Tag: nasheed arrest

EU delegation “shocked” to discover fake statement

The European Union (EU) delegation to the Maldives, resident in Colombo, Sri Lanka, has threatened legal action against the perpetrators of a false statement supporting former President Mohamed Nasheed’s arrest and prosecution.

In a press release on February 26, the EU delegation said it was “shocked to discover that somebody has circulated” a false statement which purports to be an EU Joint Local Statement on the rule of law in the Maldives dated 26 February 2015.”

The press release explained that the false document stated that the delegation “remains confident that the nature of the charges are in keeping with international best practices and conventions. We are satisfied with the assurances that former President Nasheed will be provided effective and appropriate legal representation at the court hearing”.

However, the statement was “an untrue representation of the position of the EU Delegation.”

The press release added that the EU Delegation “reserves its right to take legal action against the perpetrators of this false document.”

The EU statement on February 24 had expressed concern over Nasheed’s arrest and stated that the delegation was “seeking clarification as to the nature of charges.”

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Former President Nasheed presented to court hearing, protesters gathered outside

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has been presented to a court hearing under police custody, following his arrest on Monday on an order issued by Hulhumale Magistrate Court.

Hundreds of protesters are gathered in the area surrounding the court. Protesters claim that the Hulhumale’ court is unlawful and are calling for Nasheed to be freed.

The arrest of Nasheed on the island of Fares-Mathoda by the police followed a decision by Nasheed’s party to ignore two previous summons and a travel ban issued by the court, which the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) contend has no legitimacy under the 2008 Constitution. The matter is currently being considered by the Supreme Court.

Excessive force used in arrest: Amnesty

International human rights NGO Amnesty International has stated that the Maldives Police Services (MPS) used “excessive force” during the arrest of Nasheed.

The statement noted eyewitness accounts of the police vandalising the house of former Minister of Housing and Environment Mohamed Aslam, where Nasheed was staying at the time of arrest. It also highlighted accounts of attacks against supporters outside the residence who were exercising their right to protest peacefully.

Regarding the case against Nasheed, the statement further says that although it is “positive” that the Maldivian authorities are investigating the case, the organisation is concerned that the human rights violations during the 30 year presidency of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom and those that have occurred since Mohamed Waheed Hassan assumed office in February 2012 were being ignored.

“Investigations into past abuses are always welcome. However, accountability must not be selective – all authorities including former presidents should be held accountable for human rights violations. The focus on human rights violations during only Nasheed’s presidency appears politically motivated,” said Amnesty International’s Researcher on Maldives Abbas Faiz.

Arrest was carried out “very professionally”: police

Police have released a statement claiming that police officers acted “very professionally” in bringing Nasheed into police custody.

The statement says that the police had initially requested Nasheed to hand himself over to the police. According to the police, officers broke down the door of the room Nasheed was in and detained him after he failed to respond to the initial commands. The statemen claims that this is the general course of action used by police in similar situations.

The police denied that any officers used offensive language or that any physical or that psychological trauma was caused to anyone during the arrest.

The statement further notes that from the time Nasheed was brought to the Dhoonidhoo Detention Centre last night, the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives and the Police Integrity Commission have been provided with the opportunity to observe the proceedings of the operation to arrest Nasheed.

Police have also stated that Nasheed is allowed access to legal counsel and family under the arranged regulations.

“No chance of a fair trial”

The MDP has claimed there is no chance of a fair trial in the Maldives for former President Nasheed, and Nasheed’s legal team have complained about the “extraordinary way” the trial is being conducted.

President Nasheed’s legal team said they had not received official notifications from the court about trial dates., and were instead learning this information from local media reports.

“Moreover, in an unprecedented move, the Judicial Services Commission, which includes President Nasheed’s political rivals (such as resort tycoon and Jumhoree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim), have hand-picked a panel of three magistrates to oversee the case, whose names have been kept secret. This is in breach of normal practice and in violation of the Judicature Act,” the party stated.

“The coup has not been fully completed,” said MDP spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor. “There is no point bringing President Nasheed down in a police mutiny if he then goes on to win presidential elections 18 months later. To ensure its survival, Mr Waheed’s regime needs to remove President Nasheed from the political equation and that is precisely what they intend to do.”

He noted that the UN Human Rights Committee, the International Commission of Jurists, Amnesty International, FIDH, and the Commonwealth had all have expressed concern over the independence and competence of the Maldivian judiciary and called for reform.

Police used force despite Nasheed not showing resistance: Aslam

Former Minister of Housing and Environment, who had accompanied Nasheed on the police boat along with MDP MPs Imthiyaz Fahmy and Ilyas Labeeb, told Minivan News on Monday that Nasheed had not shown any resistance to being arrested, but the police had used undue force in the arrest.

Aslam further said that the police had forced themselves into the house, damaging property in the process. He further said that the police had “pushed around” people inside the house.

In addition to riot guns, Aslam also alleged that police had been carrying firearms.

“We also later on knew that they had pistols. I don’t know what sort of pistols they were. But we saw them packing them away after escorting us on to the boat,” Aslam said.

MDP Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik gave a press briefing following a visit to Nasheed in Dhoonidhoo on Tuesday afternoon, stating that the former president was being kept in detention outside of the normal systems and deprived of his freedoms. He said that he condemned the police treating Nasheed “like a convicted criminal”.

No force used after Nasheed was brought to Dhoonidhoo: PIC

Police Integrity Commission (PIC)’s Vice President Abdullah Waheed confirmed Tuesday that a three member team had visited Dhoonidhoo on Monday night following Nasheed’s transfer to the detention centre.

Speaking to Minivan News, Waheed said that observers had not accompanied the police who had travelled to FaresMathoda to arrest Nasheed, but had stayed at Dhoonidhoo from the time he was brought until midnight.

“During their visit to Dhoonidhoo, our team did not see any force being used against Nasheed,” Waheed said.

“We have not received any complaints from anyone alleging anything was done wrong by police during Nasheed’s arrest,” Waheed said, adding that the commission only looked into matters when an official complaint was filed.

Vice President of Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) Ahmed Tholal confirmed to Minivan News that himself and the President of HRCM Mariyam Azra had made a visit to Dhoonidhoo last night in relation to Nasheed’s arrest.

He said that more information could be provided following a commission members meeting, but did not respond to calls later.

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Former President Nasheed will attend willingly if case is heard in legitimate court: MDP

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has condemned the Maldives Police Service for arresting former President Mohamed Nasheed today, terming it an ‘unlawful’ act.

MDP MP Ahmed Sameer stated that the police, who had demonstrated against being issued unconstitutional orders on the February 6, were now doing the same.

Sameer referred to Articles 155 and 245 of the Constitution of the Maldives and Article 53 of the Judicature Act, stating that the police were implementing an order which went against all three articles.

“There are slayings and murders happening continuously, but the focus is instead on politically motivated action against former President Nasheed,” Sameer said.

Sameer also echoed Nasheed’s legal team’s previous statement that there was a case to determine the legitimacy of the Hulhumale’ Court currently pending in the Supreme Court.

“We are saddened that the Supreme Court is continuing to stay silent on the matter, and is making no efforts to inhibit an unlawful order by an unconstitutional court,” Sameer said.

“Why doesn’t the Supreme Court take the initiative and transfer the case against Nasheed from the unlawful Hulhumale’ court to a legally established court? He would willingly attend then,” Sameer further stated.

The police have an ongoing investigation against Sameer which was submitted by the Department of Judicial Administration on September 12 accusing him of “creating public mistrust” towards the Supreme Court.

Former Chairman of the Constitutional Drafting Committee of the Special Majlis, Ibrahim ‘Ibra’ Ismail, has also published an article on his personal blog stating the reasons why the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court cannot be considered a legal entity.

Ismail writes “[Hulhumale’ court] was created by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) without authority derived from Law. Therefore the validity of any order or judgements issued by this court is questionable, and the Constitution says no one has to obey any unlawful orders, i.e, orders which are not derived from law. Therefore, President Nasheed’s decision to ignore the summons has more than reasonable legal grounds.”

Ismail further writes that no court has the power, under any law, to issue a travel ban on a person without ever summoning them to court.

He also stated that there was ample to room to believe that the courts were acting with a bias against Nasheed, owing to a number of other politicians and business tycoons who were repeatedly defying court orders and summons.

At Monday’s press conference MP Sameer and MDP Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik called on the Minister of Home Affairs and seniors representatives of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to not encourage the case to be carried out in an unlawful court by having the police obey its orders to arrest Nasheed and present him to the hearing.

The MPS has sent out a press release confirming that they have taken Nasheed into custody and that officers were now heading back to the capital with him.

MDP International Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor has also expressed concerns, stating he did not believe Nasheed would be allowed a fair trial.

“This is not about justice. This is a politically motivated trial to invalidate our candidate’s candidacy and to deliberately disrupt the MDP’s presidential campaign. We are in the largest voting centres and it is very clear who will win the elections. They can only win the elections by invalidating his candidacy. We are deeply disturbed by the developing situation. We do not believe he will have a fair trial.”

Meanwhile, President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza has stated on his twitter: “After Tuesday morning either you are with us or with the enemy. There is no negotiation or middle ground after Tuesday.”

Riza made the statement on Sunday evening, while the Hulhumale’ Magistrate issued the arrest warrant to the police on Monday afternoon.

Parliament rejects motion against Nasheed’s arrest

Parliament has rejected an emergency motion put forward by MDP MP and Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik against the arrest of Nasheed.

Speaker and DRP Member Abdulla Shahid stated that the motion was rejected on the basis that it concerned a case ongoing in the Supreme Court to validate the legitimacy of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.

He referred to Article 149 of the Parliament Rules of Procedure which states that motions regarding cases ongoing in a court of law could not be accepted by the legislative.

Although Shahid stated that the Supreme Court was currently looking into the legitimacy of the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court, Moosa Manik stated that the motion was not about the Supreme court case, but about a case lodged at an unconstitutional court.

MDP MP Eva Abdulla echoed Moosa’s statement, saying that since the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court was established unlawfully, the arrest warrant for Nasheed issued by the court must be considered invalid.

The motion also spoke of the public outrage that Nasheed’s arrest and unfair treatment against him would cause.

Three magistrates presiding over Nasheed case summoned to Majlis Committee

The Majlis committee with the mandate to oversee work of the executive has summoned the three magistrates appointed to preside over the case against Nasheed regarding the arrest of Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed.

The three magistrates, whose names have not yet been announced, have been asked to attend the meeting at 3:45pm on Tuesday. Nasheed’s hearing, meanwhile, has been scheduled for 4:00pm Tuesday.

The decision to summon the magistrates was reached in a closed-door meeting of the committee held Monday afternoon.

The committee has an MDP majority with six of their MPs sitting in it, in addition to two  members from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), two members from Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and one member from the Jumhoree Party (JP).

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Former President Nasheed arrested in morning raid

Additional reporting by Mariyath Mohamed

Masked police in gas masks and riot gear have stormed a house on Fares-Mathoda in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll and taken former President Mohamed Nasheed into custody.

The arrest follows the Hulhumale Magistrate Court yesterday issuing a warrant for Nasheed’s arrest and presentation in court on Tuesday October 9.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs Imthiyaz Fahmy and Ilyas Labeeb were also taken into custody, along with former Minister of Environment Mohamed Aslam.

An MDP source on the island told Minivan News the three were not arrested but had accompanied Nasheed voluntarily.

“They did not want to let him be taken alone,” said the source, claiming that 50 police were involved in the operation to break down the door and take the country’s first democratically-elected President into custody.

MDP Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik said police broke down the door of the house and pepper sprayed the former President.

“Everybody was masked and in riot gear, and we couldn’t identify any of the police officers,” Moosa said.

Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that Nasheed would be returned to Male’ where he will be presented in court tomorrow.

Haneef said that Nasheed had been taken at around 9:45am.

“There was no trouble. Nasheed was very cooperative,” Haneef said, but was unable to confirm whether police had used pepper spray.

President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza tweeted on October 5 that “After Tuesday morning either you are with us or with the enemy. There is no negotiation or middle ground after Tuesday,” however Minivan News is trying to confirm whether Riza was referring to the trial of Nasheed or last week’s murder of Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), Dr Afrasheem Ali.

Riza was not responding at time of press. However President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told Minivan News that the government had not been contacted by any foreign governments or international organisations expressing concern over the detention of the former President.

“We have asked the Maldives Police Service to notify media of any developments.  The President’s Office wishes to stay clear of this matter,” he said. “We know as much as the [media] about developments right now.”
Masood added that he had been informed that despite allegations raised by the MDP concerning alleged use of excessive force to seize the former president, police authorities had said insisted that officers had acted with restraint.
“I’m told [Nasheed] asked for a box of cigarettes, a request that [officers] granted.  He was given Benson and Hedges as I understand,” Masood said.

Charges against Nasheed

The issuing of the warrant – exactly seven months after Nasheed’s ousting – follows his defiance of a court-ordered travel ban outside the capital Male’, and two court summons.

The MDP has disputed the legitimacy of the Hulhumale court and three-member panel of judges appointed to oversee the proceedings, and sought to appeal in the High Court.

The party today called on the Supreme Court to declare the Hulhumale Court illegitimate, and announced its intention to launch protests.

The specific charge against the former President concerns his detention of Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed, during his final days in office.

Nasheed’s government justified the judge’s detention on the basis of national security, claiming he had “taken the entire criminal justice system in his fist”, and that the institutions mandated with keeping the judiciary accountable – the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and Parliament’s Independent Commissions Committee – were politically manipulated by the former regime.

The state alleges that Nasheed violated Article 81 of the Penal Code, which states that the detention of a government employee who has not been found guilty of a crime is illegal.

If found guilty, Nasheed will face a jail sentence or banishment for three years or a MVR 3000 (US$193.5) fine, a sentence that would bar him from contesting future elections.

Former Minister of Defence Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaan, Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Colonel Mohamed Ziyad, former Chief of Defence Moosa Ali Jaleel and MNDF Southern Commander Brigadier-General Ibrahim Mohamed Didi also face charges.

Nasheed and his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) reacted last week by rejecting the authority of the country’s lower courts, contending that the trial was a politically-motivated attempt to prevent Nasheed from running in the 2013 Presidential election.

The MDP said yesterday that the party was “deeply disturbed and worried” about the decision to arrest the party’s presidential candidate, “and produce him to a widely disputed court.”

“The MDP notes with grave concern the state proceeds to prosecute President Nasheed while the UNHRC, ICJ, CoNI report, Amnesty International, FIDH, other leading human rights groups and our bilateral partners have expressed deep concerns over the independence and competence of the Maldivian judiciary,” the party said.

“We are currently on presidential campaign trail by boats in the Southern atolls. This trip has been organized for months and immediately after the dates of the trip were announced, the courts decided to summon our candidate to a court that is unlawfully established. Leading experts and lawyers have questioned the legitimacy of this court,” MDP spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.

“This is not about justice. This is a politically motivated trial to invalidate our candidate’s candidacy and to deliberately disrupt the MDP’s presidential campaign. We are in the largest voting centers and it is very clear who will win the elections. They can only win the elections by invalidating his candidacy. We are deeply disturbed by the developing situation. We do not believe he will have a fair trial,” said Ghafoor.

Return to prison

Nasheed became the Maldives’ first democratically elected President in 2008, ending the 30 year rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia’s longest serving leader.

Under Gayoom’s rule Nasheed spent 18 months in jail, including long periods in solitary confinement, and was declared an Amnesty prisoner of conscience.

He resigned from office on February 7 after police and military officers joined forces with opposition demonstrators and assaulted the country’s military headquarters and state broadcaster. Leadership passed to his Vice President, Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

A Commonwealth-backed domestic inquiry in August concluded that the transfer of power was legitimate, however the MDP alleged key testimonies were overlooked and evidence dismissed.

The controversial transfer of power has resulted in months of political instability and a growing culture of violence and impunity in the Maldives, more famous for its upmarket tourist resorts and celebrity clientele.

A moderate Islamic scholar and MP of the government-aligned Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), Dr Afrasheem Ali, was stabbed to death outside his home on October 1, the country’s 10th murder this year.

Nasheed arrest follows the resignation yesterday of Head of the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) Shahinda Ismail, citing “major differences in opinion” with other PIC members.

A PIC report into police brutality during the February 8 crackdown contained contradictory findings, alleging that police action was justified by destruction of property. However Commissioner Shahinda disavowed the finding and stated that the police action was against the law as there was no evidence of illegal activity by demonstrators.

Shahinda’s husband, Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameen, also resigned, claiming he was going to study for his masters in the UK.

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