Tag: murder

‘Leaked letter’ revives claims over Afrasheem murder

A leaked letter apparently written by the now home minister has surfaced on social media repeating claims that President Abdulla Yameen was linked to the 2012 murder of MP and cleric Afrasheem Ali.

The letter – apparently from Umar Naseer, who went on to become home minister in 2013 – is addressed to ex-president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and asks him to refrain from supporting Yameen because Naseer has concrete evidence linking Yameen to Afrasheem’s murder.

However, Naseer tweeted on Wednesday: “A forged letter in my name is being distributed on social media”, and claimed that the signature on the letter was different from his own.

Naseer has a history of making such claims against Yameen, but retracted them when he joined the government in 2013. Yameen denies allegations from the opposition of corruption and affiliation with criminal groups.

The letter received dozens of retweets, with many social media users linking it with previous public comments by Naseer making accusations against Yameen – although one Twitter user labelled it an “April fool”.

At a 2013 rally, Naseer accused Yameen of having illicit connections with gangs, the drug trade and the murder of Afrasheem. His comments followed his defeat by Yameen in the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives  presidential primaries.

Naseer said he had witnessed a visit to Yameen at the PPM’s office by a suspect who was arrested and questioned by police over Afrasheem’s murder.

Naseer was subsequently dismissed from the party and went on to back Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate Gasim Ibrahim. He was appointed home minister when the JP joined the ruling party in a coalition, but after that coalition later broke up, he stayed in government and rejoined the PPM.

In an exclusive interview with Minivan News in January 2014, Naseer described his allegations against Yameen as merely “political rhetoric”.

“We were repeating MDP’s lines. What happens in presidential primaries is that you are competing for the top position of the nation, so you use every tool you have. I am now the home minister, but I do not see any indication of [Yameen] being involved in such acts,” said Naseer.

Afrasheem, an MP for the PPM representing Ungoofaaru constituency in Raa Atoll and also a moderate religious scholar, was stabbed to death outside his home on the night of October 1, 2012. Police said the killing was politically motivated.

He was known for taking relatively liberal positions on some religious issues, which had prompted criticism from other clerics. On a TV talk show on the night of his death, Afrasheem had apologised for “misunderstandings” over some of his religious views.

A 2012 UNDP study of the Maldives’ gang culture found that “political and business elites” exploit gangs to carry out illegal activities including the suppression of opponents and carrying out tasks to help maintain popularity or divert media attention from political issues.

There have also been growing links between gangs and religious extremists, with a series of secularist bloggers apparently targeted because of their views.

Likes(7)Dislikes(0)

Fourth expatriate stabbed in Malé

An expatriate worker was stabbed in the Galolhu ward of Malé around 7:10pm on Wednesday, reports local media.

Police said the expatriate is undergoing treatment at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital after his arm was slashed in a scuffle near the Auto Garage. His condition is not serious, police said.

Today’s assault is the latest incident in a recent spike in violence against expatriates.

A 25-year old Bangladeshi, Shaheen Mia, was stabbed to death in a Malé café in the early hours of the morning on Sunday (March 22), while a Bangladeshi national identified as Bilal was found dead in Alif Alif Atoll Thoddoo Island on Monday night.

The following day, three expatriate workers were stabbed between 7:20pm and 7:40pm in three different locations in Malé.

Police have yet to make any arrests in connection with either the murders or the stabbings.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Young man stabbed to death in Mundoo

A 29-year-old man was stabbed to death on Laamu Atoll Mundoo Island on Friday night.

According to local media, Ali Ziyadham was stabbed in his arms, thighs, back and neck. He was dead when he was brought to the Mundoo Health Center at 11:10pm.

“Currently, we have one suspect under arrest, we are working on finding others associated with the incident,” the Maldives Police Services said in a statement today.

Ziyadham has a criminal record of drug abuse and theft, the police said.

Mundoo residents told local media Ziyadham was murdered in a dispute over the distribution of moonshine.

 

 

 

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Third suspect in Jailam murder remanded

The Criminal Court has extended the remand detention of a third suspect in the murder of 24-year-old Jailam Ahmed Shakir, reports local media.

The 20-year-old suspect was reportedly arrested on Tuesday (March 10) whilst two other suspects, aged 19 and 24, were taken into policy custody with arrest warrants on March 3.

The Criminal Court extended the remand detention of the latter to 15 days.

Meanwhile, Sun Online has claimed a fourth suspect in the murder, 18-year-old Mohamed Humaid has fled the Maldives and is currently in Sri Lanka.

Jailam was stabbed to death on the night of February 21 in the Henveiru ward of the capital Malé.

Eyewitnesses told Minivan News that Jailam was stabbed numerous times by two men armed with machetes while he was sitting outside his house.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Young man stabbed to death in Malé

A 24-year-old man was stabbed to death around 10:00pm last night in the Henveiru ward of the capital Malé.

Eyewitnesses told Minivan News that Jailam Ahmed Shakir was stabbed numerous times by two men armed with machetes while he was sitting outside his house.

“I heard Jailam calling out for help and when I turned around I saw two men had grabbed him,” said Heera Adam, a neighbour.

“But the attackers had already stabbed him a lot of times. Jailam called out for me. He said ‘sister help me, take me away, they are trying to killing me.'”

According to witnesses, Jailam was carried to ADK Hospital in a pick-up truck shortly after the brutal attack. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

“[Jailam] had died even before he was brought to the hospital. He had a total of 12 wounds in his body including his neck, stomach, back, arms and calf’s. The most serious was the wound on his neck, which was very deep and that prevented blood circulation,” explained ADK Hospital Spokesperson Ahmed Affal.

Police are yet to make an arrest in relation to Jailam’s murder, but said the case was under investigation.

Since 2001, Maldives has seen 42 murders including Jailam’s, which comes two months after Ahmed Mafaz, 28, was killed last December.

“Full of hope”

Speaking with Minivan News today, Jailam’s mother said he was “a youth full of hope” for a brighter future.

“He was a recovering addict. I had made all the arrangements for him to be admitted in a rehab in Bangalore. I told him yesterday that that all the arrangements had been made and he said he is ready and that he doesn’t want to be in Malé anymore,” revealed Jailam’s mother, who had recently returned from India.

She recalled that Jailam woke up around 11:00am yesterday and asked his mother to make him lunch.

“He loved my cooking and he loved it when I prepare his dish. He came around six in the evening to eat. I had made him dhal curry.”

She noted that Jailam was very close to her and had often expressed it physically.

“Day before the murder Jailam had seen me on the road and came and hugged me. He told me how much he loved me and asked me what I would do without him,” she said.

Although he was an addict and had been unemployed, Jailam’s mother insisted that he did not bother anyone.

“He would just be himself and get on with what he liked. He would always be singing,” she said.

Jailam, the youngest of three siblings, was a music enthusiast and had recorded a few songs, one dedicated to his parents who live separately.

“He said he had recorded a song for me and his father because we are separated,” his mother said.

Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed condemned the violence taking place in the capital last night, assuring police’s capability of tackling crime.

“The police are fully capable and will skillfully control the mob who are trying to disrupt the peace around Male’ City,” the commissioner wrote on his official Facebook page.

Related to this story

28-year-old man stabbed to death in gang-related violence

President Yameen welcomes restrictions on right to silence and legal counsel

Five injured in spate of street violence in Malé

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

State negligence investigated in death of Rakeedhoo child

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) and the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office are conducting separate investigations into the death of a child in the island of Rakeedhoo in Vaavu atoll.

The body of three-year-old Mohamed Ibthihaal, showing signs of severe abuse, has now been brought to Malé for further investigation and examination.

HRCM commission member Ahmed Tholal said that the focal point for vulnerable groups will lead a comprehensive investigation into the child’s death in a human rights perspective in order to identify any negligence by state institutions and individuals.

“We will share the report of the investigation with the public and relevant institutions. The report will also point to potential systematic flaws that may have led to this tragic death”, Tholal said.

Rakeedhoo Island Councillor Abdulla Rasheed told Minivan News yesterday that authorities had been aware of the abuse, having visited with the mother prior to the incident.

“We previously informed the police and gender ministry that the kid was being abused, but when [the mother] was questioned she was going to take care of the boy and stop abusing him,” explained Rasheed.

The mother was said to be unresponsive to questioning yesterday, having alerted health officials to the incident after she had rushed to the health centre before passing out.

State negligence?

Neither the police nor the gender ministry were revealing details of the case at the time of publication, though both have promised statements.

PG’s Office Spokesman Adam Arif told Minivan News that the office was currently investigating the death and that it will also focus on the events leading to the death in terms of possible negligence on the state’s part.

“Maldives Police Services will be investigating how exactly the child died and the immediate circumstances. The PG Office will investigate the events that led to this, including talks about how some state institutions were made aware of the child being beaten and abused”, Arif said.

The boy’s mother was known to the authorities as having a record of abusing the boy, who is the eldest of three. Media have published old images of child, appearing to show a black eye from past abuse.

Arif also noted that a three-member team of prosecutors are currently collecting information about the history of abuse in the case the child.

PG Muhthaz Muhsin was quoted in media yesterday as saying. “It is unacceptable that the child was handed over to the mother for the second time after it was found that she was beating him.”

Reaction

The incident has provoked an outpouring of grief, with President Abdulla Yameen promising strict punishments for those found culpable in Ibthihaal’s death. A public rally has been arranged for Friday at 4:15pm from the Raalhugandhu area in Malé.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) held a news conference yesterday regarding the incident, expressing the party’s concern over possible systematic flaws that might have led to the death.

“The main issue is that, this is not first time that he was harmed. He did not die on the first day he was harmed,” said MP Rozaina Adam.

“This is not a political problem, but instead this is a very big social problem which can only be fixed if everyone in this country works towards a solution.”

She revealed that MDP parliamentary group has decided to summon the gender ministry and other relevant state institutions to the Majlis to investigate the matter and to identify ways to prevent the occurrence of any such incidents in the future.

MDP rights committee chair Hisaan Hussain welcomed PG’s decision to investigate into the matter. Pointing to the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan, Hisaan expressed her disappointment over the lack of results from such state investigations.

She suggested that proper measures taken at the right time could have prevented the death.

“Did the gender ministry monitor the situation within the house after its initial visit? If not, why not?”

Following the death of the child former president and MDP leader Mohamed Nasheed tweeted stating that “the only way to protect children is to strengthen the social protection programme”.

(PHOTO: IBRAHIM ASAD)


Related to this story


Body of abused child found in Vaavu Rakeedhoo

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Thulusdhoo murder suspect sentenced to death

The Criminal Court has sentenced Mohamed Niyaz of Kaaf Thulusdhoo Redrose to death after he was found guilty of murdering 35-year-old Ali Shiham at Thulusdhoo on the night of July 31.

The Criminal Court sentence (Dhivehi) read that Niyaz was proven guilty based on his confession to investigators and his refusal to defend himself from the evidence provided to the court by the prosecutors.

Niyaz voluntarily handed himself over to the local police department after fatally stabbing Shiham in what the police have described as an act of vengeance after Shiham accused Niyaz of stealing from a construction site under the supervision of the victim.

The sentence was issued after Shiham’s four heirs – his wife, two children and grandmother – demanded qisas at the court. The decision of children was made by Shiham’s wife.

While speaking to the press at the time, Chief Inspector Abdulla Satheeh said that Niyaz had been arrested 10 times previously for theft and drug-related crimes.

The government has made moves this year to end the country’s 60-year moratorium on the death penalty, introducing regulations in April to oversee the process.

While speaking at a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) rally this month, President Abdulla Yameen reiterated the government’s resolve to implement the death penalty for the sake of human rights and dignity.

“I want to say tonight as well in your presence, this government will have no mercy at all for those who slaughter Maldivian citizens with no mercy,” said Yameen at the ‘Successful 365 Days’ event held in Malé on November 21.

Home Minister Umar Naseer said in April that death penalty can be implemented in Maldives from April 27 after the procedural regulations were published on the government’s gazette on that day.

“We are not one to shy away from implementing the death penalty by showing various excuses. Nothing will stop us from implementing the death penalty as planned,” said Naseer told the media.

The last person executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi, found guilty of practicing black magic in 1953. The common practice has since been for the president to commute all death sentences to life imprisonment through powers vested in him by Clemency Act.

With the new regulation, the president will no longer have this authority if a person is sentenced to death for murder by the Supreme Court.

The decision to re-implement the death penalty has received a mixed response at home and abroad, with some questioning the current state of the judiciary, while others claimed that the Islamic Sharia dictates a willful murderer should be put to death if there is sufficient evidence.


Related to this story

Man stabbed to death in Thulusdhoo

Yameen pledges to end violent crime at ‘Successful 365 Days’ rally

Death penalty can be implemented starting today: Home Minister

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Shahum found not guilty of murdering Ahusan Basheer

The Criminal Court on Thursday (November 20) found Ibrahim Shahum not guilty of murdering 21-year-old Ahusan Basheer in March 2011.

Ibrahim Shimaz, from Manchangoalhi Venus Thari, was also acquitted of aiding and abetting the murder.

Judge Abdulla Didi noted in the verdict (Dhivehi) that Islamic Sharia requires the eyewitness testimony of two males to prove guilt in murder cases.

The state had presented one eyewitnesses to the assault and three witnesses who claimed to have heard the victim saying before he died that Shahum stabbed him.

The victim had died of several stab wounds to the back and chest.

In December 2012, the Juvenile Court acquitted two minors charged in connection with the murder, citing insufficient evidence to convict.

In March 2013, Shahum was convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of Mohamed Hussain, 17, from Maafanu Beauty Flower in Malé  in July 2010.

Shahum allegedly stabbed Basheer shortly after he was released by Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed following six months in remand detention after being arrested for the 17-year-old’s murder.

Citing the delay in submitting a medical report from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, the chief judge had said he was releasing the suspect “to hold the health minister accountable”.

Shahum was later taken into custody from an uninhabited island following a manhunt.

Shahum, now 23, escaped from Maafushi jail last month and was apprehended in a guest house in in Malé on October 22.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Criminal Court hears concluding statements for ‘Husseynube’ murder case

The Criminal Court yesterday concluded hearings in the ‘Husseynube’ murder trial, obtaining the concluding statements from both the Prosecutor General’s Office and the defendants.

Hussain Mohamed Manik – known by the islanders of Hoarafushi as ‘Husseynube’ – was a prominent businessman found dead inside an abandoned house in September 2010.

Ahmed Ibrahim, Mohamed Latheef, and Numan Abdulla were arrested in connection with the murder and charged with terrorism in September 2011.

The Prosecutor General’s Office accused the three of murdering 61 year-old Hussain Mohamed after taking him hostage and robbing him.

It was accused that the defendants stole more than MVR100,000 and US$1000 in cash from the victim.

According to local media present at the court yesterday, the prosecution said that the three  charged with the murder had confessed to police during the investigation, explaining how the incident had occurred.

The prosecutors noted that the information given by the suspects after the confession could only be known by a person involved in the murder. He also noted that their information had led to evidence that had been produced in court.

However, the defence lawyer told the court that police conduct during the investigation of the case was unlawful.

He said that any confession made outside of the court should be dismissed, to which the judge responded by saying that he would adhere to the clause in the constitution which states that confession made outside the court will be inadmissible.

Before concluding the hearing the judge announced that the case was to be concluded by the end of this month.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)