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Comment: Extremism affecting the daily lives of every Maldivian

This article originally appeared on DhivehiSitee. Republished with permission.

Islamic extremism is very real in the Maldives. It affects the daily lives of every Maldivian, and is gaining in scope, intensity and violence every day with the pseudo-democratic government that came to power on 7 February.

This is not to say that Islamic extremism did not exist during the three short years in which the Maldives was a democracy. On the contrary, it was during democratic rule that extremism gained its strongest foothold in Maldivian society.  It is a myth that democracy is an antidote to extremism, as is widely proposed in much of the existing anti-radicalisation literature. Democracy, with its many freedoms, provides a much more conducive environment for radicalisation than does an authoritarian regime, as has been seen in the Maldives.

When Islamic extremism began to be imported into the Maldives in the late 1990s with the advent of the so-called international ‘religious terrorism’; and when the export of extremist ideologies intensified globally with the War on Terror, the Maldives was under the dictatorial regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Although in recent times Gayoom has aligned himself with the ideologies of the hardline Islamist Adhaalath Party, during his rule, he presented himself as a moderate Muslim who believed in freedom of religion and advocated religious pluralism in the Maldives.

What he did not tolerate was extremist ideologies spread in the name of Islam. His methods of suppressing such beliefs – imprisonment and torture – cannot be condoned, nor are they compatible with the values of democracy. It cannot be denied, however, that they held Islamic extremism in check in the Maldives for over a decade.

The transition to democracy in November 2008 opened the door for Maldivian Islamists to push their agenda forward.

A confluence of events had helped them consolidate support even under Gayoom’s repressive policies: the 2004 tsunami which literally put the fear of God into many a Maldivian living on remote islands, and which the Islamists exploited as a means of spreading their ideology by depicting it as punishment from God for man’s ungodliness; and the War on Terror, which was used by Islamist states and movements to intensify their efforts to fund and spread their ideology to Muslim populations across the world.

Despite a tourism industry worth billions of dollars, three decades of authoritarian rule in the Maldives left behind a population that was mostly on the poverty line, had extremely low levels of education, and contained tens of thousands of disaffected youth with few prospects for social mobility or economic success. All are factors that have been shown to facilitate the spread of extremist ideologies.

Added to this was the supposedly inescapable need for the newly democratic government to form a political alliance with the Islamists, and a democratic president who believed in freedom of expression in absolutist terms, and who failed to fully appreciate that such freedoms are not always exercised with responsibility by those who enjoy them.

While during the War on Terror most democratic governments everywhere sought to find a balance between freedom of expression and the need to curb incitement to violence in the name of religion, under Mohamed Nasheed’s government Maldivian extremists enjoyed absolute freedom of expression.

Bookshops came to be laden with publications that spread their teachings; their message was constantly transmitted in mosques, on air, and on the Internet. The success of their efforts are now there for all to see.

Of course, under Nasheed’s government it was not just the extremists who had the freedom to express their views. Those who disagreed with their ideology, too, enjoyed the same freedom. This was, in fact, Nasheed’s strategy and hope: that the civil society would counter extremism without requiring any intervention from the government.

It was a huge mistake. The civil society was not strong enough to take on the Islamists, especially in the face of the institutional support that the Islamists enjoyed under the MDP (Maldivian Democratic Party) government with its politically expedient alliance with the Islamist Adhaalath Party. Nasheed also underestimated the power of the label of ‘un-Islamic’ or anti-Islam as a tool for suppressing dissent.

The fight against extremists was thus left to individuals who worked alone or in very small groups. Their discourse was easily slapped down and condemned by the extremists using the ‘anti-Islam/un-Islamic/heretic’ label. As it turned out, this label was also the most powerful tool used against Nasheed himself to help facilitate the downfall of the MDP government, demonstrating just how much power such a designation wields in a rapidly radicalising society.

Despite the knowledge that Nasheed was a firm believer in freedom of expression, few dared to take on the extremists openly then, or now. When they did, the MDP government utterly failed to support them. The lack of any assistance or support for Mohamed Nazim, who in May 2010 dared to publicly declare his disbelief in Islam, and of Ismail Mohamed Didi in July 2010 who felt persecuted for his lack of belief and committed suicide at the age of 25, brought into sharp relief the absence of any serious commitment by the MDP government to fighting extremism.

Instead of tackling the oppression that the Islamists were imposing on Maldivians, the MDP – beleaguered by continuous authoritarian attempts at a reversal – often chose to ignore the problem, or worse, sided with the Islamists.

With the regime change of 7 February, the problem has grown acutely worse. Not only did the new caretaker President Dr Waheed enthusiastically demonstrate a previously unknown affinity with Islamists, his Coalition Government has, from the beginning, continued to deny extremism even exists in the country.

This deliberate denial, coupled with the appointment of Islamists to top positions in government and society, has resulted in the opportunity for extremism to grow unchecked. It now has deep roots within all state institutions including the executive, the parliament, the judiciary and most worryingly, within the security forces.

Recent events of extraordinary violence and their aftermath have gone a long way in demonstrating the truth of this claim.

The attempted murder of Hilath Rasheed

Hilath Rasheed is the only openly gay human rights activist in the Maldives. He, along with fellow blogger and writer Yameen Rasheed, were among the very few Maldivians who dared to voice their anti-extremist opinions publicly. Most bloggers and other writers used pseudonyms. Such caution was not without reason. Death threats against such writers were common.

On 4 June 2012 extremists carried out their threats and attempted to murder Hilath. I met Hilath a few weeks after the attack. There was a scar about 10 inches long  running across his throat horizontally. His voice was only just coming back, and his whole being appeared shaken.

Hilath told me that the last words he heard from the man who cut his throat were:

This is a present from Shaheem, Mutthalib and Imran.

The three men referred to are: Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed, the current Minister of Islamic Affairs; Ibrahim Muththalib, an MP who is the most ardent advocate of the death penalty in Parliament; and Imran Abdullah, president of the Adhaalath Party and one of the main actors in the Islamists’ contribution to the change of government on 7 February.

Hilath also made the allegations openly on his blog (banned in the Maldives since November 2011), and they were also reported in Minivan News, although the latter stopped short of identifying the politicians by name.

There has been no official response bar an attempt to mislead the international community by portraying Hilath as a violent criminal caught up in gang violence.

While it is a fact, related by Hilath, that the man who cut his throat named the said politicians, it is quite possible the attacker may have been lying about their involvement. It is also possible that the attackers (there were three altogether) decided to act on their own, motivated not by direct orders but by the ideologies perpetrated by the named politicians.

In the absence of a proper investigation by the Maldives Police Services (MPS), it is hard to know for sure.

In the four months since the attack, and despite existing evidence such as CCTV footage of the incident, the MPS has made no progress whatsoever in their investigations. Without police protection and fearing, instead, persecution by them, Hilath now lives in self-imposed exile. And the MPS has, for all intents and purposes, abandoned the investigation.

This failure by the Maldives Police Services to investigate the attempted murder of Hilath is not simply the incompetency one can expect from a heavily politicised police force. It also implies the existence of dangerous connections between law enforcement leaders and Islamists that go to the very heart of the increasing extremism in the country.

This is a proposition I make on the basis not of Hilath’s case alone – a similar failure has plagued the MPS in the most recent attack associated with Islamists: the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

The murder of Dr Afrasheem

Dr Afrasheem Ali was among the increasing number of politicians in the Maldives who also act as religious scholars and pundits, blurring further the already thin line between politics and religion. He was a staunch Gayoom loyalist, an MP for Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) who played a key role in the successful authoritarian attempts to hijack judicial independence in the Maldives.

Although some of Dr Afrasheem’s views on women and their role in society was far from liberal, he is reported to have spoken against forcing women to cover-up and also said that a believing Muslim cannot be declared an unbeliever simply for their failure to grow a beard or display other such ‘religious’ trappings – apparently daring statements for a religious scholar and what passes as ‘moderate’ (or ‘un-Islamic’) in the Maldives these days.

Dr Afrasheem’s killing was no random act of violence. It was a targeted assassination, carried out without mercy within the premises of his own home. He had been the victim of previous attacks, targeted for his beliefs that contradicted those of extremists. In conservative religious circles he was often referred to as Dr Iblis (Dr Satan).

The last major activity he participated in before his death was to appear on television, reportedly at his own behest, to “ask for forgiveness from citizens if he had created a misconception in their minds due to his inability to express himself in the right manner.”  The Islamic Ministry has denied reports that it pressured Dr Afrasheem into making the apology. And, Islamic Minister Shaheem has stated that, contrary to reports, there had been no disagreement between them.

And, just as with the attempted murder of Hilath, the government’s immediate response was to mislead the international media. This time it implicated Nasheed, with the President’s Office spokesperson sending an SMS to international news agencies reading:

Nasheed’s strongest critic Dr Afrasheem has been brutally murdered.

And again, just like with Hilath’s attempted murder, the investigation of Dr Afrasheem’s death appears to be going nowhere.

Not only has there been zero progress, the MPS has also been busy making political use of the murder—a trend which started with the murder of a policeman on 22 July 2012.

So far, a total of six people have been arrested in connection with Dr Afrasheem’s murder. Two weeks later, no charges have been brought against any of them, lending much credence to the allegation by MDP and other democrats that some of the arrests are intended more as a means of persecuting MDP/democracy activists rather than solving a murder. One of them, a young MDP activist, Mariyam Naifa, was released without charge, explanation or apology – but with many conditions – just yesterday, after 15 days in jail.

The MPS is not the only institution where murder is regarded as a political opportunity. Within days of Dr Afrasheem’s death, the Islamist-led push for the death penalty has received new vigor in parliament while the government has moved rapidly to revoke licenses for twenty-four hours shops and cafes citing ‘national security’.

The fact of the matter is that extremist ideologies have taken root within the national security apparatus as much as it has in political institutions. This is evident from the role that religion played in motivating the police and army personnel who refused to obey the ‘heretic’ Nasheed’s orders on 7 February.

It appears that crimes committed in the name of Islam are being pushed to the side by law enforcement personnel who are more interested in turning such atrocities into political battlegrounds, and/or see them as religious duties that do not deserve punishment.

If this continues to be the case, there is little doubt that the Maldivian people stand to suffer even more serious civil and political repression in the not too distant future as the Islamists continue to turn their extremist ideologies into government policy.

Is there a solution?

Islamism in the Maldives is a fact. It may not be the sort that blows people up and turn buildings into ash, but it is rapidly changing the Maldivian society into one of religious intolerance, xenophobia, and a place of violent punishments for those who refuse to follow its ideologies.

If extremism and its associated hatred and violence are to be stopped, or at least held in check, the MDP must start standing up to the politicians and ‘religious scholars’ who propagate such views, and it must stop giving into their demands for the sake of political expediency.

Nasheed has promised that MDP would refrain in the future from forming political alliances that require it to sacrifice its ideals. If he keeps his promise, this is indeed good news. Despite the corruption manifest among many members of its upper echelons, MDP is the only political party in the Maldives right now that has shown a strong commitment to reinstating democratic governance in the Maldives. And, Nasheed remains a beacon of hope for most Maldivian democrats who firmly believe in his commitment to democratic governance despite past mistakes.

The MDP is also the only such body in the country with the clout to push for anti-radicalisation measures without losing the support of a majority of its members. Many of MDP’s supporters are secularists and/or those committed to religious tolerance – values of democracy that are said to be universal.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee stated categorically in July 2012 that there should be no reason for the Maldives to cling on to its current reservation on Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Under the circumstances, it makes no sense for MDP officials to back down when confronted with militant beliefs as it has done in the past.

Even if the MDP does find the courage to stand up against extremism, however, the Maldives needs the support of the international community in fighting the phenomenon. It failed miserably in coming to the aid of the Maldivian democracy in its hours of need, choosing instead to support the pseudo-democratic government of Dr Waheed. But, it cannot afford to be so blasé about the growing extremism in the Maldives.  A failure to properly understand the current Maldivian malaise poses a danger not just to the people of the Maldives, but to its neighbours and the world at large.

Even the most realist of international actors should, therefore, pay close attention to the activities of Maldivian Islamists and refuse to take the new government’s word that ‘there is no extremism in the Maldives’ like it accepted the government’s declaration that ‘there was no coup on 7 February.’

Azra Naseem holds a doctorate in International Relations.

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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Comment: On the ‘Vaudhuge Dhathuru’ campaign trail

I spent the past two weeks traveling with the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on its Vaudhuge Dhathuru (‘Journey of Pledges’) campaign, all the way from Kolamaafushi Island in Gaaf Alif Atoll to Addu City. We visited more than 20 islands, including Addu City.

I was born and raised in the capital city of Male’. I am 19 years-old, but except for brief vacations with my family I have not traveled very much in the Maldives. Hence, I have not been able to experience “island life” and by this I do not mean the white sandy beaches or crystal clear waters of the Maldivian islands, but the daily lives of the residents who spend their whole lives on these isolated islands.

The trip was an absolute adventure; one that made me realise my own privilege in growing up in Male’, and the huge discrepancies between the urban centers and the rural islands. I have lived all my life in a bubble created by my parents. Can you believe I’ve never had to make my own bed? To live in a kanneli dhoni for 12 days was a huge challenge for me.

I was on Reyva Dhoni, known as ‘Media Odi’, along with 52 others. Everyone else wanted to be on Reyva Dhoani. We had all the photographers, media and the young and energetic ‘Yellow Force’ on board, so you can imagine how much fun it was. And really, you could actually see how prepared MDP was for this trip. They had thought of everything; there was a kitchen boat that came along with us, and a small launch, in case we may had a need for it.

Meals were prepared and we’d enjoy them in the middle of the ocean. There would always be someone singing a classic bodu beru song, or at times, a couple of guys getting together for Lava Baazee. It was never silent, it was so happening, and it would always turn out to be something exciting. As for the toilet arrangements, there was one toilet and usually 52 people on board, so you do the math. It was so small, you wouldn’t believe. Someone would always be knocking on the door, and as you can guess, it was always an emergency.

I would very much like to tell you about the first 24 hours of the trip. We left Male’ at around 5:00PM and it soon got dark. And all of a sudden, without warning, out of nowhere the boat started to wobble and it suddenly hit me, I’m going to have to stay put for 22 hours or perhaps even longer.

I started to miss my family and my bed… and mostly the toilet. I thought to myself, ‘I couldn’t survive in this place, why the hell did I even come…’ I was on the rooftop all night, inside my sleeping bag, because it was so cold, trying so hard not to puke (you don’t want to be the one who pukes, believe me!). I was not able to lift my head, because I didn’t want to pop like a puke-filled balloon.

After 22 hours we arrived at our first stop, Kolamaafushi Island in Gaaf Alif Atoll. I got myself together and took a shower, changed my clothes and set foot on the harbour, and the first thing I saw was the beautiful monument that was built for fishermen’s day.

On top there was a banner stating: ‘Welcome to the first democratically-elected President, Mohamed Nasheed’.

After become acquainted with the friendly, welcoming people of Kolamaafushi, MDP Youth Wing Leader Aminath Shauna and I went to the island’s MDP office, and we arranged our policy workshop. A handful of people joined us for the workshop, mostly people who’ve previously worked in the island’s health post or utilities company, people who’ve lost their jobs due to political reasons.

I was really glad to see a couple of elders and single mothers in this small crowd, it was what you would call ‘A little bit of everything.’ Shauna explained to them what the MDP had achieved in government during the past three years, and how many lives have been changed over the few years we were able to serve in government. For instance, in Kolamaafushi alone 889 people were covered by some sort of social protection program, and Shauna explained that Nasheed’s administration had spent about 4.2 million rufiya (US$272,000) for that.

That was just Kolamaafushi. We discussed housing projects, infrastructure and education, we were told by someone from the group that the pass percentage had increased to 62 percent in 2011, which I thought was remarkable. And it elated me to see how fired up they were and how determined they were to increase the pass percentage to even higher in the coming years.

When Shauna concluded her presentation, the islanders began to express their thoughts. They told us they haven’t seen a single laari of the ‘Disability & Single Parent’ benefit for the past three months. They said they had not been able to purchase medicine from the local pharmacy. The island’s Women’s Development Committee had set up the pharmacy, but the health corporation acquired the place and had decided to stop services.

They expressed anger at having to travel to a neighboring island for shopping and for medicine. I thought to myself, why are they complaining about that? The neighboring island isn’t that far, and then there’s the nation-wide state transport system, introduced by the MDP during President Nasheed’s administration. But then I got a ‘slap in the face’ from the locals: apparently the state transport service has not been consistent at all. What really made me upset was seeing so many young people without a job or education. I thought to myself, the ‘Skill [Hunaru] program’ could have changed the lives of a few of these youngsters, maybe a whole bunch in five years.

That day I realised it is not that these kids want to live off their parents. They want to earn a honest living. They just want opportunity, for someone to believe in them and to give them the chance, to change their lives. Someone to take an interest in them, someone or even a program to drive them to where they need to be.

After hearing all that, it suddenly didn’t matter that I had to shower in a small cube, or that I had to sleep on a mat most nights. It was a small price to pay to see what I saw in person, and of course the islands were so beautiful. It is true what Anni said, even if you’ve lived your whole life here, you can’t fail to be impressed by the beauty of these islands.

The trip made me realise that there’s so much we could do to change the lives of the hopeful people of this country, from the youngster who has just finished his A-levels to the diabetic single mother with three kids who needs constant medication.

Waheed and the government coalition boast about making tough decisions, but never took them. They seem to lack the confidence and guts to take risks. I personally believe we were on the right track.

It was so comforting to learn that the things that mattered the most for the people of these islands were health care, transport, social security, and anything that would help their daily lives. I believe that these were the kind of real, concrete, lasting changes President Mohamed Nasheed and MDP government brought, and I am convinced that they are the kind of radical changes that Kolamaafushi and the rest of the country desperately needs.

We must link the great divides in this country – and where better to start than the gap between the islands and the capital?

I have learned a lot. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I’m so glad that I went.

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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Bill of amendments to Religious Unity Act returned to committee

The bill of amendments to the Religious Unity Act has been sent back to the Social Affairs Committee on Monday for further revision after a mere 16 out of 66 MPs in attendance voted for it to be passed.

Late MP Dr Afrasheem Ali, who was brutally murdered at the beginning of this month, had submitted the bill proposing a total of 11 amendments to the Religious Unity Act on June 7, 2010. The Social Affairs committee had completed its research into the bill on June 20, 2012.

The bill had been presented to the parliament floor for discussion on October 9, 2012. Members had submitted an additional 11 recommended amendments to the bill at that time, some of which were passed during Monday’s voting session.

The passed amendments include submissions by Adhaalath Party member and Fares-Mathoda MP Ibrahim Mutthalib. One of these amendments stated that only those who have been educated in a university approved by the qualification board or educated to a level deemed acceptable by the government could teach Islam in local schools. It also states that if a foreigner is to teach Islam, he has to be a Sunni Muslim.

Amendments prohibiting the establishment of prayer houses for any religion besides Islam; creating, selling or using anything depicting other religions, and seeking external assistance for spreading other religions were also passed.

Additionally, the amendment by Mavashu MP Abdul Azeez Jamaal AbuBakr of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) stating that there should be no attempts to instill love for a religion other than Islam in the hearts of school children and that no lessons involving other religions should be included in the school curriculum, was also passed.

Among the amendments which were rejected were a proposition to replace the existing Fiqh Academy with a ‘Fatwa Centre (Lecture Centre) and a proposition to appoint imams for all mosques and place them under the direct authority of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

At Monday’s parliament session, 45 of the 63 members in attendance voted against passing the proposed Bill of Amendments to the Religious Unity Act, with two members abstaining from the vote.

Meanwhile, Kaashidhoo MP Abdulla Jabir expressed concerns regarding the act in Monday’s parliament session. He said that enforcing such “strict religious penalties’ were not suited to a country as small as the Maldives.

Jabir went on to say that “all ministries in this 100 percent Muslim country are Islamic Ministries”, adding that the ministry being controlled by Adhaalath Party was leading to religious issues getting politicised.

He added that although the Adhaalath Party was based on religious values, it was nonetheless a political party with political aspirations.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Jabir said “What I am repeatedly saying is that the Maldives is too small a country for the implementation of these issues highlighted in this bill.”

The Religious Unity Act has been in effect since 1994 and has been previously criticised as being against the spirit of the 2008 Constitution.

The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives had also filed a case in the High Court in February 2011, claiming that the Religious Unity Act of 1994 was inconsistent with the constitution of the Maldives and should be invalidated.

In September 2011, the then-government had brought into force Religious Unity Regulations, enforcing the existing Religious Unity Act, with a penalty of 2 to 5 years’ imprisonment for violation.

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Government spending MVR 5 million on 136 political appointees

The government spends MVR 5 million a month (US$325,000) on 136 political appointees, approximately US$4 million a year, according to statistics obtained by local news outlet Sun Online.

The monthly spend includes 19 Minister-level posts at MVR 57,500 (US$3730), 42 State Ministers (MVR 40,000-45,000, US$2600-2900), 58 Deputy Ministers (MVR 35,000, US$2250), five Deputy Under-Secretaries (MVR 30,000, US$1950) and 10 advisors to ministers (MVR 25,000, US$1620).9\

President Mohamed Waheed is officially paid (MVR 100,000, US$6500) a month, Vice President Waheed Deen (MVR 75,000, US$4850).

Waheed’s Special Advisor Hassan Saeed, the Chancellor of the National University and the Controller of Immigration are paid at ministerial level.

On paper, the annual MVR 60 million spend on political appointees is approximately MVR 40 million less than the spend on political appointees during the former administration.

Figures released by the Ministry of Finance in July 2011 showed that the executive was spending MVR 99 million (US$6.5 million) annually on 244 political appointees, two percent of the state’s total wage bill.

The country’s 77 MPs are meanwhile paid a base salary of MVR 42,500 (US$2,750) per month, a further MVR 20,000 (US$1,300) per month in allowances for phone, travel, and living expenses, and a further MVR 20,000 in committee allowances.

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Half of former President’s legal team barred from court

Two of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s lawyers have been barred from representing him by the Hulhumale Magistrate Court.

Nasheed is being tried for ordering the detention of Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed during his final days in office, a move Nasheed’s government defended on grounds of national security after institutions responsible for holding the judiciary accountable failed to do so.

Spokesperson for the Department of Judicial Administration Latheefa Gasim was reported as informing local media that lawyer and former Youth Minister Hassan Latheef had been barred from the trial as the state had called him as a witness.

Another of Nasheed’s defence lawyers, Ahmed Abdulla Afeef, was barred as he had not signed new behavioural regulations for lawyers recently issued by the Supreme Court.

This regulation, published earlier this year in June, prevents lawyers from openly criticising discrepancies within the courts, among other restrictions.

Following its publication a number of the country’s top lawyers held a crisis meeting to try and amend the regulations, including Prosecutor General Abdulla Muiz, Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem (now resigned) and Independent MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed.

Nasheed has two remaining lawyers: former President’s Office Legal Advisor Hisaan Hussain and Criminal Court lawyer Abdulla Shair.

Latheef was not responding to calls at time of press, while Hisan told Minivan News that Nasheed’s defence counsel were preparing a statement on the matter.

A legal source familiar with the Nasheed case told Minivan News that Afeef was one of the lawyers who contested the legality of the Supreme Court’s issuing of behavioural guidelines for lawyers, which he had refused to sign in protest.

“He submitted the matter to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) in writing. However in the interest of this trial he has submitted the documents to sign the decree,” the source stated.

Latheef, meanwhile, had been summoned as a witness by the state to prove that Abdulla Mohamed had been kept on the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) training island of Girifushi, “a fact not disputed by anyone,” the source said.

“The court is right – a key witness cannot serve as a defence lawyer because of conflict of interest,” the legal source added, “but it looks like a deliberate attempt by the Prosecutor General to sabotage the defence counsel and make its work difficult.”

Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have previously alleged that the trial is a politically-motivated effort to convict and bar the former President from competing in future elections.

During the first hearing, Nasheed’s defence challenged the legitimacy of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court which it alleged had been created by the JSC without constitutional authority.

The JSC has also appointed the three-member panel of judges which overseeing the trial of the former President. The Commission’s members include two of Nasheed’s direct political opponents, including Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid – Deputy of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) – and Gasim Ibrahim, resort tycoon, media owner, MP and leader of the Jumhoree Party (JP), also a member of the governing coalition.

UK lawyers to assist defence

The MDP has meanwhile confirmed that two senior UK-based legal experts – one a specialist in Shariah Law – will be joining the defence team: Sir Ivan Lawrence QC and Barrister Ali Mohammed Azhar.

One lawyer told Minivan News that the appointment of two foreign legal experts in a domestic trial was an “unprecedented” development in the Maldives’ legal history, however Nasheed’s legal team has stated that the foreign lawyers will be unable to represent the former President in court and will instead provide advice and counsel.

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Civil court freezes accounts and imposes travel ban on ‘VB’ heirs

The Civil Court has frozen all bank accounts and issued a travel ban for all heirs of late Moosa Faheem, father-in-law of the Minister of Home Affairs, Mohamed Jameel Ahmed.

The Civil Court order stems from a case filed by Mohamed Anees, who had served as General Manager of four AAA Resorts, before the company split up.

The court order was issued on Sunday, based on the heirs’ failure to settle a debt of MVR 559,555 (US$36,300) owed to the plaintiff in accordance with a Civil Court ruling of 2009.

The court had at the time ordered the heirs to pay the specified amount as damages after it had been proven in court that assets belonging to Anees, including a speedboat and a ‘dhoni’ boat, had been wrongfully passed on to the heirs of Faheem following his death.

Anees had told local media that the amount specified was a value proposed by the court itself as the cost of renting his vessels until the 2009 hearing.

“Moosa Faheem’s family was ordered by court to make this payment back in 2009. But then they appealed the case in the High Court without paying up. However, on July 27, High Court ruled in favour of the Civil Court’s verdict,” Anees told local media.

“The Civil Court has been trying to implement this ruling, but Shaveed’s family members never attend hearings. They didn’t even come to this last Thursday’s hearing. Then at a hearing of another case I’ve filed against them I said it’s possible to do things like freeze their accounts or hold their passports. That then I’d get the payments,” Anees further said.

Meanwhile, a member of Faheem’s family is reported in local media as saying that the court had concluded the case while they have appealed it in the Supreme Court and none of the heirs were in the country. He further said, “This is a political move to tarnish our family name.”

The heirs of Moosa Faheem include Haulath Faheem – wife of current Minister of Home Affairs Mohamed Jameel Ahmed – and Mohamed Shaveed, Chairman of VB Brothers Pvt Ltd.

Local media has reported that the Department of Immigration denies having received a court order for withholding the passports of Faheem’s heirs.

Controller of Immigration Mohamed Ali, spoke to Minivan News today on the issue.

“We get lots and lots of court orders to impose travel bans. From magistrate courts, the civil court and many other courts. We implement these orders as they come to us. I will have to check and see if this particular order has been received. But even if it did, to share it with media? I’ll need to seek advice on whether or not to to do that,” Ali said.

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Religious NGO plans Male’ protest in support of death penalty

Religious NGO “Muslimunge Gulhun” yesterday told local media that it is organising a demonstration calling on the state to implement and enact the death penalty.

The demonstration, to be called ‘Thanfeez’ – translated as “implement – is scheduled to be held at 4:oopm on Friday (October 19) at the Artificial Beach area of Male’.

The demonstration will mainly focus on advocating for the death penalty, which organisers believe will to bring an end to murders occurring in the Maldives, according to a press briefing held at Muslimunge Gulhun head office. The NGO further stated that the demonstrations would also be used to advocate for the penalties of other crimes to be aligned with Islamic Sharia.

Minivan News was unable to locate contact details for the NGO, while Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed and State Minister for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Didi were not responding to calls at the time of press.

However, one event organiser, Ajnadh Ali, is quoted in local media as saying that participants of the demonstration were expected to range from religious scholars to young people with a love for Islam. He further claimed that the demonstration was being planned by people that did not directly represent any specific organisation.

Organiser Sheikh Azmath Jameel stated, “The country has come to the state it is at now because the penalties laid out in Islamic Sharia have not been implemented. I call on every Muslim to join this demonstration.”

Ali Nazeer, another of the event’s organisers, spoke against opening up issues like death penalty to public debate, adding any such discussions should not be entertained in fear of how the international community may react to the implementation of Islamic Sharia.

Although death sentences are issued by courts in the Maldives, traditionally those sentences are commuted to life imprisonment under the power vested in the President.

From January 2001 to December 2010, a total of 14 people were sentenced to death by the courts. None of these sentences have been carried out.

The last person to be executed in the Maldives after receiving a death sentence was in 1953 during the first republican President Mohamed Ameen. Hakim Didi was charged with attempting to assassinate President Ameen using black magic.

However, the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has announced its intention to submit a bill to parliament to facilitate the implementation of the death penalty.

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FBI assisting with Afrasheem murder investigation: Police Commissioner Riyaz

The Maldives Police Service has said two US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials are providing “technical consultancy” in investigating the murder of religious scholar and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali on October 2.

At a press conference held on Thursday (October 11), Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz also confirmed that two additional suspects have been arrested with regard to the case, increasing the total number of arrests in connection with the murder to six.

According to local media reports, Riyaz confirmed the same day that a total of 80 police officers have been assigned to the case. The police have now questioned 75 persons and are analysing 130 video clips from security cameras around the capital of Male’.

Riyaz further stated his belief that the murder had been committed as a pre-planned, calculated attack.

Talking to local media, Riyaz revealed that police officers had uncovered sufficient evidence, and were further investigating reports of related financial transactions to the case.

He confirmed that police would continue with the investigation until the culprits were found.

In an unprecedented move, the police service also announced that reward money amounting to MVR 500,000 would be granted to any person providing evidence that would lead to a conviction in the country’s courts.

Riyaz added that in cases where threats were made to ‘high-profile’ persons in future, police would be taking necessary precautionary actions to protect them.

Politics and religion

Following the murder of Dr Afrasheem, Maldivian Democratic Party(MDP) activists Mariyam Naifa and Ali Hashim were arrested on Tuesday, October 3 from Dolphin Cafe.

Although police failed to confirm at the time that the arrests were made in relation to the MP’s murder, Naifa’s lawyer confirmed that authorities had arrested her colleague based on ‘intelligence reports’ about the attack.

The MDP has since alleged that the arrests were politically motivated, expressing concerns that the “brutal murder of a respected and elected member of the Parliament” was potentially being used to frame political opponents.

In a press conference held on October 3, Assistant Commissioner of Police Hassan Habeeb stated, “We are not arresting people based on their political affiliations.”

Prior to his murder, Afrasheem had made his last public appearance on a live talk-show on TVM titled, “Islamee Dhiriulhun” (Islamic Living).

In his last broadcast words, Afrasheem said that he was deeply saddened and asked for forgiveness from citizens if he had created a misconception in their minds due to his inability to express himself in the right manner.

Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed later stated that the Islamic Ministry had in no way forced Afrasheem to offer a public apology for anything in his last TV appearance.

Earlier in September, local media had reported that the Islamic Ministry had held a meeting titled ‘Scholar’s Dialogue’ to hold discussions about how Afrasheem’s religious views contradicted those of other local scholars.

Shaheem had stated at the time that they had not been able to reach a common consensus, but that further meetings had been planned.

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Go through process, but do not allow trial to disenfranchise former president: McKinnon

While the Maldives’ judiciary is “not the strongest of the democratic institutions in the Maldives”, the international spotlight would encourage a fair trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed, Sir Don McKinnon has told ABC Radio Australia.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Maldives told the channel that the international community was watching the matter “very closely”.

Nasheed was arrested by the police on Monday acting on a warrant from the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, where the Prosecutor General has filed charges concerning the former president’s detention of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed, while in office.

Nasheed has maintained that the detention was justified on grounds of national security following the failure of other institutions to hold the judge accountable, and alleged that the charges against him are a politically-motivated attempt to prevent him from contesting the 2013 elections.

“All the major players that have been talking to the Maldives recently are also saying go through your processes, but do not allow this to disenfranchise the former president,” McKinnon told ABC Radio.

Asked whether he shared Nasheed’s concerns that he would not be tried fairly, “I think on this particular case [the judiciary] know very well that there’s more than just a few Maldivian people watching this trial.”

“The international players are watching and I believe that the Maldivian judiciary will be very careful,” McKinnon said.

“It certainly can be fair and it should be fair. These people know exactly what is expected of a judiciary, but there is a high level of political sensitivity in that country, there’s a tense atmosphere which does get more difficult from time to time. But there is still the possibility of having a fair trial, yes,” he said.

Asked about the country’s future, McKinnon suggested that “we who live in Western countries expect things to happen very fast. I began my dealings with the Maldives probably about seven years ago, encouraging them to have a new constitution, have free and fair elections, which they did. And that was the first time they’d really had free and fair elections in 2008.

“Now on that basis Maldives democracy is really only four years old, so there’s still a lot of elbowing people around, much of the political structure within the Maldives is based on personalities, there’s not great ideological divides, there are six or seven different parties in and out of the margins right now. There are many things that it is grappling with that it’s never had to grapple with before, and the important thing is the international community give them support to allow this very fledgling democracy to mature.”

Failure to defend democracy

Former President Nasheed has meanwhile told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that the international community had failed to defend democracy in the Maldives, saying that it was “difficult for me to believe that democracy is sacred for the international community”.

“The people of the Maldives have lost faith with the international community … which has taken a very narrow view,” Nasheed told the paper.

“It is very certain that they can’t win [the election] with me [standing] as a candidate so they are trying all sorts of ways to stop me … It is really quite chilling,” he said, noting that his party had decided to boycott the election if he was excluded from running.

“No travel ban”

The government has meanwhile issued a statement noting concerns raised by the UK, US and European Union regarding the arrest of Nasheed.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon – daughter of Nasheed’s predecessor Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – said the government was “fully committed to strengthening democracy and rule of law in the Maldives”.

“[Nasheed was released from police custody after the first hearing. He was taken into custody following a court order issued by the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, after he ignored court summons and refused to appear for the first hearing of the case which had been originally scheduled for 1 October 2012 and rescheduled for 7 October 2012,” she said.

“Contrary to claims by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and also by Amnesty International, police did not use excessive force during the arrest of the former President Nasheed. His safety and security had been the priority and no one was harmed or pepper sprayed during the operation,” the statement read.

“The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) had been invited to observe the operation. While in custody, former President Nasheed was afforded the right to an attorney and meet with his family members. There is no travel ban on him and he is currently travelling out to some of the atolls.”

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