Tag: police

Family of missing Maail criticise police response

The family of 24-year-old Abdulla Maail, reported missing on January 27, has expressed concerns that police have been negligent in their investigation of his disappearance.

Lhaimagu Island Council has echoed these concerns, saying they are “not at all satisfied” with the manner the police have handled parts of the investigation.

Maail – from Dhaalu Atoll Kudahuvadhoo – went missing from the uninhabited island of Firunbaidhoo in Shaviyani Atoll, where he was employed on an agriculture project.

Only one other person, 62-year-old Hassan Ali, was on the island at the time of the disappearance. He reported Maail to be missing on the afternoon of January 27, according to police.

Police officials have denied the suggestions of negligence, saying that the search up to this point had been prompt and thorough.

‘Delays narrow chances of finding Maail’: Council

Lhaimagu Councillor Ahmed Shinan said the police had taken long time to respond after the disappearance was reported, expressing concern that the chances of finding Maail had subsequently narrowed.

“Hassan Ali told us, in the presence of other council members and police, that he reported Maail’s disappearance to police at 4.30pm. Police, however, did not arrive on the island until after 11pm that night,” claimed the councillor.

“It took over 6 hours for police to come, when the distance between Firunbaidhoo and Fonadhoo can be travelled in just under 10 minutes by speedboat. We heard later from the island’s proprietor that police refused to come until he arranged speed boat transfer for them”.

Police today acknowledged  some “transportation challenges” after the case was reported, but said they had begun work on the case immediately after being alerted.

“We only received reports at 6.30pm and I think police reached the scene around 9pm,” a media official told Minivan News.

According to the Shinan, however, locals waited hours for police to arrive at the scene.

Locals search the island of Firunbaidhoo

“This was valuable time wasted when we could have commenced the search for Maail. We’re talking about a human being that’s gone missing, not some petty robbery. We cannot afford to be careless in the investigation,” he said.

Shinan said that the police had left the island unattended after the initial search, giving potentially guilty parties an opportunity to eliminate or tamper with evidence.

He also argued that witnesses had not been investigated thoroughly enough, suggesting that reports of a supply dinghy having visited the island minutes before Maail’s absence was realised could be key.

The councillor also expressed disappointment that it took police over two days to begin searching the sea.

Police have denied the delay, saying that the coast guard-assisted search began the day after the reported disappearance. Officials declined from giving further details as the investigation continues.

Family feels unsupported

Maail’s brother Mohamed Shifau has travelled to the capital Malé from Meemu atoll, after the family had been unable to contact Shaviyani police.

“We have continuously tried calling the head of the Shaviyani Police Station to ask for updates on the investigation, but he hasn’t answered our calls even once in the past week,” he told Minivan News.

“There are certain aspects of the investigation that we believe the police overlooked, some people that they haven’t questioned, and so on. We shared that information with the police in Malé.”

The family have also sent a letter outlining their concerns to the Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed, though they have as yet received no reply.

Dissatisfied with the response from police, Shifau appealed to politicians for assistance, meeting with politicians across the spectrum.

“The Shaviyani Atoll Fonadhoo constituency’s parliamentarian Ali Saleem met with us, but said he could give us no more than five minutes. He stated that the police will investigate the matter and there is nothing else he can do for us,” Shifau explained.

After failing to contact Kudahuvadhoo constituency MP Ahmed Amir, Shifau met with the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

“The MDP was very sympathetic, and Chairperson Ali Waheed promptly arranged a meeting with a committee from the party. They provided assistance by guiding our family on future steps that can be taken,” Shifau said.

(PHOTOS: LHAIMAGU ONLINE)

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Hospital worker and wife latest to travel for Jihad

Media reports say a former cleric of Malé’s Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and his wife have become the latest Maldivians to travel to Syria for jihad.

Police have told media it is investigating reports that Zameer Farooq, from Gaafu Alifu Kanduhulhudhoo, and his wife have travelled to Turkey via Dubai in order to enter ISIS-held territory.

With Haveeru reporting a group of six having departed last week, as well as a dozen more said to have gone at the start of January, the exact numbers of Maldivians abroad for jihad is unclear.

Police Commissioner Hussein Waheed last month estimated that around 50 Maldivians were working with foreign rebel groups.

Media reports today say that Farooq had been investigated by police in relation to a robbery just days before travelling to Turkey on January 29, though police media officials were not responding to calls at the time of publication.

The group said to have left in early January included Azlif Rauf – a suspect in the murder of MP and moderate Islamic scholar Dr Afrasheem Ali, an individual arrested over the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan, a man arrested for issuing a death threat, a man classified by the police as a dangerous criminal, and three men with criminal records.

Waheed has acknowledged the difficulty in tracking individuals intending to travel for jihad, though it was recently reported that four would-be jihadis were apprehended in Malaysia in January, while three were apprehended in Sri Lanka in November.

Haveeru reported that those returned last month were released after their passports had been seized by authorities.

Commissioner Waheed has said that police are working with the Islamic ministry and relevant government departments to prevent radicalisation , though he said the variety of people travelling for jihad made it hard to target the most vulnerable groups.

Those leaving the country for Islamic State-held territories have included couples and even entire families since the first Maldivian jihadis were reported early last year.

“We know who the foreign militants are,” Waheed told media last month. “We are monitoring their activities. My hope is, I believe we will be able to monitor them to the extent they are unable to [present a threat] in the Maldives.”

A UN report obtained by the UK’s Guardian has noted foreign jihadists are travelling to Syria and Iraq on “an unprecedented scale”, with 15,000 people reported to have travelled to the region from more than 80 countries.

In November, a jihadist group called Bilad Al Sham Media (BASM) – which describes itself as ‘Maldivians in Syria’ – revealed that a fifth Maldivian had died in Syria.

Two months earlier, a protest march took place in the capital, Malé, with around 200 participants bearing the IS flag and calling for the implementation of Islamic Shariah in the Maldives.

The march followed a statement from foreign minister Dunya Maumoon condemning “the crimes committed against innocent civilians” by ISIS.

Defending the government’s stance on extremism and ISIS, Islamic minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told the Majlis late last year that “Maldives will not allow Maldivians to go and fight in foreign wars”.

“We do not support their [ISIS] extremist policies. We have repeatedly appealed to our beloved youth to refrain from falling prey to these ideologies,” he said.

*Original headline changed from ‘IGMH Cleric’ after concern about potentially misleading issues regarding translation of the word ‘Mudhimu’ – meaning an official who gives out the call to prayer.


(PHOTO: March for Shariah, Malé, September 2014)


Related to this story

Islamic Minister advises Maldivians against participating in foreign wars

Maldives a “land of sin”, says jihadist after departing with family for ISIS territory

Two immigration officers and Afrasheem murder suspect among group of twelve jihadis

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Body of abused child found in Vaavu Rakeedhoo

The body of a three-year-old child with signs of severe abuse has been found on the island of Rakeedhoo in Vaavu Atoll.

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

“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 Rakeedhoo Island Councillor Abdulla Rasheed.

Rasheed explained that the council was alerted to the case today by health centre officials after the mother ran there before passing out.

Council members subsequently went to the woman’s home where they found the boy on the sitting room floor, head on a pillow, naked except for a rug covering him from the waist down.

As well as scratches to the head and neck, the boy has extreme bruising to his left ear and genitals, said Rasheed.

He said that the mother – whom he questioned previously about the abuse of her son – had since regained consciousness but was refusing to talk.

One of the woman’s other children is now with neighbours, and another is still with the mother. Previous offers from other islanders to adopt the abused boy had been turned down by the mother. Rakeedhoo has a population of just 84 people.

The Ministry of Law and Gender told Minivan News that it was still gathering the facts of the case and would be releasing a statement shortly. Police media officials were not responding to calls at the time of press.

The prosecutor general has told media it is investigating the case for possible negligence on the part of state institutions.

“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,” said Muhthaz Mushin

Former Attorney General Azima Shukoor in 2013 described “alarming” levels of child abuse in the country, submitting amendments to the Majlis to enable the transfer of legal guardianship from neglectful and abusive parents.

Elsewhere, a 27-year-old woman was arrested yesterday evening in Baa Atoll Eydhafushi on suspicion of beating her child reports Haveeru.

Suspected child abuse can be reported anonymously to the police on 3000 600.

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Dangerous weapons found in Nazim’s house during raid, say Police

Police have revealed that dangerous weapons were found at the house of former defence minister Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim on Sunday morning (January 18).

“We found dangerous weapons at his house,” said Spokesman for Commissioner of Police Ahmed Shifan at a press conference held this afternoon. “Nazim and some of his family members were questioned regarding the weapons but they failed to adequately respond to the questions.”

The details of the raid – previously withheld – came just hours after Nazim’s dismissal and subsequent replacement by Major General (retired) Moosa Ali Jaleel.

Following President Abdulla Yameen’s decision to remove him from the cabinet, Nazim said the raid showed that no Maldivian could be considered safe or secure based on recent events.

“This gives an alarming signal that entering any house, at any time and to do anything is possible. The defence minister is the most senior official standing beside the president,” he said during a press conference held at the studios of DhiTV.

Nazim went on to say that he intended to cooperate fully with police and had already provided statements, fingerprints, and DNA samples.

Superintendent Shifan told the media that the police had obtained a warrant from the Criminal Court after receiving reports that dangerous weapons were being kept in a Malé home.

“A police tactical team was sent to the house at around 3.15am on January 18, whereupon they went up to the eighth floor and searched 2 apartments.”

Media speculation as to the specific weapons found in the apartment have varied considerably, with no such details revealed by police officials today.

Shifan once again assured the press that officers had been unaware that the apartment belonged to the defence minister until they had forcefully entered the property, adding that best practices were maintained throughout the search.

“The team did not know Nazim was present at or living at that apartment until after they arrived on the scene,” said Shifan.

“We would like to reiterate the fact that the police would not hesitate to search any house under a court warrant in order to ensure the safety of the general public.”

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has earlier this week suggested that the raid had been conducted to retrieve documents which might incriminate tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb, though Adeeb had rejected these claims.

Commenting on Nazim’s dismissal via twitter today, Adeeb said it was a “sad day” when former colleagues “changed their direction”.


Nazim also suggested this afternoon that such a raid could not have happened without the president’s knowledge, although President’s Office Spokesman Ibrahim Muaz told Minivan News earlier that presidential approval was not required to investigate a cabinet minister.


Related to this story

Nazim dismissed as defence minister, replaced by Moosa Ali Jaleel

Police raid Defence Minister Nazim’s home in early hours

Opposition condemns Defense Minister Nazim’s apartment raid

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Police regulations do not adequately protect constitutional rights, says MDN report

Current policing regulations do not adequately address and protect the rights guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution, says the Maldivian Democratic Network (MDN).

After reviewing the relevant laws, MDN’s ‘Review of the legal framework of Maldives Police Service’ found “worrying signs of an erosion of the democratic policing framework enshrined in the Constitution”.

“The police are being vested with greater powers and discretion without the prerequisite checks,” read the report released yesterday. “Alarmingly, these dangerous trends are being written into law.”

Speaking at the launch ceremony yesterday, Deyvika Prasad from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) did note that, even though there are problems with the Maldives’ police regulations, it was good to have such procedures in place.

Prasad said that the Maldives was the first in the South Asian region to come up with a policing strategic action plan, and that the 2008 Maldives Police Act is the only national police legislation in the region which is not a colonial-era Police Act.

The review’s stated intention is to “identify legal gaps” within the current legal framework to ensure compatibility with both the Constitution and international standards.

It noted that as the police regulation came only three months after the ratification of the new constitution in 2008, “there was a lack of practice or practical experience among the law enforcement agencies relating to implementation of these procedural rights and the boundaries of such rights”.

Among the issues described in the report, the procedures in the police regulation regarding the powers to arrest and detain without a court warrant were called “highly problematic” and in contradiction to Articles 46 and 49 of the Constitution.

The NGO recommended that regulations be reviewed and rewritten in order to “ensure safeguards in the constitution are maintained”, and to review the provisions relating to arrests and detention in light of the Supreme Court’s decisions and relevant interpretations provided by the judiciary.

MDN Executive Director and former President of the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) Shahinda Ismail said the report had been compiled after consultations with various stakeholders including the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, Transparency Maldives, and the UNDP.

The Maldives Police Services and the Police Integrity Commission had been invited to participate in the consultations but the MPS did not respond to the invitations while the PIC declined to take part.

Police earlier this year labelled a report published by MDN into the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan “politically motivated” and “irresponsible”.

The review was produced as part of the police reform project by Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) conducted in South Asia. Former Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizzu’s law firm Muizzu and Co LLP acted as the local consultation for the review.


Related to this story

Australian Commissioner notes challenges facing police in emerging democracies

NGOs suggest government’s failure to engage is damaging civil society

MDN investigation implicates radicalised gangs in Rilwan’s disappearance

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China donates 150 motorcycles to Maldives police

China has donated 150 motorcycles to the Maldives Police Service in order to help improve the force’s operational capacity.

The police website revealed today that the bikes were currently being assembled by police, working alongside Chinese mechanics, after having arrived in the country a few days ago.

An official ceremony for the handing over of the vehicles will be held in the near future.

In addition to contributing over 300,000 tourists to the Maldives every year and pledging assistance in a number of major infrastructure projects, the Chinese government has also given other gifts to the Maldives in recent months.

After handing 200 waste bins and 200,000 LED lights to the Maldivian government last November, China last month gifted cultural items, which included books, ethnic costumes, musical instruments, and Chinese crafts.

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Police raid Defence Minister Nazim’s home in early hours

Special Operations officers raided Minister of Defence Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim’s home in the early hours of this morning.

Media reports suggest that masked officers forcefully entered the premises in the Galolhu ward of Malé at around 3:30am, searching the apartment of Nazim’s wife and the apartment opposite. They reportedly confiscated documents from Nazim’s home and left the scene at around 6am.

Nazim – also acting minister of health – was not responding to calls at the time of press. He referred other media outlets to police for the details of the operation, though police officials were refusing to comment at the time of publication.

President’s Office Spokesman Ibrahim Muaz has told the press that government has confidence in the defence minister.

“The government and the president has not taken steps against any cabinet minister,” Muaz told Haveeru.

“We believe the police will enter a government official’s home – or any persons house – only with legal authority,” he added.

The President’s Office has played down speculation of a rift within the cabinet in recent weeks, though Muaz responded today only to say that it was police who should comment on the Nazim case.

Investigations into tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb were reported to have been behind the president’s decision to curtail the powers of home minister Umar Naseer in August last year, removing the minister’s ability to issue direct orders to police.

Adeeb – hailed by Progressive Party of Maldives member as the cabinet’s ‘Prime Minister’ in recent weeks – temporarily stood in for his party colleague Nazim as defence minister earlier this month while Nazim was on an unspecified trip.

The most recent change to the cabinet saw Nazim take over the health ministry in August after the renomination of Dr Mariyam Shakeela was blocked by pro-government MPs. Shakeela later alleged a conspiracy and smear campaign to remove her from office.

The defence minister is currently challenging his dismissal from the position of chair of the Local Government Authority after board members voted to remove him from the position last week.

Nazim has been minister of defence since February 2012 – one of the first appointments made by Dr Mohamed Waheed who assumed the position following the controversial resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed.

Video footage on February 7 showed Nazim addressing mutinous police and military units gathered in Republican Square, saying he had delivered an ultimatum on their behalf demanding Nasheed’s unconditional resignation.


Related to this story

LGA board vote to remove Chairperson Nazim

Tourism Minister Adeeb temporarily in charge of Defense Ministry

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Police arrest 9 individuals on drug possession charges in 48 hours

Police have detained nine individuals on suspicion of possessing illegal narcotics within the past 48 hours.

Three men were arrested on Monday (January 12) – two in Hulhumalé and one in Dhaalu Meedhoo, a further two men were taken in on Tuesday in Kudahuvadhoo and Villimalé, while four more were apprehended in Malé and Haa Alif Hoarafushi – two from each island.

All but one of the men, a Bangladeshi, were Maldivian and two – one from Hulhumalé and one from Hoarafushi – were minors.

A total of 74 packets thought to contain illegal substances were confiscated during the police’s investigations.

Last year saw the number of drug-related crimes reported to police fall by 20 percent, while home minister Umar Naseer has pledged to prioritise the fight against drug dealers, who he has noted have attempted to infiltrate police ranks.

After visiting the Netherlands in June to finalise arrangements for a dog squad to assist in the police’s anti-drug operations, the dogs are expected to be used in operations in the Maldives after having been trained in Sri Lanka.

Home affairs officials told media yesterday the kennels for the Faara Gema team of 16 dogs – based on the airport island of Hulhulé – were due to be finished next month.

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Police tow 111 illegally parked vehicles in one day

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has towed 111 illegally parked vehicles on Saturday (January 11).

A police media official told Minivan News that the 111 vehicles towed included 56 two wheeled vehicles and 55 four wheeled vehicles.

“Of the 54 two wheeled vehicles, 21 vehicles did not have the number plates, while 16 of the confiscated four wheeled vehicles did not have number plates,” said the official.

According to the police, all of the vehicles without a number plate would be transferred to Thilafushi Island and sold as scrap metal.

“If the vehicle owners wish the vehicles to be returned back to them, they have to present adequate documentation to prove ownership and pay all fines which are due,” said the media official. “The vehicles to be taken to Thilafushi will remain in Malé for a period of time for owners to claim them.”

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