Tag: police

Police arrest 12 after white underpants hung outside Rasdhoo Magistrate Court

Police have arrested 12 persons on the island of Rasdhoo in Alif Alif Atoll late on Wednesday night, after a pair of large white underpants were hung outside the entrance to the island’s Magistrate Court.

According to a source on Rasdhoo, the white pair of underpants was hung on a rope strung across the street in front of the court offices at about 5:00pm on Wednesday, “barely three inches away from the entrance, but nevertheless not in the court’s premises itself”.

The white pants are a reference to recently-leaked videos of Supreme Court (SC) judge Ali Hameed apparently fornicating with unidentified foreign women in a Colombo hotel room, and have become a symbol of protests against the Supreme Court’s suspension of Saturday’s highly anticipated presidential election.

“Police from the Rasdhoo station started work to remove the underpants at around 7:00pm, prompting a immediate gathering of over a hundred people near the police office,” a source from the island told Minivan News on condition of anonymity.

He said that the gathered people shouted at the police for removing the underpants: “Is the underwear the only illegal thing you could find on the street?” shouted some.

“You can remove the underpants from this island’s court, but you do nothing about the ones sitting on the Supreme Court bench,” called others.

Eyewitnesses said the police resorted to the use of pepper spray and physical force to disperse the crowd.

Another pair of underpants was again hung in front of the Magistrate Court later the night.

Locals say that a back-up police team – nearly 30 officers in full riot gear – came to the island around midnight to remove the new pair of underpants.

Although no more confrontations occurred, 12 persons are now in police custody in Rasdhoo police station.

“Just after midnight, police summoned the magistrate himself and made him sign arrest warrants. First they arrested six people. They then spoke to a group of people from the island who are working with the PPM [Progressive Party of Maldives], and got their help to identify some of the most active MDP [Maldivian Democratic Party] campaigners, and arrested them too. That isn’t a new tactic for them anyway,” the source alleged.

Police Media Official Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Protesting with underpants

MDP members have begun using underpants in various rallies and protests following the Supreme Court’s ordering the Elections Commission to halt preparations for the presidential election run-offs, which were initially scheduled for this coming Saturday (September 28).

A pair of white underpants hung at the Raalhugandu area – the party’s rally grounds – has the words “Judiciary ‘happy, happy’. Where are the citizens’ rights?”, referring to phrases from the video clips allegedly showing Ali Hameed fornicating with multiple foreign women.

At Wednesday night’s rally, a cake decorated to look like a person wearing white underpants was also seen at the rally grounds, sporting the words “Happy Birthday, Fandiyaaru (Judge) Ali Hameed”.

During the first protests after the court issued the order on September 23, a group of protesters were observed hanging a large pair of white underpants on a police barricade placed across Chandhanee Magu in capital city Male’.

While the protests against the Supreme Court on September 23 prior to the issuance of the order showed people holding posters of still shots from the leaked videos, on Tuesday protesters carried cartoons depicting scenes from the film.

The placards and posters expressed the lack of respect the protesters have for the courts due to “disgraced judges accused of indecent behaviour and fornication sitting on the bench.”

Cartoons, images, and caricatures of Judge Ali Hameed and the white underpants are spreading around social media. One such image shows a Maldivian flag with a white pair of underpants replacing the white crescent in the centre.

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Police appeal for public assistance in locating man wanted by Civil Court

Police have asked for public assistance in locating a person identified as Mohamed Abdul Latheef of Madhadhu house in Villimale’, to present him before the Civil Court.

In a statement police said Latheef had ignored several summon chits sent to him by the Civil Court and that the court has ordered police to bring him to court under police charge.

Police asked anyone who knows Latheef’s whereabouts contact police custodial at 9991442 or police headquarters at 3322111.

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Man arrested for molesting a minor

Police have arrested a man on the island of Feydhoo in Shaviyani Atoll on charges of molesting a male minor.

The arrest was confirmed to media by the police but no further information was provided.

A council member of the island told local newspapers that the man arrested was a duty officer at the island’s power house.

According to the council member the parents first complained about the abuse to the council, who reported it to police.

The council member said the incident occurred last Sunday [23 September].

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Police investigating death of baby in Vilimale’

Police have launched an investigation into an incident that occurred in Vilimale’ where a one month baby was found dead.

“Police were informed of the death of a baby and we are investigating the case,” a police media official told Minivan News, before declining to provide further information.

However, the official did say that police were not investigating the murder of a baby, as reported by some media outlets, but was investigating the death of a baby in Vilimale’.

Speaking to Minivan News today Director of Vilimale’ health centre, Ahmed Zahir, said that the dead body was brought to the health centre at 2:20pm yesterday.

“It was a female and one month old,” he said. “The baby was bleeding from her nose and mouth when it was brought to the health centre.”

He said the baby was then taken to Male’ after examining at the health centre.

“The baby’s mother and father was arrested as far as I am concerned,’’ he said, adding that he did not have further information on the incident.

According to local media, the incident occurred yesterday (24 March 2013) in Vilimale’, the fifth ward of Male’ city.

People who had witnessed the baby being carried to the health centre have told local newspapers that the baby was bleeding from the nose and mouth and that parts of the infant’s body were swollen in blue colour.

The papers reported that the mother of the baby had told the neighbours that the baby died after she accidentally crushed it under her body.

Sun Online quoted a member of mother’s family as saying that they knew about the incident when the baby’s mother told them the baby was dead yesterday afternoon.

The family also told the paper that the baby’s body was very hard when they touched it before it was taken to the health centre.

They also told the paper that the family members overheard the couple arguing the night before.

According to the paper, the baby was the couple’s first child and both the mother and father have previous drug related offences recorded with the police.

The corpse of a premature baby boy was discovered in Vilimale’ in May 2011, concealed inside a Coast Milk tin.

At the time police arrested a 30 year-old woman from Noonu Atoll who was the suspected mother of the baby, and a 24 year-old woman from Kaafu Atoll who was alleged to have assisted her deliver the baby prematurely.

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Five MDP protestors arrested yesterday

Five individuals were arrested during yesterday’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protests against the Supreme Court, reports local media.

Police arrested four people from the demonstration held near the Supreme Court yesterday afternoon and one individual was arrested last night during the MDP’s protest against the court’s injunction to indefinitely delay the presidential election’s runoff.

A police media official would not disclose to CNM whether the five arrested individuals remain in police custody.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) told CNM that “major changes” regarding the “disclosure of information” have been enacted – on the advice of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

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Scattered protests erupt in capital after MDP declares continuous protests against election postponement

Additional reporting by Zaheena Rasheed and Mariyath Mohamed

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has declared it will hold continuous protests after the Supreme Court’s sudden decision on Monday (September 23) evening to indefinitely postpone the second round of the presidential election.

The Supreme Court’s controversial injunction came just hours after parliament passed a resolution calling on all state institutions to ensure that the second round of the presidential election be held as scheduled.

Scattered protests involving hundreds of people erupted across the capital city of Male’ after the MDP’s National Council unanimously supported a motion calling for demonstrations until the Supreme Court allowed the elections to proceed.

During the meeting, MDP presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed, who obtained 45.45 percent of the votes in the first round of polling on September 7, urged the Elections Commission (EC) to disregard the Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of parliament’s resolution and continue with election preparations.

“The Chief Justice has to find a solution. I call on the Chief Justice to uphold his duties,” Nasheed said, asking police to support the EC and the military “to keep us safe”.

Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid confirmed to Minivan News that he was pepper sprayed by police while several MDP MPs, including Ali Azim and Mohamed ‘Bonda’ Rasheed, were reportedly taken away by police. Rasheed was reportedly released while Azim was taken into police custody.

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef could not confirm the number of arrests, whether pepper spray was used, or provide further details at time of press.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem confirmed to Minivan News that military personnel had been deployed around the military’s headquarters following the Supreme Court’s election injunction, in line with “standard procedure”.

Demonstrators initially tried to enter Republic Square before being pushed back by a dozen police and being barricaded near Fareedhee Magu. Minivan News observed a small number of police equipped with riot gear on standby nearby.

A group protesters were observed hanging a large pair of white underpants on a police barricade, a reference to recently-leaked videos of Supreme Court judge Ali Hameed apparently fornicating with unidentified foreign women in a Colombo hotel room.

“This is not acceptable. The people’s voice cannot be blatantly rejected by four disgraced judges,” said 33 year-old Ahmed Thahseen, a demonstrator near Fareedhee Magu.

“I’m not going home until the Supreme Court gives a ruling and lets people have the due election,” 23 year-old protester Aishath Shaffa told Minivan News.

“Let’s see how that disgrace of a politican Gasim runs his businesses when the electorate goes on strike. The people are what matters. We are everything and the Supreme Court Needs to realise that,” said 52 year-old protester Fathimath Shareefa.

“The Supreme Court order is an absolutely unacceptable act. After all the work we have done, the protests, the campaigns, we won’t watch it all go to waste,” said Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed, the MDP’s member on the Commission of National Inquiry (CONI), who joined the protesters.

“If you look at all the statements given at CONI which have since been leaked, you will see the injustice that people have faced. We are being pushed back to square one all over again and the people refuse to sit back and take it,” he added. “We are here filled with hope. There is another force and I believe truth will prevail.”

The controversial injunction

Jumhooree Party (JP) presidential candidate and resort tycoon, Gasim Ibrahim, initially filed a case in the Supreme Court seeking annulment of the election results after he narrowly missed a place in the run-off with 24.07 percent of the vote, declaring at a rally that “God Willing, Gasim will be President on November 11″.

The case was intervened by the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and Attorney General Azima Shukoor, both of which sided against the Elections Commission.

The EC has defended itself arguing that not only had the JP had failed to substantiate or give the specifics of any evidence of fraudulent voting submitted against it, but even if this evidence were to be proven beyond reasonable doubt it was still insufficient to affect the outcome of the first round of election results.

The commission also pointed to unanimous positive assessments of the first round polls by local and international election observers, including the Commonwealth, US, UN, and Transparency Maldives.

In response President Mohamed Waheed’s government called on international groups to “help, not hinder the state institutions in exercising their constitutional duties”, while JP running mate and lawyer Dr Hassan Saeed declared in court that election observers “do not carry much weight”.

Monday evening’s sudden injunction stated that it had been discussed by all judges on the seven member bench, before being signed by Justice Abdulla Saeed, Justice Ali Hameed Mohamed, Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla, and Justice Dr Abdulla Didi.

“Based on Article 144 (b), we order the Elections Commission and other relevant state institutions to delay the second round of the presidential election scheduled for 28 September 2013 until the Supreme Court issues a verdict in this case,” read the Supreme Court order.

Lawyer for the Elections Commission, former Attorney General Husnu al Suood, tweeted that the interim order by the Supreme Court “has no legal basis, and violates the constitution.”

MDP lawyer Hissan Hussein also said the Supreme Court’s order was unconstitutional, stating that the article 144 (b) it had invoked concerned the Supreme Court’s capacity to delay lower court verdicts, not elections.

Meanwhile, article 111(a) of the constitution stipulates “that a President shall be elected by over fifty percent of the votes. If no candidate obtains such majority, a run-off election must be held within twenty one days after the first election.”

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‘Leaked’ police intelligence report “baseless speculation”: MDP

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has slammed a leaked police intelligence report circulating on social media alleging election impropriety as “baseless speculation”.

The report (Dhivehi) alleged “some opportunity for fraud” and “illegal voting”, claiming 18,486 irregularities on the voter registry including 588 dead people, 1865 individuals without national identity cards, 39 underage cases and 10,023 address mismatches.

Police have declined to comment on the authenticity of the report, but said such a report could not have been leaked from their offices. Attorney General Azima Shakoor has used the report’s findings in an ongoing Supreme Court case filed by third place candidate Gasim Ibrahim to annul September’s presidential polls.

MDP spokesperson Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy claimed the report’s arguments were “baseless allegations, lies manufactured by senior policemen who overthrew the country’s first democratically elected government.”

President Mohamed Nasheed resigned publicly in February 2012 after sections of the police and military mutinied, took over state media, vandalised MDP offices and beat MDP supporters. Nasheed is now the front-runner in September’s presidential polls with 45.45 percent of the vote. Run-off elections are set for September 28.

International and domestic observers have praised a free and fair election process in the Maldives, and have called for a the second round of polling to proceed as planned.

“Every election will have small irregularities. But none of those highlighted will affect the outcome,” Imthiyaz noted.

Irregularities

The report compared the voter’s registry published on May 30, changes in voter registry on June 29, to the Department of National Registration’s database.

“It is not possible to say with certainty whether people acted on [irregularities] noted, unless we are able to check the list of voters used at voting booths,” the report noted. However, it contends “opportunity exists” for repeated voting, the dead and underage voting and usage of fake identity cards.

The report also raises questions over the high voter turnout, the Elections Commission’s database security, usage of counterfeit ballot papers, and presence of foreign staff at the EC on voting day.

“The election of 2008 was one in which many people desired change and voted. However, polls during this election show a high percentage of undecided voters. Even in the 2008’s runoff election when people wanted change, the turn out was 86 percent. That 88 percent people voted this time can be questioned,” the report read.

Police intelligence had alerted the commission on attempts to hack into its server, but no action had been taken, the report alleges. But, the police are “not certain if compromising information was leaked” but believe the server contained sensitive information.

The report recommends publication of the list of those who had voted on September 7, an audit of the EC’s servers, random sampling of ballot papers to check authenticity, increase in security features on the ballot papers, block foreign staff’s access to the EC on voting day and a recount.

“Based on the above, we believe there are things that may affect results of the election, and therefore believe a recount of votes may assuage doubts and decrease incidence of violence,” the report said.

The EC had previously acknowledged attacks on its server, but refuted claims of security breach and dismissed fears raised by the Jumhooree Party (JP) and Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM)’s fears that foreign IT workers would be given access to electoral databases.

Ongoing court case

Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate Gasim Ibrahim is seeking to annul the results of the first round in the Supreme Court, after narrowly missing the run off with 24.07 percent of the vote.

The PPM has sided with the JP in court, while Attorney General Azima Shukoor has intervened on behalf of the government and called for police to investigate the EC.

The EC has so far disputed allegations of electoral impropriety, noting that allegations raised so far even if factual would have no material effect on the outcome of the first round, and pointed to unanimous endorsement of the election’s credibility by local and international observers.

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Police search six houses as part of special operation conducted in Addu

Police have searched six houses on Hithadhoo in Addu City as part of a special operation conducted by the police Special Operations (SO) team based in Addu for elections security.

A police spokesperson would not confirm whether anybody was arrested during the raids.

However, Police South Division Commander, Chief Inspector Ahmed Shifan, told local news outlet Sun Online that police had confiscated hard disks and related items from some of the houses.

Shifan also told the paper that the houses were searched in bid to clarify certain information required for a case police were investigating, and that all the houses were searched after obtaining a court warrant.

He declined to provide further information.

Police had previously searched the premises of a house owned by a senior activist of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on the island of Kulhudhufushi in Haa Dhaalu Atoll, who was arrested on allegations that he had printed ballot papers. Police also confiscated the internal hard disk of his computer.

An island council source on Kulhudhufushi at the time told Minivan News that the party was alleged to have printed oversize, laminated versions of the ballot paper to demonstrate to people how to vote.

The MDP issued a statement saying the party had sent a letter to Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz asking him to return the hard disk back to the MDP, as it contained important material related to the MDP presidential election campaign.

On June 24, police decided to station Special Operations (SO) officers in Addu to work with the Thinadhoo police station and establish “peace and security” for the election.

On February 7, 2012, SO officers among others instigated a violent mutiny, assaulted government supporters, ransacked the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Haruge (meeting hall), staged a protest at the Republic Square demanding the resignation of then-President Mohamed Nasheed, clashed with soldiers and stormed the national broadcaster in the hours immediately preceding Nasheed’s controversial resignation.

Moreover, on February 8, 2012 SO officers brutally beat supporters of the deposed MDP during a heavy-handed crackdown of a protest march led by Nasheed, who had announced that his resignation the previous day was made “under duress.”

Mayor of Addu City Abdulla ‘Soabe’ Sodiq did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Two arrested on suspicion of torching motorbikes

Two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of torching eight motorbikes parked in LonuziyaaraimMagu in Male’ last night, according to police.

Police were informed of the incident at 3:18am in the early hours of the morning on Monday. Seven of the eight motorbikes were damaged beyond use while two additional vehicles were also affected by the fire, police said.

The fire was put out by police working with the fire and rescue department of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

According to Raajje.mv, one of the cycles (P-6667) belonged to a former government official named Ibrahim Huzam, who served as the Fuvahmulah state secretary under the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government.

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