for November 9. The Supreme Court ordered the EC to discard its voter registry and compile a new one based on the Department of National Registration’s database.

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“Supreme Court is subverting the democratic process”: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has released a statement on Wednesday expressing concern about “the dangerous drift in the democratic process in the Maldives largely as a result of the Supreme Court’s repeated interventions in the presidential election process”.

“I am alarmed that the Supreme Court of the Maldives is interfering excessively in the Presidential elections, and in so doing is subverting the democratic process and violating the right of Maldivians to freely elect their representatives,” the statement read.

The Supreme Court immediately hit back today, with Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz describing Pillay’s comments as “poorly researched” and “irresponsible”.

“The Supreme Court nullified the first round of the Presidential Election of 7 September 2013 on the basis of irregularities in the process, despite the general conclusions by national and international observers that the election was free and fair,” read Pillay’s statement.

Pillay also described the court’s election guidelines as “onerous” and “difficult to satisfy”.

“There have been longstanding concerns about the independence and impartiality of the judiciary in the Maldives, which both the High Commissioner and the Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, addressed during official visits to the country in 2011 and 2013,” added Pillay

“I am normally the first to defend the independence of the judiciary, but this also carries responsibilities. Judges should act in accordance with the principles of impartiality, propriety, equality and due diligence, as reflected in the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of Judiciary, the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, and Maldives’ own code of conduct,” Pillay stated.

The statement further also expressed concern regarding the court’s threats to charge lawyers, media and civil society groups for challenging its decisions, as well as “the reactivation of old cases to arrest opposition MPs or bar them from Parliament.”

“The Supreme Court appears set on undermining other independent institutions, stifling criticism and public debate, and depriving litigants of the legal representation of their choice,” Pillay stated.

Chief Justice’s response

“I harshly condemn UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay’s false allegations regarding the Maldives Supreme Court’s work to uphold its constitutional duties and responsibilities. I do not believe she has any authority to speak in such terms,” responded Chief Justice Faiz today.

Defending the court’s neutrality, Faiz argued that Pillay’s statement was unacceptable for an official operating under the UN’s mandate to protect the rights of large and small states alike.

“False allegations by any party on the Supreme Court’s work does not aid strengthening democracy, administration of justice in the Maldives or uphold the rule of law. It does not encourage the promotion of democracy, rule of law or protection of human rights,” read Faiz’s statement.

The first round of the Maldives presidential election – held on September 7 was annulled by the Supreme Court earlier this month, with a fresh round of elections arranged to be held on October 19.

The re-scheduled vote, however, was also cancelled after police obstructed the Elections Commission, citing the Supreme Court’s issued 16 regulation as justification.

As well as condemning the police for the delay, the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives has also condemned the police for “acting beyond its mandate”, while a leaked report by the commission questions the credibility of the evidence used by the apex court in its annulment of the first round of elections.

A joint statement by the International Federation for Human Rights and local NGO Maldives Democracy Network has described the court’s verdict as being founded on “materially baseless arguments”, after the first round was “applauded as a success by the international community.”

A new first round is now scheduled for November 9, with the EC President Fuwad Thowfeek maintaining it will not be changed despite requests to expedite the polling date from both the current government and the contesting presidential candidates.

Government-aligned parties go to SC for political solutions

Progressive Party of Maldives lawyer Ibrahim ‘Wadde’ Waheed submitted a case to the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking a ruling on the motion passed by the parliament to appoint Speaker Abdulla Shahid as interim head of state in the instance that an elected president cannot be installed by the constitutionally mandated date, November 11.

Waheed is quoted in local media as saying the parliamentary motion has been passed against the constitution and the verdicts of the Supreme Court.

On the same day, Wadde has also submitted another case to the court asking it to rule that the MDP MP Ahmed Hamza’s appointment to the judicial watchdog – the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) – was conducted in breach of the constitution.

In this case, Wadde argued that Hamza is a person who works “against the judiciary” and so he finds it “unacceptable that such a man can serve in the JSC”.

Earlier this month Wadde, alongside Jumhooree Coalition member ‘Madhanee Ihthihaadh’ (Civil Alliance) President Sheikh Mohamed Didi, filed a case in the apex court challenging opposition Maldivian Democratic Party candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed’s candidacy.

The petition gave as grounds Nasheed’s criticism of the judiciary, as well as his “outright criticism towards Islam and iposing Islamic Sharia’ in the Maldives”.

Jumhooree Coalition’s Presidential Candidate Gasim Ibrahim has also this week called on President Dr Mohamed Waheed to seek advice from the apex court on the course of action he should take should there not be an elected leader by November 11.

Speaking at a party rally, Gasim stated that as Waheed has previously written to the parliament for advice, he believes the president should also seek the opinion of the Supreme Court.

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Raajje TV looks to public for protection against new threats

Local television station Raajje TV is enlisting the public to boost its security after learning of further threats from political opponents.

“We have a book open to register their names,” CEO Yamin Rasheed. “We are finding citizens to protect us physically.”

The station’s headquarters were destroyed in an arson attack committed in spite of advance warnings communicated to police.

A group of masked men armed with machetes, iron rods and petrol set fire to the station’s main premises shortly before 4:45am on October 7, destroying its offices and control room as well as cameras, computer systems, broadcasting and transmission equipment.

After receiving donated equipment, the station was able to resume a reduced service within hours of the attack.

Yamin said the station had received further reports this week – from “reliable sources” – of threats made against the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) aligned station.

“The same political alliance is behind the fresh threat, which says Raajje TV should be gone from the scene to meet their political needs,” he said.

The option to use private security was suggested by police after being made aware of the new threats.

Yamin expressed doubt as whether this was the case, noting that other broadcasters had received the type of protection Raajje TV was now seeking, though he did confirm that police had been maintaining a 24hr presence in the area.

Eyewitnesses on October 7 suggested that police had been in the area on that occasion but had been slow to respond to phone calls, or to the pleas of the on-duty guard – who was stabbed during the attack.

The day after the attack, Chief Superintendent of Police Abdulla Nawaz suggested that MDP protests had diverted police resources on the night of the attack, before arguing that Raajje TV staff had been negligent in not protecting the premises.

The police’s failure to prevent the attack has been condemned by Reporters Without Borders who described it as “a direct blow to freedom of information”.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay also called on full protection for Raajje TV and other threatened institutions.

Police Inspector Azeem Waheed has written to Raajje TV CEO Akram Kamaaludheen this week requesting any information relating to past or threatened attacks on the station.

The Civil Court has since ruled that the police and president’s office’s decisions to ostracize the station were both unconstitutional.

In August 2012, critical cables in the station’s control room were cut, terminating the station’s broadcast. Several Raajje TV journalists have also reported arbitrary arrests and assaults.

In February 2013, men wielding iron rods on motorbikes assaulted Asward leaving him with near near-fatal head injuries.

According to Raajje TV the station had an audience of at least 95,000 people, one of the largest shares of Maldivian media. It reaches India and Sri Lanka, and is also streamed online.

The station is currently under investigation for allegedly defaming the Supreme Court in an October 19 broadcast. Yamin has refused to co-operate with the court ordered police investigation, arguing that such cases fall within the purview of the Maldives Broadcasting Commission.

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