Tag: maldives

Global trade union claims President’s Office still failing to address port workers’ rights abuses

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has accused President Mohamed Waheed Hassan of failing to respond to ongoing concerns it has over certain rights violations of workers employed at the state-owned Maldives Ports Limited.

A spokesperson for the ITF, a global trade union representing 4.5 million transport workers across 154 countries, said it expected to send a third official letter this week to President Waheed after it had not received a response from his office on two previous occasions.

In the last letter sent to the President’s Office on October 29, ITF General Secretary David Cockroft raised concerns over what he claimed was a “dire” situation facing members of the Maldives Port Workers Union (MPWU)  employed by the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL).

Some former port workers employed by the MPL have claimed they have been victimised at the work place for taking part in anti-government protests.

The MPL has previously stated that it has only ever exercised its right to discipline staff when “in breach of their employment contract”, adding that it had never deviated “from any Maldivian government regulation” in the way it operates.

However, Cockroft claimed that MPWU members appeared to be having their rights to freedom of association and to organise within a trade union movement attacked by the MPL on the basis of their political beliefs.

“Further to my letter of September 29, I am disappointed to have to write to you again as you have decided not to respond to my first letter,” he wrote to President Waheed at the time.

Cockroft added that allegations of port workers being denied union rights was taken very seriously by the ITF.  He therefore requested that the president intervene to try and resolve the matter where possible.

“[I] call again upon you to use your office as President of the Republic of Maldives to instruct the chairman and management of the Maldives Port Limited to respect the country’s Constitution and Employment Laws and immediately halt their anti-union campaign against members of the MPWU and to enter into a real dialogue and conciliation process with MPWU which will result in a negotiated settlement which addresses the legitimate grievances of members of the Maldives Port Workers Union,” Cockroft wrote.

Speaking today, President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza said he would need to confirm if any letters from the ITF had been received. Minivan News was still awaiting confirmation from the President’s Office at the time of press.

Meanwhile, Deputy CEO of the MPL Ahmed Faiz requested that Minivan News meet him at his office tomorrow instead to address the concerns raised by groups such as the ITF.

Political considerations

In April 2012, seven staff members at MPL were said to have been suspended from their jobs at the state-owned company for participating in protests held by ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s anti government protests.

MPL Media Coordinator Ibrahim Rilwan at the time confirmed the suspensions, but said he did not know the specifics regarding the case. The code of conduct does not prohibit participation in political activities, but staff can be disciplined if they transgress good behavioural norms, he added.

However, some staff at the MPL alleged that the senior officials of the state corporation had warned employees to not to participate in protests, and that action would be taken by those who do.

Disputes between the MPWU and the MPL later escalated to a point where the trade union back in September accused the state corporation of forming a “paper union” to shove aside the alleged violations of employee rights.

Sacked MPL employee and President of MPWU, Ibrahim Khaleel, alleged at the time that MP was trying to “fabricate the truth” about the violations of rights.

The ‘Maldives National Port Workers Union’ was formed just five days after MPL received a letter from the Asia Pacific Regional Office of International Transport workers Federation (ITF), which had raised concerns over the alleged employment rights violations.

In a document received by Minivan News, MPL Chairman Abdul Matheen Ahmed allegedly responded to queries raised by ITF’s Asia Pacific Regional Office, stating that MPL was “extremely surprised” by the statements in a letter it had been sent by the group.

The letter addressed to ITF official Mahendra Sharma further stated that the MPL as “a corporate entity” exercises its “right to take disciplinary action against staff when they are in breach of their employment contract”, and said it had been the practice since the formation of the company.

MPL, in the letter, further claimed that it did not “deviate from any Maldivian government regulation” during the course of its action and “will not do so in the future”.
“Hence we are quite surprised on this issue you are talking about. Please make this clearer to us. As to the events you have stated in the letter, we are sure it has not taken place in our company and nor is our human resource department aware of any such issues,” read the letter.

The letter also goes on to describe the MPWU as an “unfounded, illegal association”, attempting to defame the MPL.

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Parliament rejects motion to delay recess until bills passed on criminal justice proceedure

MPs have voted to reject a resolution submitted by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Mahlouf to delay parliament’s recess until necessary bills on criminal justice procedure have been passed.

During Tuesday’s parliament sitting 29 of the 57 MPs present voted against accepting the resolution submitted by Mahlouf, while 23 MPs supported accepting the resolution and delaying the recess.

Parliament will go to recess at the end of December.

Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) MP Rozaina Adam was reported as saying that it would have been easier to accept the resolution if it was submitted with sincerity, and alleged that Mahlouf was one of the MPs who took the most leave and holidays.

She said that while Mahlouf was only involved in one committee, he had no idea what was going on in it.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Dhaandhoo constituency, Mohamed Riyaz, said that crimes were uncontrollable because of problems with the judiciary and not because the country was lacking laws.

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Allegedly fraudulent head of Maleesha Hajj Group in Malaysia, reveal police

Superintendent of Police Mohamed Riyaz has told parliament’s Government Oversight Committee that police have received reports that the Head of Maleesha Hajj Group, Ismail Abdul Latheef is in Malaysia.

Police began searching for 42 year-old in late September after it was alleged that he had defrauded 175 people of MVR 12 million (US$778,000) after they made payments to the Maleesha Hajj Group to travel to Mecca to perform Hajj.

Riyaz said police were trying to verify the information concerning Latheef’s whereabouts.

Officials from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and police were summoned by parliament’s Government Oversight Committee to determine the progress they had made in locating Latheef, and the missing money.

Latheef was reported to police after people who had made the Hajj payment realised that the group’s office had been closed for days without any response.

On October 2, Interpol issued a red notice to locate and apprehend Latheef.

Attending the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Clients of the company were not able to go to Mecca this year to perform the religious obligation.

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Ladies (and men) in red take to Male’ as Chris de Burgh plays capital

A concert by Chris de Burgh, the singer/songwriter famed for 1980’s global super-hit ‘Lady in Red’, attracted 1500 people to Galolhu National Stadium in Male’ on Sunday night.

Organisers claimed the event was one of the largest shows of its kind held in the Maldives over the last decade, following ongoing difficulties in securing international artists to play in the archipelago nation.

De Burgh played a two-hour set that included several renditions of ‘Lady in Red’, along with old and new material focusing on love, loss, encounters with dolphins, adverse weather patterns and political revolution – some tunes seemingly more relevant to the Maldives than others.

De Burgh played to an audience of local spectators, expatriates, MPs, cabinet members and President Mohamed Waheed Hassan, as well as several ladies – and men – in red.

Event organisers have claimed that the concert is an important step towards paving the way for world famous artists to perform in the country.

Mohamed Shinan, event coordinator with local promotion company Think Advertising, said the Maldives has traditionally struggled to cover the fees of high-profile performers when trying to bring concerts to the Maldives.

Shinan added that the concert – the second of two de Burgh performances in the country over the last week – was a result of collaboration with promoters based in Germany.

“For us, this was partly about creating a platform to bring more stars to the Maldives. We have plans to bring much bigger bands in future,” he promised.

After the failure of several attempts to bring international performers to the Maldives over the last 5-6 years, Shinan said it was important to ensure the concert went ahead so as to secure other foreign artists in the future.

“Many raised questions as to whether Chris de Burgh would really come,” he said. “As a local promoter, we had to make sure it did happen.”

Organisers told Minivan News that ticket sales up to the day of the concert had proven quite slow, although picked up hours before the concert took place.  Shinan said remaining seats, which sold for between MVR 750 (US$48) to MVR 400 (US$26), were given to members of the public in the MVR 100 (US$6) standing section to ensure 1,150 seats provided were taken up.

“We decided to fill up the seats so the artist could see all his support from the stage,” he said. “Including the sizable audience in the standing section, we estimate some 1,500 people were in attendance, which is not bad for an artist like Chris de Burgh. Most young people only know him for the one song -‘Lady in Red’.”

Event organisers said it was important to try and show that the Maldives was a peaceful place for tourists after a year of negative media coverage, following political turmoil throughout the year – as well as to please de Burgh’s local fans.

Among key sponsors of the event, the Maldives tourism industry’s slogan, “The sunny side of life” was also adorned on promotional material and tickets.   Shinan also praised Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb for his assistance with setting up the concert. “He played an important part to make this a success,” Shinan added.

The concert commenced at around 9:00pm. The audience – a good-natured though at times muted group, embraced each song with enthusiastic applause, before de Burgh entered the crowd promising “a little romance” with a rendition of ‘Lady in Red’.

As he walked among the audience, the crowd suddenly became animated with a large number making their way up to the Irish balladeer for photo opportunities and to get close to a man was proudly proclaims to have sold an estimated 45 million albums worldwide.

One member of the audience dressed in red and caught up in the apparent excitement was expatriate teacher Laura Fryer, who was attending the concert with friends as part of birthday celebrations.

“As Chris De Burgh came into the audience and sang, I got a bit serenaded, but then so did a few others,” she said, describing her brief encounter with the singer as “good fun”.

Fryer, who has worked in the Maldives for several months, observed that the majority of the country’s musical performances were held at resorts rather than in the capital or on inhabited islands, limiting local access to the events.

Despite the popularity of traditional art-forms such as boduberu – a combination of singing, dancing and rhythmic drumming – dancing and music venues in the country have dwindled in recent years.

Between songs on Sunday night, de Burgh pondered the “mysteries of women”, the impact of reality talent shows on stage dancing, a hatred of headset microphones, and the relevance of his song ‘Waiting for the hurricane’ in light of the super storm that struck parts of the US and Haiti last month, killing over 60 people.

As the evening drew to a close, audience members were invited to the front of the stage and dance to several songs, including a medley of de Burgh’s hits and another full performance of ‘Lady in Red’ – after significant audience pressure for an encore.

Mohamed Naseem, a local activist who attended the concert, told Minivan News that de Burgh had put on a good show and said he was happy to part with his MVR 100.

“I liked it,” he said, enthusiastically.

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Former President Nasheed denounces DQP’s economic criticism of GMR contract

Former President Mohamed Nasheed on Sunday slammed a pamphlet released by the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) which claims to detail the financial loss caused to the country through leasing the international airport to Indian infrastructure giant company, GMR.

“I assure you that no loss at all would be caused to the Maldivian people through having a foreign company manage the airport,” Nasheed assured the crowds of over 1500 supporters gathered at Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s rally grounds Usfasgandu on Sunday night.

During his speech, Nasheed broke down the figures published in the book titled “Loss and Challenges of the long-term leasing of Male’ International Airport to GMR” written by current Special Advisor to the President, Dr Hassan Saeed. He further emphasised the inconsistencies that those figures held in comparison with the values he put forth with reference to external sources and the GMR contract.

“I am inclined to think that these people who have written this book must have studied their mathematics in an opium field in Afghanistan’s Kandahar. There is no other way that they could have gotten their arithmetic so completely wrong,” Nasheed said.

Nasheed said that while the book cites the MDP government’s estimation of a profit of MVR 45 billion in the next 25 years if GMR managed the airport, it went on to state that if the government took over management, they stood to receive a profit of MVR 60 billion (US$3.9 billion).

Elaborating on what the book had provided as backing for the said claim, Nasheed said “The first estimate they’ve made is that airport growth will increase by 25 percent every year. However, the IFC, World Bank, and other relevant international entities tell us that the rate of growth will be between 3.5 and 4.5 percent.”

“What is being said here is that the number of people coming to our airport far exceeds the number of tourist beds in the country. Even taking this to account, I see that they have sneaked in MVR 12 billion (US$778 million) to reach this 60 billion,” Nasheed said.

Nasheed added that the book had failed to consider the expenses that the Duty Free shops would pose, instead noting only estimated earnings.

“Usually expenses add up to 75 percent of earnings. Therefore, MVR 19.5 billion (US$1.26 billion) has been sneaked in to reach that 60 billion figure,” Nasheed stated.

“They also say that GMR is to invest MVR 4.8 billion (US$311 million) [over the lifespan of the contract] but I can without a doubt tell you that in accordance with the contract, GMR is to invest MVR 8.9 billion (US$577 million),” he further said.

Nasheed also pointed out that while the book claimed the government would finance the airport through a direct loan, they had omitted payment of any interest on the loan.

“In their accounting, they have not put down any expenses for the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL). These expenses are at least a MVR 110 million (US$7.14 million) per year, so again MVR 2.7 billion (US$175 million) needs to be taken out from this said MVR 60 billion.”

“In conclusion, the actual figures show that if MACL manages the airport, the government will receive MVR 18 billion (US$1.16 billion) over the next 25 years. Whereas if GMR manages it, the government will receive MVR 45 billion (US$2.92 billion) – that is MVR 1.6 billion (US$103.7 million) per year,” stated Nasheed.

Nasheed further claimed that under the contract, the Passenger Service Tax (US$18 US from foreigners and US$12 from locals) which used to be paid to MACL was now paid directly to the government.

“Thus in addition to the figures I’ve just shared, an additional MVR 324 million (US$21 million) will go into the government budget,” Nasheed claimed.

“No truth in government’s claims to nationalise airport”: Nasheed

Nasheed said that statements regarding “reclaiming” the airport from GMR were “highly irresponsible”, stating that such words from a government could cause irreparable damage to the country.

“Most of us citizens will doubtless understand that putting up banners with slogans all over the streets of Male’ and raising voices against India holds no benefits at all for the country,” Nasheed said, criticising the current ‘Airport Week’ being marked by the unity government parties.

Nasheed further alleged that airport nationalisation was a topic currently being used by political actors for their own personal interests .

“They are talking about the airport, and the religion of Islam, nationalism, national heritage and patriotism for the sole purpose of pulling the wool over people’s eyes and to orchestrate the coup,” Nasheed continued. “Even today they are not really trying to take the airport back from the GMR. This talk about the Adhaalath Party and Waheed’s government nationalising the airport has no amount of truth in it,” he said.

“I remember one mutinying officer on February 7 saying that he was there because the MDP government had sold the airport his father and grandfather had built. I want to say that the airport is still there. The only difference is that it roof is no longer leaking,” Nasheed said.

Nasheed ended his speech sharing his wish that the airport was developed by a capable company and that it would in future become the best of its kind across Asia.

Minivan News tried contacting Hassan Saeed, but he was not responding to calls at time of press.

DQP Secretary General Abdulla Ameen, President of the Adhaalath Party (AP) Sheikh Imran Abdulla, and Minister of Islamic Affairs and AP Member Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed were also not responding to calls.

The Adhaalath Party has previously called on President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and other coalition parties to not conduct any communication with GMR which might disrupt the government’s push for airport nationalisation, a push it praised as “national jihad”.

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Former Deputy Police Commissioner faces prosecution over arrest of Dr Jameel

The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) has forwarded a case against former Police Deputy Commissioner Ismail Atheef for prosecution, following an investigation commission into its arrest of current Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel in January 2012, prior to the controversial change of government.

Dr Jameel was arrested under the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed following a request made by the President’s Office to police, to investigate allegations made by the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Deputy Leader that the then-government of Nasheed was working under the influence of “Jews and Christian priests” to weaken Islam in the Maldives.

The allegations were extensively documented in a publication released by the party, ‘President Nasheed’s devious plot to destroy the Islamic faith of Maldivians’.

The repeated release of Dr Jameel – also former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Justice Minister – by the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed, led to the Nasheed administration’s arrest of Judge Abdulla.

PIC Deputy Chair Dr Abdulla Waheed told local newspaper Haveeru that the investigation had been concluded and that case sent to the Prosecutor General’s office to press criminal charges against the former Deputy Police Commissioner.

Dr Waheed told the paper that the arrest was unlawful as the procedure Atheef applied in arresting Jameel breached the Police Act.

When Dr Jameel was arrested and brought before the Criminal Court for extension of detention, Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed ruled that the arrest was unlawful and ordered his immediate release.

Earlier last month, the Chair of PIC Shahindha Ismail resigned from the commission saying that the members of the PIC were not working to achieve the objectives of the commission and that the commission had failed to hold the police accountable.

“What I’ve seen in the actions of institutions is that they have been giving a lot of space for the police to act with impunity,” she said at the time of her resignation.

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Comment: Good governance and the judiciary – lessons to be learned

“The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government.”

– inscription on the Supreme Court building of New York

Simple and fundamental as it is, this inscription, totally captures the idea that I am trying to convey. That is, good governance is impossible without a strong, independent and fair judiciary. Hence, we need to pay serious attention to this for future development of our country.

Examples around the globe abound, supporting the profound words in the inscription.

First, let us look at the fashionable phrase “good governance”, introduced by a World Bank study in 1989, linking governance with development. Despite different, closely-related definitions, most believe that good governance should encompass certain characteristics such as people’s participation in the governing, consensus, equity, transparency, efficiency, accountability, responsiveness and judiciary.

Of all these characteristics, this article will concentrate on the importance of the judiciary in good governance: the inter-relations and the effects on each other.

One of the important features of the judiciary is its independence. An independent judiciary is of utmost importance for good governance rule. A case in point is the classic example of Somalia, which is categorised as a “failed state.” At the centre of this failure lies governance.

The failure of governance in Somalia is closely tied to the relationship between the judiciary and government. For example, in 2004, the then-President had the power to appoint and dismiss judges as he pleased. This signifies a non-independent judiciary, which is over-powered by the executive. Another crucial factor that contributed to the collapse of the state was the government’s failure to uphold the constitution. It merely paid lip-service to the constitution.

The process works the other way too. For example, research on Africa shows that corruption and weak administrations weaken the regime. This, in turn, weakens all the laws, whether good or bad. In short, the absence of good governance gives way to weak laws. If laws and regulations do not exist or are weak, the three powers start running the government with their “thumb”. This means authoritarian rule, which could hinder development.

Corruption within the judiciary can be seen in the Peoples’ Republic of China where it is a serious threat to good governance as it leads to courts being unresponsive to the country’s complex society and undermine the legitimacy of the law and government. The problem in China is the deeply-rooted concept that laws must be used to strengthen state capacity and fulfill political ends.

Another case where judicial corruption prevails is Indonesia, where the Supreme Court’s integrity value has ranked amongst the lowest. The result is that the public does not see the Supreme Court as the provider of justice, and instead, the public perceives it as part of the rule of law problem which provides a serious drawback to good governance.

In Pakistan, governance failure, among others, is at the heart of the country’s constraints to growth. This is, partly, due to the less independent nature of the judiciary in which the courts do not protect the lender against the loan-defaults who do not pay their loan, or from ambiguous land titles constraining mortgage financing and construction activity.

Nepal is a case where constitutional structures are not sufficient to create an independent, impartial and accountable judiciary. Some scholars believe that planning and visionary leadership are instrumental for meaningful and lasting changes to take hold. Simply taking action against a few judges is not adequate.

In Mexico, the confused state of the judiciary effects the government in a negative way. Here, the problem is the existence of suspicion between legal thinking and politics.

Now, what lessons can we learn from the very limited examples given above, and from some others?

  • Lesson 1. The judiciary should be independent of the executive and the legislature. It should not be influenced or over-powered by the executive or the legislature; or even a former executive and his/her cronies. However, this does not mean that the judiciary is above the law or outside the law.
  • Lesson 2: We should have a judiciary in which people have trust and faith, as in the case of our “Big Brother” India whose Supreme Court is said to be “one of the most powerful institutions of its kind” in the world. The importance of this is that the judiciary has performed well, sustaining the trust of the people in its independence.
  • Lesson 3: We should use democracy to fight judicial corruption and not judicial corruption to undermine democracy, as in Chile where, after the military dictatorship, the role of democracy was used as a punishment and a preventive mechanism to hinder exceptional emergence of judicial corruption.
  • Lesson 4: Corruption in the judiciary should be gotten rid of before its roots dig even deeper into our behavior, making it the accepted norm.

The way forward: Let’s fight to reorganise the judiciary to pave the way for good governance, without which there is no hope for our country. We might as well sink into the beautiful, deep blue Indian Ocean.

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

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Police arrest 37 year-old man in connection with pregnant 11 year-old

Police have confirmed that a 37 year-old male is being held in custody in connection to an investigation into the case of an 11 year-old girl who gave birth to a premature baby on Thursday, November 1.

The confirmation was made as high-profile politicians, public figures and NGOs have launched a wider debate on child abuse and responsibility towards the welfare of young people in the Maldives.

Both government-aligned and opposition figures have called for authorities to properly investigate the pregnancy and alleged abuse of the girl, a stance backed by the Maldives’ Ministry of Islamic Affairs, which has labelled the matter a “very serious” and “dirty crime”.

The 11 year-old girl, who cannot be identified due to her age, gave birth to her child two months prematurely on Thursday.

Her child later died early morning on Friday (November 2), after being taken to Feydhoo regional hospital in Seenu Atoll for further treatment, with medical officials telling local media at the time that the girl had said she had been the victim of multiple cases of child abuse.

Police Spokesperson Sub Inspector Hassan Haneef told Minivan News today that a 37-year old male was presently being held in custody in relation to the case, but could not confirm if the 11-year old girl herself was presently under observation by authorities or was back with her family.

Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told Minivan News he was aware of the ongoing investigations into the matter, which he labelled “a very big crime,” adding that the young girl should not herself take any blame or punishment.

“Personally I can’t say any word to punish a small girl in grade six. This may be a rape or sexual abuse case,” he said.

“We must find the man who did this dirty crime and he must be punished. I believe this to be a very serious case and have this morning talked with the Human Right’s Minster and Attorney General regarding the [issue].”

The Minister for Gender, Family, and Human Rights is presently is mandated to deal with the matter.

Gender Minister Dhiyana Saeed referred Minivan News to Dr Aishath Rameela, State Minister for Gender, Family, and Human Rights.

Dr Rameela was not responding to calls at time of press.

Twitter debate

Debate over the case has raged on social media over the last few days.  Political figures including MP Rozaina Adam of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) stressed via Twitter that investigations conducted by both the police and the Maldives Gender Ministry of were proceeding at “top speed”.

Rozaina, who labelled the case as both “unacceptable” and “shocking”, demanded on social media that police make the case a high priority and find the person responsible for fathering the child.

“An 11 year-old doesn’t get pregnant by herself! This is child abuse we are talking about here n authorities need  to find out who is responsible,” she wrote on the social media service.

Rozaina was not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

Meanwhile, Ali Rameez, a famous singer who gave up music and now heads the Islamic NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf, tweeted on Friday: “All you people who claim to be Muslims! In Allah’s Shariah [law], a child grows up when he or she reaches puberty. Not when they turn 16, 18, 25.”

Rameez, who also hosts a religious program on private radio station SunFM, tweeted earlier that he was “not aware that children could get pregnant.”

The comments were criticised by some social media users including former Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam, who tweeted: “Where are the children’s right groups… Where is HRCM.. Horrified with the preaching of people like Ali Rameez.”

Outside of the political sphere, local NGO, Advocating the Rights of Children (ARC) yesterday issued a statement calling on the government, civil society organisations and the general public to step up efforts to combat child abuse in society.

“ARC strongly condemns the recent case of child abuse resulting in the pregnancy of an 11 year-old child. ARC calls upon the authorities to utilise all necessary resources to ensure the safety and protection of the child,” the statement read It is an obligation for us as responsible citizens to protect our children, and it is the Maldivian government’s obligation as a signatory to the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) that all international commitments to protect the rights of all children are adhered to fully.”

ARC also highlighted the importance of respecting the child’s privacy, while urging parliament, the government and the nation’s judiciary to take “action urgently” over the case.

“We also call on the relevant state institutions, civil society and other international entities in the country to take all precautionary measures to prevent violations of children’s rights, protect their safety and well-being, and to maximize their efforts to address comprehensively the issue of the violations of children’s rights in the Maldives,” the statement added.

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JSC asks Supreme Court to look into legality of Hulhumale Magistrate Court

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s legal team has stated that neither the Attorney General’s Office nor the Prosecutor General’s Office presented any arguments to confirm the legality of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court at Sunday’s hearing at the High Court.

Member of the legal team, Hisaan Hussain, however stated that the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) had used the opportunity to present its case.

At a press conference held Sunday, Hisaan further stated that they felt it would be unjust for the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court to be presiding over any case after Nasheed’s case was temporarily halted over allegations of the court being unlawfully established.

JSC lawyer Abdul Fahthah stated in court today that the JSC had lodged a case at the Supreme Court on the same morning asking the court to look into the matter of the legality of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.

Meanwhile, the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court has stated that along with Nasheed’s trial, the trials of the other four persons regarding the arrest of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed have now been temporarily halted.

In addition to Nasheed, former Minister of Defence and National Security Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfanu, former Chief of Defence Force retired Major General Moosa Ali Jaleel, retired Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Didi and Colonel Mohamed Ziyad are also being tried individually for the same case.

The Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court held the first hearing of Nasheed’s case on October 9. The second hearing had been scheduled for November 4, which was cancelled following the injunction granted Sunday morning by the High Court.

Nasheed’s legal team has previously raised concerns about the legality of the Hulhumale’ court, citing Article 141 (a) of the Constitution and Articles 53 (b) and 62 of the Maldives Judicature Act.

Minivan News was unable to contact the PG Office and the AG Office at the time of press.

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