Police have arrested a 35 year-old man for allegedly abusing a nine year-old girl in Faafu Atoll Nilandhoo, reports SunFM.
Police told local media that the man was a frequent visitor to the girl’s house and had assaulted her many times.
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(0)Local NGO, the Child Abuse Prevention Society (CAPS), will lead a series of educational workshops and camps for parents on the prevention of child abuse in the Maldives in conjunction with the Juvenile Justice Unit, Society for Women against Drugs, and Maldives Police Service.
Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed launched the programme at a function held at Aarah on Saturday afternoon, expressing concern over the prevalence of child abuse in the Maldives.
Noting that legal framework, although basic, to stop child abuse was in place, he underscored that a positive relationships within the family and between parents and children were as important as legal system to prevent all forms of violence against children.
(0)Dislikes(0)Current President of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, who is also the chair of the party’s Disciplinary Commitee, has resgined following the upcoming elections to appoint members to the party including the party’s president and vice president.
MDP’s official website said that Zaki had sent a letter to the Chairperson of MDP, Mariya Ahmed Didi, saying that his resignation was to ensure the MDP elections were conducted “free and fair.”
In the letter Zaki requested Mariya appoint Home Minister Hassan Afeef as the chair of the committee to deal with complaints concerning the elections until the elections were over.
Afeef is currently a member of MDP’s Disciplinary committee.
Zaki is running for the presidency of the party during the elections, challenging former Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi who is also running for the same post.
Recently a voice clip of a conversation between Zaki and a person named Anandhu, purportedly in the UK, was leaked to the local media, concerning negotiations for the delivery of T-Shirts for the MDP ahead of the Presidential election.
The General Elections Act article number 70 states that “products or money” given by foreigners shall not be used by a Presidential Candidate or any person on behalf of a Presidential Candidate, and article 70[a] states that ”Products or money given by foreigners, foreign parties or foreign administrations shall not be used.”
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives’ national football team has inched past rivals Tajikistan to finish top of their qualifying group for next year’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup finals on the basis of goal difference following a 0-0 draw between the two nations in Male’ yesterday.
After winning the opening two qualifying matches in Group C, which have all been hosted this week at the national stadium in Male’, a goalless draw with second place Tajikistan was enough for the Maldives to finish leaders of their group after scoring a higher number of goals.
According to the AFC table, in subtracting the number of goals conceded to those scored, the Maldives finished above its second place rival 5-4.
However, the draw between the top two teams of group C proved to be a very different game to the day’s other match held in Male’; where Cambodia finished at the bottom of their respective qualifying table after losing to Kyrgyzstan 4-3.
Kyrgyzstan led the match from just five minutes in as Aziz Sydykov put them ahead before Kouch Sokumpheak responded with an equaliser by the 39th minute of the game. Cambodia still finished the half a goal down though after Rustem Usanov scored in stoppage time.
Cambodia’s Sokumpheak responded once again to open the scoring in the second half to ensure the game remained 2-2 up until ten minutes before the final whistle.
Cholponbek Esenkul Uulu allowed Kyrgyzstan to once again take the lead in the 80th minute before scoring his second of the match five minutes later to put the score line at 4-2.
With just a minute to go until the final whistle, Cambodia’s Sok Rithy scored the team’s third goal of the match, but the effort wasn’t enough to prevent a third defeat out of the three qualifying games the team has played in Male’ this week.
With the qualifiers now concluded, the Maldives will compete with seven other nations including India, Turkmenistan and fellow Group C rival Tajikistan in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup. A host nation has not yet been selected for the tournament but is expected to be drawn from among one of the eight finalists under AFC rules.
The last AFC Challenge Cup tournament was held in Sri Lanka during February 2010 and won by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Police Service says it has no knowledge of claims made in international media that a Maldivian national was been arrested for alleged involvement in a planned terrorist attack on the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup currently being held in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India.
A spokesperson for the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) told Minivan News that it was unable to comment on allegations relating to security in another country, while a police official said that they had no information that a Maldivian was involved in any terrorism offences linked to the event and would not comment further on the matter.
According to the Times of India newspaper, Maldivian national Iqbal Mohamed, whom Minivan News reported earlier this month had been taken into custody at Male’ International Airport over his suspected involvement in the 2007 Sultans Park bombing in Male’, was arrested on suspicion of trying to attack this year’s Cricket World Cup event.
Police spokesperson Lance-Corporal Abdul Majeed Moosa confirmed to Minivan News today that the Criminal Court yesterday refused to extend Iqbal’s detention and ordered his release.
Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed said he would provide more information on the decision when staff returned to the office.
The Times has meanwhile reported that that Iqbal was suspected to have been part of plans to strike the cricket World Cup.
“A ‘terrorist’ suspected of planning to attack the cricket World Cup has been arrested after help from authorities across South Asia including in Pakistan,” the Times of India wrote, citing International Police Organisation Interpol’s Chief Ronald Noble.
According to Noble, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Maldivian authorities had worked together to identify, locate and arrest a “terrorist” on his way to the Maldives from Karachi on the grounds of “criminal intent”.
The arrest was made amidst a strict security crackdown in the region during the World Cup, with Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik claiming that fears existed of a major unspecified terrorist attack at the high-profile event.
“There was a serious attempt of an act of terrorism during this (World Cup),” said Malik.
According to the Times of India report, local police authorities have already issued a general alert ahead of the tournament’s final match scheduled for April 2 in the city of Mumbai, while Australia was said to have yesterday updated a travel advisory for its citizens calling for a “high degree of caution” for anyone in the region during the event.
Speaking to Minivan News on 15 March, Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that Iqbal Mohamed had been arrested on arrival at Male’ International Airport from Pakistan earlier in the month, after regional authorities had alerted their Maldivian counterparts of his movements.
The arrest, according to Shiyam, was made in connection to an attack in Male’ in 2007, where a device built from components such as a gas cylinder, a washing machine motor and a mobile phone exploded injuring 12 tourists – several seriously.
Shiyam told Minivan News at the time that although Iqbal Mohamed was believed to have been in Pakistan at the time of the Male’ attack, he had been wanted by police as part of their ongoing investigations into the 2007 incident due to an alleged role in the plan.
The sub inspector claimed that the Maldives Police Service was waiting for the Prosecutor General to present a case against the suspect ahead of any potential trial in the Maldives and had not been aware of any motivation for his return to the country.
“We really don’t why has had travelled back to the Maldives, but we have now arrested him.”
Mohamed was himself the subject of a red notice issued by Interpol, which was said to have drawn police attention after Interpol’s Major Events Support Team (IMEST) operating in Sri Lanka during the Cricket World Cup identified the suspect as he was travelling through the country back to the Maldives.
According to Interpol, red notices are a system used to keep the 188 nations that make up its members informed of arrest warrants issued by judicial authorities. Although the notices are not formal arrest warrants, the organisation said that they are used to identify individuals wanted for crimes under a national jurisdiction.
Following Moahmed’s arrest, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that he did not believe the suspect’s return to the Maldives raised concerns about further potential attacks in the country.
He claimed that the country’s National Security Advisor had recently addressed the issue of religious fundamentalists after a request from the country’s Immigration Commissioner and found no additional concerns.
Zuhair added that the advisor had concluded that there was not thought to be any terror cells operating within the Maldives and claimed there was no need to further heighten national security against such threats.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has appointed Judge Mohamed Naeem – who is currently a Civil Court Judge – to the Juvenile Court to punish him for disobeying the decision of a superior court.
The decision to transfer Naeem to the Juvenile Court was made during a meeting of the JSC held last Thursday, the commission said in a statement.
‘’The commission decided to do so as an action taken against Judge Mohamed Naeem for he has refused to conduct trials of cases concerning the state before the parliament gives consent to the [then] Attorney General [Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad],’’ reads the statement.
The JSC said that the case was investigated by the sub-committee formed to recommend disciplinary measures against judges.
Last Monday, the JSC announced that it had formed a subcommittee to investigate complaints about judges, indicating that its first subject was Civil Court Judge Naeem. This is the first case against a judge the JSC has conducted in more than a year.
The investigation of Naeem came after he reportedly declaring during the first hearing of a case filed against the state that he would not hear cases involving the state before parliament approved the reappointment of former Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad.
Naeem’s decision was in defiance of precedent set by both a majority of Civil Court judges as well as the High Court, which had ruled that such cases could be heard before the AG received parliamentary consent.
The very same day parliament rejected for a second time Dr Sawad’s reappointment.
According to the JSC, the committee – which includes JSC Chair and Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla, Judge Abdulla Didi and General Public Member Shuaib Abdurahman – was established under the Judges Act and that its first scheduled task was selected by a vote taken among its members.
(1)Dislikes(0)The Maldives is participating in Earth Hour this evening and will turning off all non-essential lights and electrical appliances from 8:30pm-9:30pm.
In his weekly radio address, President Nasheed said Earth Hour was an attempt to raise awareness about climate change and encourage people to change their habits in a more environmentally friendly way.
¨Earth Hour¨ is global event marked by World Wildlife Fund for Nature on the last Saturday of March every year, asking everyone to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for an hour, to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change.
President Nasheed also paid tribute to the Maldivian national football team for winning the first two games of the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers played in Malé last week to qualify to the AFC Challenge Cup to be held next year.
Hailing the national team´s first ever qualification to the AFC Challenge Cup as pride and glory for the country, he congratulated the national team.
(0)Dislikes(0)For years, the Indian Ocean’s most exquisite islands, the Maldives, have been solely the preserve of hotels. Now, they’ve begun to open up to foreign buyers, thanks to new laws introduced by the pro-enterprise President Mohamed Nasheed, writes Zoe Strimpel for London’s CityAM newspaper.
“Before Nasheed, elected two years ago, leaseholds were too short to attract European buyers – but they have now been extended to 50 years, with plans to extend them to 99 years over the next few years. As a result – with zero income or capital gains tax, not to mention utterly idyllic surrounds – the islands are swiftly becoming an attractive place to own property.
“Of course, there’s always the threat of trouble in paradise – the Maldives were on the 2004 tsunami’s hit list, with several resorts totally wiped out. And, we’ve all heard predictions that the atolls could be under the ocean within a few years.
“Insurance is your main guard against the first concern. Buyers pay a small percentage of the overall insurance cost which is rolled into the annual maintenance charges and equates to 1.5 per cent of the purchase price per annum. Many villas have now also been constructed with tsunami-resistant timber.
“The second worry can be taken with a pinch of salt if you’re so inclined. Some scientists say that if the Maldives are to slip under water, it won’t be for 200 years. So, even if the worst is to happen, you should still have a while to enjoy your luxury villa in sunny Eden.”
(0)Dislikes(0)Knowing very well that the skeletons in the ‘cupboard’ would be dug out, [former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom] did the right thing in seeking a deal so that he was left out of harm’s way, writes Dr S Chandrasekharan for the Eurasia Review.
“President Nasheed despite pressure from his colleagues in the MDP did leave Gayoom alone. Yet Gayoom, overtaken by greed for power or perhaps pressure from his relatives, returned to Maldives hurriedly to campaign for the DRP candidates in the local elections conducted recently.
“There is no doubt that Gayoom could claim credit for the smooth transition to democracy and no ‘Jasmine Revolution’ was needed. He had let the tourism industry to flourish despite objections from some of the religious extremists and more importantly kept the Islamists under control. Having provided a good constitution, he should have remained as a great “Patriarch,” keep away from politics and at the same time ensure smooth and peaceful transition.
“He could have as well attended to more critical social and environmental problems confronting the country in his retirement and remembered in history as the maker of modern Maldives. But he chose to stand for presidential elections. He did not do badly either though he lost in the “run off.”
“Now old skeletons are being dug up. The “Week” of 20th February from India, has extensively written about the family of Gayoom of having indulged in an illegal oil deal with Myanmar worth over $800 million and a report is now said to be submitted to the current President Nasheed by a Singapore Consultancy firm Grant Thornton.
“It was just eleven months ago that Gayoom personally handpicked his successor Thasmeen Ali to lead his party DRP and the latter was unanimously elected. Differences have been brewing between the ‘Supreme leader’ Gayoom and the President of the party Thasmeen Ali for some time now, ever since the deputy leader of the party Umar Naseer was sacked from the party. Gayoom’s family members openly alleged that Thasmeen was ‘ill-treating Gayoom’.
“The net result is that the DRP, which is a formidable opposition is in the brink of splitting up into two or more parties. The coalition partner PA led by Gayoom’s half brother Abdulla Yameen is alleged to be behind the split and yet he declared a few days ago that his party for the present will stick with DRP.
“The advantage as of now thanks to the re-entry of Gayoom is with MDP which has been making steady gains ever since it failed to get a majority in the parliamentary elections and has been facing stiff opposition on every issue including the appointment of cabinet ministers till now.”
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