Tag: maldives

Islamic Ministry proposes compulsory Zakat in new bill

Islamic minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed says proposed legislation to collect, distribute, and manage Zakat would facilitate the collection of MVR500 million annually.

Speaking at a workshop involving stakeholders to the Zakat bill, Shaheem said Zakat systems are protected by law in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, Kuwait, and Malaysia.

“In these countries, Zakat systems have been set up and protected by law, while institutions involved in the management of Zakat have been empowered by law. Hence, it is very important that such a system be organised by law in our 100 percent Muslim country,” he said.

The Islamic ministry collected MVR52 million as Zakat last year.

The comprehensive bill defines Zakat as part of a property that must be given by a Muslim individual or business entity for charity to entitled recipients – which includes the poor, heavily indebted individuals, and travellers.

Zakat payment in the Maldives has traditionally been voluntary, but the new bill makes the annual payment compulsory and imposes a jail term of five years or a fine of MVR500,000 for non-compliance.

Wealth, assets, and income are zakatable – subject to the levy – under the new law. These include precious metal holdings, cash and other securities, trade and business inventories, and earnings from agriculture, fisheries, service delivery and mining.

Draft regulations introduced with the bill propose collecting 2.5 percent of the value of financial assets, business goods, net business profits and rent. The regulations also propose collecting 2.5 percent of net income as Zakat.

Analysis of the bill suggests the legislation avoids double taxation by deducting money collected as Zakat from taxes.

The Islamic ministry is to manage the Zakat fund. Money collected as Zakat is not property of the state and cannot be borrowed by the state for fiscal purposes, the bill said.

Protected by law

The Islamic Ministry must set up a Zakat Management Council to manage Zakat funds under the draft legislation. The council is to be supported through the state budget and advised by a Shariah Advisory Committee, appointed by the Islamic ministry.

Zakatable assets and wealth include gold, silver and other precious metals, cash and other securities, and trade and business inventories.

The persons eligible for Zakat are the poor, paupers, those under bondage, those in heavy debt, “those whose hearts are inclined towards Islam,” travellers and zakat officials. Zakat funds can also be used for ‘fi Sabililah’ (‘in the cause of Allah’) purposes or to defend Islam and improve the well being of Muslims.

The poor and paupers include those who are unable to work due to old age, those who are disabled, widows, and students who have no means of income, or those who do not have a legal benefactor.

It also includes legal guardians who are unable to provide for those under their guardianship, those who are unable to initiate an economic activity due to lack of initial capital, and victims of natural disasters.

When allocating money to the poor, the council must consider other forms of state aid and assistance they receive.

Zakat fund could also be utilised to encourage conversion to Islam, for those who strive to prevent harassment aimed at Muslims by non-Muslims and to assist those who have recently embraced Islam.

Zakat allocated for travellers may be given to Muslims who get stranded and become helpless while travelling for a lawful purpose.

The Zakat Management Council will determine the amount of money to be allocated for each category.

According to the bill, property of the state is not zakatable, while draft regulations say Zakat cannot be levied on property or money obtained via a transaction that is not permissible in Islam.

If a non-Muslim owns shares in a company being valued for Zakat, the value of their shares shall not be included in the valuation for Zakat, the draft regulations state.

Zakat funds are to be deposited in an account called the Baithul Maal as a separate and specialised account with the Maldives Monetary Authority.

The auditor general is to perform an annual audit of the Zakat Management Council under the proposed legislation.


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Comment: Where is the love? Chinese tourists in the Maldives

In one of Minivan News’ recent articles, a tourism sector official from the Maldives was quoted as saying:

“[E]ven though total arrivals increased, the tourism industry suffered as a whole in 2014.

Total tourist arrivals have increased compared to the previous year. However, as arrivals from Europe and Russia decrease, less income is generated as the replacing Chinese visitors spend less and stay for lesser periods,”

As the Maldivian airline that brought over 30 percent of the Chinese to the Maldives – more than any other foreign or domestic airline – we know a thing or two about Chinese visitors to the Maldives. And we would like to point out that this idea of the Chinese as the poor, pot-noodle-eating, ‘second-class’ tourist is not only offensive, but also untrue.

The data

Don’t take our word for it. Data from the World Tourism Organisation show that at US$102.2 billion, Chinese passengers were by 2012 already the biggest spenders abroad. By 2014 this had reached over US$155 billion, and is expected to hit US$194 billion in 2015.

Individual country results also show similar patterns. According to the US Travel Association, Chinese tourists spend on average US$7,200, compared to US$4,500 from other nationals. Chinese tourists are so important, that some countries, like the UK, are changing their entire visa systems to attract them.

In fact, data from our own tourism ministry also implies that the Chinese are big spenders here in the Maldives too. According to the Maldives Tourism Visitor Survey 2013, 40 percent of Chinese spent over US$5,000 (not including their hotel and air package), while only 27 percent of the Germans, 24 percent of the British, and 23 percent of Russians spent more than this in the Maldives.

So, whichever way you look at it, the data does not agree with the common (mis)perception of Chinese passengers as being poor.

The Chinese ‘fad’

We in the Maldives have consistently been wrong about the China market. Let’s not forget that in 2010, there were senior officials in the tourism sector who regarded Chinese tourists to the Maldives to be a ‘passing fad’.

Thankfully for the Maldives, it wasn’t. Since 2010, the ‘fad’ tripled from about 100,000 to 300,000 today. Chinese tourists are the reason why we count ourselves a million visitor destination today.

Retail therapy

“Yes they are here”, you say. “But they do not spend”.

Despite the statistics above, we believe there is some partial truth to this. The Chinese do not spend like the Europeans on holiday do. This is partly because ‘spending’ for Chinese on holiday meant primarily one thing: shopping.

Unlike Malaysia, Thailand, or Dubai, we in the Maldives do not do ‘shopping’ as a tourism product. So when they first arrived, the Chinese did not have much to ‘buy’: no Burberry scarves, no Godiva chocolates and no Rolex watches. It was not that they lacked money. They were simply not the type to spend US$500 on a bottle of wine (at least not one they could not take back as a gift).

This gave the local tourism industry a perception of the Chinese passenger as ‘poor’. However, those of us who sold duty-free products to them, either at the airport or on their return journeys, knew perfectly well that they were not. On one flight from Male to Beijing, the entire contents of a Mega Maldives Airlines duty-free shopping trolley were sold out. Every single item!

The coming opportunity

That said, it is unlikely that we can, or even want to turn the Maldives into a shopping-focused haven of malls and discount-retail outlets. Luckily for us, we don’t have to. The spending habits of Chinese tourists are changing.

According to research by China UnionPay – one of China’s biggest bank-card association – the importance Chinese customers assign to shopping is falling. According to data analyst at China UnionPay Chen Han:

“The data show that outbound Chinese consumers are focusing more on what they gain from their travel experiences instead of what they buy at their destinations. This shift shows a heightened awareness of ‘quality time’ during their holidays.”

This means that the Chinese tourist is becoming a little more similar to the Western tourist. They will start appreciating cuisine, drinks, spas, diving and all the other ‘experiences’ that make the Maldives unique today. However, this also presents us with an opportunity to develop a much more active and innovative tourism sector product. Maldivian culture does not have to just mean the weekly local cuisine buffet, or the staff ‘bodu-beru’ band of the resort.

We could for example, have festivals of music, art, dances, poetry and literature, all of which will be highly appealing to the Chinese market. We could have talks on conservation, sustainability, nature and the environment – concepts becoming very popular in China. Natural remedies and approaches to health and well-being, as well as meditation and ‘mindfulness’ are also increasingly popular with this market, especially as Chinese cities like Beijing become increasingly polluted.

All of these opportunities generate a lot more in terms of jobs and creative opportunities for our youth, and is much better for us than selling a $20,000 Gucci handbag.

How will we get this diversified product to the tourists? The answer to this question may be difficult, but the Maldives tourism product has shown itself to be highly dynamic. The recent emergence of guest houses is one such example of this dynamism. The current government’s ‘Thumburi project,’ is also another very good opportunity to diversify these products and really develop a product that appeals to the Chinese market.

Where is the love?

Look around you. Every country in the world – from Canada to South Africa – is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in promoting their destination in the hope of attracting Chinese tourists.

But we in the Maldives, with our pristine natural beauty, were able to make the Chinese fall in love with us with little or no effort. It’s about time we put our prejudices aside and learnt to love them back.

Mizna Ahmed is a Director at Mega Maldives.


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MDP requests details on President Yameen’s health, visits to Singapore

Expressing concern that President Abdulla Yameen may be incapable of carrying out his duties, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has requested the President’s Office to provide details on Yameen’s health and visits to Singapore.

In a letter to Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed today, MDP Deputy Chairperson Ali Shiyam asked the President’s Office to publicise details of the number of official and unofficial visits Yameen had undertaken to Singapore since he assumed office in November 2013.

The MDP also asked for details on the number of days Yameen spent in Singapore, the number of individuals who accompanied the president, the amount of money spent from the state budget, and details of the president’s health.

Yameen is currently in Singapore on an unofficial visit. He left the country with First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim on January 7. The President’s Office did not reveal details of the president’s arrival.

Yameen has travelled to Singapore at least five times between July 29 and the end of November last year. This includes two stop-overs in Singapore – one in August and one in November – on the way to China and Nepal, respectively.

Opposition leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed first raised concerns over the president’s health in October.

During Malé’s water crisis in December, the MDP passed a resolution claiming the government had failed to perform its duties and declaring support for Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim to assume power.

“The country is under a very dark cloud at the moment,” said Nasheed at the time. “The president is not fulfilling presidential duties and ruling in absentia. So it is better for him to handover governance to Gasim Ibrahim.”

Yameen had been in Singapore then, but cut short his unofficial trip and returned to Malé. The capital’s 130,000 residents had been left without running water due to a fire at the water plant.

The President’s Office has since denied reports of ill-health, including a rumour that the president was undergoing brain surgery.

Ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives has condemned the resolution as irresponsible, while the prosecutor general has requested the Elections Commission to take all possible legal action against the MDP for the resolution.

In today’s letter, the MDP suggested the country was facing a state outlined in Article 123 and 124 of the Constitution where the president was incapable of fulfilling the duties of his office.

Article 123 states if the president believes himself temporarily unable to perform the duties and responsibilities of office, he should inform the Speaker of the People’s Majlis in writing and handover duties and responsibilities to the vice president.

If the president is unable to perform duties and responsibilities of the office and is not able to inform the Speaker of the People’s Majlis in writing due to the nature of the inability, the vice president must do so with the approval of the majority of the cabinet and assume responsibilities.

Article 124 states the speaker or deputy speaker must carry out the duties of the presidency if both the president and vice president are absent or temporary incapable of performing the responsibilities of the office of the president.

The president can resume responsibilities after informing the speaker.


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Supreme Court to hear corruption charges against MP Ahmed Nazim

The Supreme Court has accepted an appeal into corruption charges against MP Ahmed Nazim.

The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives MP was charged with four counts of corruption in late 2009 for allegedly conspiring to defraud the former Ministry of Atolls Development.

According to the prosecutor general, an appeal was filed after new Prosecutor General Muhuthaz Muhsin took office in July.

The Maldives Police Services in October withheld the MP’s passport on charges of blackmail, while Nazim was linked with alleged attempts to link tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb with the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan last August.

Shortly after the controversial transfer of presidential power in February 2012, the Criminal Court had ruled that there was insufficient evidence implicating the MP in the atolls ministry scam.

The Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the decisions later that year at the High Court on the grounds that the Criminal Court had refused to accept state witnesses.

In February 2013, the court of appeal ruled that the prosecution was unable to prove that Nazim’s employees signed bogus bid proposals on his instructions.

Moreover, the High Court referred to a Supreme Court precedent which established that accomplices to a crime could not testify for or against an alleged partner to the crime.

The scam – first flagged in an audit report released in early 2009 – involved paper companies allegedly set up by Nazim to win bids for projects worth several hundred thousands dollars, including the fraudulent purchase of harbour lights, national flags, and mosque sound systems.

At a press conference in August 2009, police exhibited numerous quotations, agreements, tender documents, receipts, bank statements, and forged cheques showing that Nazim received over US$400,000 in the scam.

A hard disk seized during a raid of Nazim’s office in May 2009 allegedly contained copies of forged documents and bogus letterheads.

Police alleged that money was channelled through the scam to Nazim who laundered cash through Namira Engineering – of which Nazim was the managing director – and unregistered companies.

Paper companies were allegedly formed using Namira’s equipment and staff to bid for public tenders announced by the now-defunct ministry.

According to the audit report,  evidence was uncovered linking those companies to Nazim with phone and fax numbers stated on the bidding documents registered under his address while the company shareholders were either working at Namira or relatives of Nazim.

Then-employees of Namira testified under oath that they were instructed by Nazim to bid for the projects – however, the Criminal Court judge concluded from their testimonies that they were responsible for the procurement fraud and dismissed their testimonies.

The Criminal Court in 2012 also acquitted MP ‘Red Wave’ Saleem and President Abdulla Yameen’s half-brother Abdulla Algeen Abdul Gayoom of corruption charges.


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Education Ministry hikes teachers’ pay by 35 and 15 percent

The Ministry of Education has increased the salaries of some teachers by 35 percent, and others by 15.

At a ceremony at the Islamic College on Friday (January 9) the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Dr Abdul Mushin said Leading Teachers with a Masters degree will now take home a monthly salary of MVR17,334, having previously received MVR13,218.50.

Teachers with a Masters degree have been awarded a MVR4,000 hike in salary, increasing take home pay from MVR12,228 to MVR16,374.

Those with a Bachelors degree were awarded a MVR3,600 hike – increasing take home pay from MVR11,238 to to MVR14,894, and teachers with a Diploma Certificate were awarded a MVR2,600 hike – increasing take home salary from MVR8,671 to MVR11,337.

Teachers who hold other qualifications were awarded increases between 25 and 15 percent.

The academic year is to start on January 11 and will end on November 24.

The increase in salary comes after 90 percent of the country’s teachers protested in September last year – wearing black clothing to raise awareness over issues such as poor pay, inadequate protection of teachers, and the failure to grant the Teachers Association of Maldives official recognition.

Speaking at a press conference today, education minister Dr Aishath Shiham said President Abdulla Yameen had fulfilled his pledge to honor teachers, and that the government’s aim was to employ qualified teachers and provide them with adequate pay.

The ministry had made all necessary preparations for the academic year, the minister said, adding that no student would have to stay home from school due to lack of space or facilities.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Education Adam Shareef said schools would begin teaching the newly compiled national curriculum starting tomorrow.

President Yameen in October made creative arts – including music and dance – optional subjects in curriculum after pressure from religious conservatives and political parties.

Shareef said the ministry will hold training on changes to the curriculum for media, parents, and teachers in the next few months.

Although all books for the new curriculum have not yet been printed, the first packages for the first term have been printed and are being dispersed to schools, Shareef said.

Deputy Minister of Education Ibrahim Ismail today said the government had spent MVR12 million on repairing and renovating 212 schools for the new academic year.

Deputy Minister Azleen Ahmed said the education ministry had given out loans and scholarship to over 1000 students for higher studies in 2014. The same opportunity will be extended this year, he said.

The ministry’s top priority for 2015 was to establish an Islamic University, Azleen said. A bill had been drafted to facilitate the establishment of the Islamic University and will be submitted to the parliament when it opens in March, he continued.

In November, the Maldivian Democratic Party’s budget review committee suggested that the government had not budgeted the required MVR532 million (US$34.5 million) needed to raise the salaries of teachers despite promises made by both President Yameen and Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel.


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Yameen congratulates Sirisena as government denies arrival of unseated Sri Lankan officials

President Abdulla Yameen has congratulated recently elected Sri Lankan President Maithiripala Sirisena while the foreign ministry has quelled rumours that senior members of the outgoing government have “fled” to the Maldives.

In a message to his new Sri Lankan counterpart, President Yameen offered congratulations on behalf of himself and the people of Maldives.

“Through the election, Sri Lankans have demonstrated yet again the strength of the country’s democracy and the resilience of its institutions. The election result is a testament to the trust and confidence that Sri Lankans have on your policies, your leadership, and on your commitment to the advancement of Sri Lanka,” said Yameen.

Former health minister under President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sirisena took 51.3 percent of the vote on Thursday (January 8), ending the incumbent’s ten-year rule – which had looked sure to continue just weeks earlier.

“Let me take this opportunity to invite you to make a State Visit to the Maldives at your earliest convenience. Such a visit would give us the opportunity to exchange views in taking our relationship forward,” continued President Yameen’s message.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed speculation that key figures from the outgoing Sri Lankan government had “fled” to the Maldives.

“The Government of Maldives confirms that no senior official in the previous Government in Sri Lanka travelled to the Maldives after the Presidential election,” read a press release from the ministry today.

The foreign ministry’s statement came after the Colombo Telegraph cited reliable sources as saying that the former Sri Lankan defence minister Gothabaya Rajapaksa had travelled to the Maldives as soon as his brother’s defeat was confirmed.

Former President Rajapaksa has said that he looks forward to a peaceful transition of power.

President Yameen last week transferred all Sri Lankan prisoners held in the Maldives upon a request from Rajapaksa, who cited humanitarian grounds for the move.

Just under ten thousand Maldivians live in Sri Lanka, with bilateral trade said to have grown by 40 percent in 2013.


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No apparent progress in police search for Rilwan, family plans protest for Friday

The Maldives Police Service is continuing the search for missing Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan as a top priority, without “interruption or boredom”, Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed has said.

“In the year 2014, the case that the Maldives Police Services worked the most on and was unable to complete investigations into was the disappearance of Maafannu Shining Star Ahmed Rilwan Abdulla,” Waheed told the press today.

“I assure Rilwan’s family in this opportunity that the police will continue the search without any interruption or boredom. I wish for Rilwan’s safe return,” he said.

Rilwan is believed to have been abducted at knifepoint in Malé’s suburb Hulhumaé in the early hours of August 8.

“From our investigations so far, there is no evidence to suggest Rilwan is dead. Therefore, our hope is he is still safe and alive,”

Waheed refused to reveal details of the search for Rilwan despite repeated questions from the press.

Reporters questioned the commissioner on Rilwan’s whereabouts, whether Rilwan is believed to have been abducted or if his disappearance was voluntary, and on possible groups responsible for and their motivations for disappearing Rilwan.

“I am unable to provide additional details on this case, as some information revealed previously and information circulated by different sources cast a shadow over our work. Therefore, I am constrained from revealing ongoing efforts and plans for the future,” he said.

Rilwan’s family has accused the police of negligence, and has planned a march titled ‘Suvaalu March’ – or ‘Question March’ – on Friday (January 9).

The walk is to start at 4pm from Malé’s Artifical Beach area.

Police dragging their feet, says brother

Speaking to Minivan News, Rilwan’s brother Moosa Rilwan said the state had failed to protect his brother and public pressure was necessary to force the police to expedite investigations.

“Tomorrow marks the 154th day since my brother disappeared. The police are still dragging their feet. We are completely dependent on the police to find him. We can only move forward when the investigations are completed,” he said.

Public pressure had previously worked, resulting in the arrest of four individuals, he said.

The home ministry had told the family in a recent meeting that police are still waiting on analysis of DNA samples from two cars which may have been used to abduct Rilwan.

“Five months on, the DNA samples have not been analysed. No one is in custody anymore. No motive has been explained. Police still cannot definitively tell us if it was an abduction,” he said.

“Meanwhile, my family and I are reduced to begging the authorities for help. President Abdulla Yameen still refuses to comment on the case. This is unacceptable,” he said.

Rilwan’s family has filed a complaint with the Police Integrity Commission requesting the watchdog to investigate police negligence in the case.

Home Minister Umar Naseer has previously acknowledged involvement of gangs in Rilwan’s disappearance.

Gang involvement

Local media on Wednesday reported an individual arrested over the case traveled to Syria for jihad in early January. He was accompanied by six members of the Kuda Henveiru gang including Azlif Rauf, a suspect in the brutal murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

Human rights NGO Maldivian Democracy Network released a report in September implicating radicalised gangs in Rilwan’s disappearance.

Discounting theories of voluntary disappearance and suicide, the investigation – conducted by Glasgow-based Athena Intelligence and Security – concluded the disappearance is likely to have been an abduction.

The report confirmed evidence of possible “hostile surveillance” at the terminal conducted by two known affiliates of Malé based Kuda Henveiru gang.

The report identified Azlif’s brother Arlif Rauf as the owner of a red car, which may have been used in an abduction reported on the night Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan disappeared.

Police were investigating Arlif’s car for having been illegally imported to Hulhumalé on August 4, and returned to Malé sometime between August 13 – 15, the report continued.

It also suggested gang leaders had been exposed to radical Islam during incarceration in prison, saying that they openly supported the actions of the Islamic State in Iraq and recruited jihadists for the war in Syria and Iraq.

MDN on October 23 accused the police of negligence in investigating the disappearance for their failure to inform the public on progress and failure to confirm if the abduction reported on the night Rilwan went missing was related to his disappearance.


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Over 50 Maldivian militants fighting in foreign wars, reveals Commissioner of Police

There are over 50 Maldivians fighting in foreign wars, Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed has revealed.

“These people leave the country under normal procedures. So it is not easy to identify if they are traveling to go fight with foreign rebel groups,” Waheed told the press today.

“However, within a few days we hear that they have joined these groups. Our statistics estimate there are 50 Maldivians working with foreign rebel groups.”

The commissioner’s estimate dwarfs the figure suggested by Home Minister Umar Naseer to  the People’s Majlis in December. Naseer at the time said that over seven Maldivians were fighting abroad.

In the past fortnight, at least twelve Maldivians have traveled to Syria via turkey for jihad.

Responding to a question from Minivan News on mechanisms to prevent radicalisation, Waheed said police might reveal plans at a later late.

“We are working on it. Even now, we are doing a lot of work with the Islamic ministry and other relevant government institutions.”

The police do not yet know who the most vulnerable groups to radicalisation are in the Maldives, Waheed continued, pointing out recent jihadis included both genders, urban and rural areas, and people of all ages.

When asked if radicalised groups posed a domestic terrorist threat, Waheed said the police are tracking individuals associated with foreign militant groups.

“We know who the foreign militants are. We are monitoring their activities. My hope is, I believe we will be able to monitor them to the extent they are unable to [present a threat] in the Maldives.”

He appealed to the public to share any reports of individuals who may leave the Maldives for jihad.

Exodus

According to reliable sources, a group of six that left the country on December 27 included two immigration officers. Others in the group include two women who are spouses of two of the men and a one year old infant.

The second group of seven all belonged to Malé’s Kuda Henveiru gang. They include a suspect in the brutal murder of Dr Afrasheem Ali, Azlif Rauf.

Azlif’s group also included an individual arrested over the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan, one man arrested for issuing a death threat, one man classified by the police as a dangerous criminal, and three men with criminal records, local media have reported.

Waheed refused to comment on Azlif’s whereabouts.

In 2013, the former Maldivian National Defense Force officer was put under house arrest over pending terrorism charges, but the Prosecutor General’s Office withdrew charges last September.

Waheed said the police can only prevent such people from leaving the country if the force receives prior information that they may be traveling for jihad.

Maldivians are not barred from international travel, Waheed said, and so “it is not easy to figure out what motive they are traveling for”.

In November, Sri Lankan police detained three Maldivians who were allegedly preparing to travel to Syria through Turkey.

The incident followed reports of a couple from Fuvahmulah and a family of four from Meedhoo in Raa Atoll travelling to militant organisation Islamic State-held (IS) territories.

In November, a jihadist group called Bilad Al Sham Media (BASM) – which describes itself as ‘Maldivians in Syria’ – revealed that a fifth Maldivian had died in Syria.

A protest march took place in the capital, Malé, in September, with around 200 participants bearing the IS flag and calling for the implementation of Islamic Shariah in the Maldives.

In late August, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon issued a press statement condemning “the crimes committed against innocent civilians by the organisation which identifies itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.”


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No pending charges against Azlif Rauf, says Criminal Court

The Criminal Court has confirmed that there are no pending charges against Azlif Rauf of Henveiru Hilton, hence the court has not issued an order to the Department of Immigration and Emigration to hold his passport.

Yesterday (January 9) it was reported that Azlif Rauf travelled to Turkey with six members of Malé’s Kuda Henveiru gang.

The seven also included an individual arrested over the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan, one man arrested for issuing a death threat, one man classified by the police as a dangerous criminal, and three men with criminal records, local media have reported.

Hussain Humam Ahmed, now serving a life sentence over the Afrasheem murder, named Azlif and five others in the organising of the killing in October 2012. Humam later retracted the confession claiming it had come under duress.

Officials at the Prosecutor General’s Office told Minivan News that they had pressed terrorism charges against Rauf on October 3, 2013, before withdrawing them on September 11, 2014 “for further review”. No decision has yet been made on the case.

They also stated that no decision has been made on the file sent by Maldives Police Services regarding Azlif Rauf’s potential involvement in the Afrasheem murder.

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