Tag: police

Police arrest five people during protest over 75 laari increase in Hulhumale’ bus fares

Police have confirmed that a total of five people were arrested during a protest on Hulhumale’ yesterday (June 14), held to raise concerns over an increase in the price of bus fares on the island.

Three males, one female and a minor remain in custody today after they were charged with offences including failing to obey instructions and breaking past police lines during the demonstration. Demonstrators reportedly highlighted a number of concerns, including a decision to raise the cost of tickets on the Hulhumale’ bus service from MVR 2.25 (US$0.15) to MVR 3 (US$0.19).

The protest, which began at 3:00pm yesterday afternoon and ended roughly three hours later, coincided with efforts by the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) to introduce new larger buses on the island, Sun Online reported.

Ismail Fariq, an executive for MTCC’s Transport Department said today that the new buses represented an MVR 8.6 million (US$558,000) investment by the company in an effort to provide a “total improvement” in service for passengers by offering air conditioning and more seating.

“The existing buses that we have been using are almost broken down, but these new buses we hope will offer a new benchmark in public transportation services,” he said.

With the new buses coming into service yesterday, Fariq said that passengers would be able to use the buses for free until tomorrow, when the new MVR 3 fare would be implemented.

He said the increased fare was essential to cover the company’s investment in the new vehicles.

“This increase in quality comes with the change in price,” Fariq argued. “As a business we need a reasonable return on investment and I do not believe that 75 laari is a big change for these improvements.

Demonstrators opposed to the increase nonetheless yesterday gathered in the area of Hulhumale’ where the new bus service was scheduled to be introduced to voice their concerns. They also demanded improvements to the ferry boat service presently operating between Hulhumale’ and the capital, according to local media.

Improvements to the ferry service were a much more pressing consumer issue than the provision of air conditioned buses in Hulhumale’, the protesters said according to Sun Online.  The criticisms were first made after the state-owned MTCC purchased four new vehicles last month.

The company was quoted in local media at the time as claiming the news vehicles would allow it to increase the capacity of daily bus passengers on Hulhumale’ from 8,000 to 10,000 people, as well as expanding the number of services it offered on the island.

In January this year the MTCC announced it would begin charging a six percent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on all ferry and bus services that it operates as required by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA).

The cost of a ticket for a single journey on the Hulhumale’ bus was as a result increased to MVR 2.12 at the time.

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Police forward Disaster Management Centre case to PG

Police have forwarded a MVR 24 million (US$1.55 million) corruption case involving the National Disaster Management Centre to the Prosecutor General, calling for charges against nine people including former head of the centre, Abdulla Shahid.

In a statement issued today police confirmed the case was forwarded to the PG and called for the prosecution of Abdulla Shahid, 50, Mohamed Shahid, 53 (the brother of parliament speaker Abdulla Shahid), Ahmed Najah, 24, of Maradhoo in Addu City, Ahmed Arif, 49, of Henveiru Everglow, Mohamed Waheed, 53, of Eydhafushi in Baa Atoll, Abdulla Saeed, 49, of Hoadedhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, Abdulla Hassan, 56, of Henveiru Sosunmead, Moosa Ali Kaleyfaanu, 49, of Kandholhudhoo in Raa Atoll, Ahmed Shammoon Zahir, 23, of Mahchangolhi Blackpool.

The case was first forwarded to police by the Auditor General on April 19, 2012, while the Anti-Corruption Commission forward the matter on January 18, 2013.

Police thanked the Anti-Corruption Commission and Auditor General’s Office for assistance in investigating the case.

The case involving the Disaster Management Centre concerns an audit report produced by the Auditor General. In the report, the Auditor General alleged that MVR 24 million (US$1.5 million) was fraudulently obtained from the budget allocated for the centre for the year 2009 and 2010.

The Auditor General’s special report into the case alleged that the Disaster Management Centre had photocopied, edited and reused ‘Credit Purchase Order Forms’ in 2005, to withdraw the MVR 24 million from the centre’s budget at the Finance Ministry.

The ‘Credit Purchase Order Forms’ were originally given to the Disaster Management Centre in 2005 to withdraw cash from the Tsunami Recovery Fund.

The Auditor General’s report also suggested that the Finance Ministry was complicit in the alleged fraud.

In March 2012, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sent a corruption case to the Prosecutor General’s Office concerning the Disaster Management Centre and a housing project carried out on Gan in Laamu Atoll, following damage suffered in the 2004 tsunami.

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Police deport man arrested in connection with Artur brothers case

The Immigration Department has deported Godzine Sargyasan, the French national who was identified as one of the Artur brothers, in compliance with a police request.

In a statement issued today, police said Godzine Sargyasan had registered a company in the Maldives to invest in the tourism industry, but had obtained an import/export license for products not related to the tourism industry.

According to police he also registered a local investment and became affiliated with gangs in Male’, to the point he was assisting them and became involved in assault.

Police said allowing such persons to do business in the Maldives posed a threat to the national security and put the economy of the country in danger.

In April, police issued statement asking for public assistance in locating Godzine Sargsyan and a Maldivian involved with him. The pair surrendered to police in May.

Local newspapers reported they had been living in the Marble Guest House before surrendering themselves to police. Police later searched the guest house after arresting the two men.

The Criminal Court recently confirmed that Godzine Sargyasan had been charged with assault and battery, cases related to fraud, and providing invalid documents to government institutions.

Photos of the Arturs in the company of two Maldivian cabinet ministers initially emerged on social media, apparently taken during the Piston Motor Racing Challenge held on Hulhumale’ between January 25 and 26.

A company named ‘Artur Brothers World Connections’ was registered in the Maldives in October 2012, with the Artur brothers holding an 80 percent share in a 61-19 percent split.

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Police find more beer cans near Villimale’

Residents of Villimale have alerted police after 52 cans of beer were found washed up on the island, following an operation to recover some 19,200 cans that fell into the sea from a dhoni travelling to Hulhule’ from Male’’s commercial port.

The police were called early on Friday morning by a group of people on Villimale’ after they found the cans near the boat yard on the island.

The Maldives Customs Department recently issued a statement claiming the beer cans found floating near Male’ were being transferred to a bonded warehouse in Hulhule’ from Male’, but said the dhoni carrying the beer cans lost balance and 800 cases fell into the sea.

Customs said the beer cans were a shipment imported to the Maldives for resort business and had cleared the customs examination procedure.

According to the statement, the customs officer who loaded the beer cases onto the dhoni counted the amount of cans that were loaded onto the boat, figured out the amount missing and informed the police immediately.

On Thursday Marine Police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers conducted an operation to collect thousands of the cans found floating in the sea on the west side of Male’.

Possession and consumption of alcohol is illegal outside resort islands and licensed safari boats in the Maldives.

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Police grant 710 officers permission to grow beards following regulation change

Over 700 policemen have been issued permission slips to grow their beards, local media has reported.

710 police officers requested permission to grow their beards following the amended dress code published in the government gazette on May 30, 2013.

Although the rules regarding beard growth were not specified in the gazette, police “urgently” amended the regulations to allow beard growth up to two centimeters.

Police officers issued permission slips will be required to photograph themselves after seven days.

“After that they will be granted permission to grow their beards,” a police spokesperson told local media.

Bearded police will then be issued an identity card, however the recipients will not be allowed to make any alterations to their beards while the card is valid.

Uniform regulations for Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers were also amended June 1 to allow military personnel to grow beards up to two centimeters.

Soldiers who chose to grow their beards must also obtain permission and are required to take a vacation until their beards are fully grown, MNDF Spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem told local media.

Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim previously told local media that the decision was made after requests from MNDF officers, on the grounds of religion and human rights.

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Father of main suspect in Afrasheem murder case accuses police of coercion

The father of Hussain Humam, the main suspect in the murder of MP and religious scholar Dr Afrasheem Ali, has alleged his son was psychologically traumatised and under coercion by the police when he confessed to the crime.

The suspect has since retracted the confession he gave at a hearing held June 1.

In two separate letters dated May 26 that were sent to Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), Humam’s father Ahmed Khaleel asks for assistance from authorities to “ensure [my] son is granted a fair trial devoid of coercion and undue influence.”

Referring to the May 22 hearing of the case, the letter sent to the Criminal Court and obtained by Minivan News reads: “I observed that when my son, Hussain Humam, was brought to the hearing, he was under psychological fear. I observed that he was in a very bad condition, was physically weak and his eyes were reddened. And during the trial, my son, Hussain Humam Ahmed, displayed signs of mental instability, including staring upwards, placing his handcuffs against his mouth, and laughing. Owing to these circumstances, I believe it is of utmost importance to assess Humam’s mental status prior to scheduling another hearing.”

During the previous hearing Judge Abdulla Didi denied a request by Humam’s lawyer that his client be psychologically tested, stating the lawyer had not mentioned any psychological disorder during a prior hearing to extend Humam’s detention.

Alleged police intimidation during trial

Khaleel also alleged in the letter that during the May 22 hearing, police acted “outside of the norms of a court hearing: attempting to psychologically intimidate Humam, and acting in many ways to influence what Humam had to say.”

Khaleel alleges that police  forced Humam into initially rejecting his right to have a defence lawyer, stating, “When the Judge enquired if he wished to have a lawyer, Humam quietly said ‘I do want a lawyer too’, at which point the police officer on his right, and the two officers on his left – Ali Ismail and Shamin – gave angry looks towards Humam and gestured with their eyes in a way that seemed to indicate that Humam was not permitted to say so. I believe that this forced my son to give up and lose this constitutional right.”

“The police also continued to converse with each other while the hearing was ongoing, discussing different aspects of the case itself, and speaking in such a way that it seemed Humam was being threatened. They also exchanged written documents with the state prosecutor outside of court proceedings,” his father alleged.

“Despite the judge unfailingly working to carry out a trial based on fairness and equality where the rights of both concerned parties are protected, with reference to the actions of police in and out of the courtroom, I do not accept that the hearing in question was a fair and just hearing,” Khaleel wrote.

Khaleel called on the court to review video footage of the hearing to confirm his claims, and pleaded for his son to be granted a fair trial and the constitutional rights entitled him.

CP Riyaz and other senior police officials accused of coercion

Khaleel alleged in his letter that in every instance he had visited Humam, his son had repeatedly complained that the police were trying to force him to confess to the MP’s murder.

“I have also observed that the police have phrased their words in such a manner that forces [Humam] to confess. For instance, police brought Humam to Male’ as a hearing had been scheduled for May 16. However, your court cancelled the hearing in the end, and instead of taking Humam back to the Villingili Police Station (where he is being held in detention), he was kept in police headquarters in Male’,” Khaleel wrote.

“I have learnt that while he was being kept in Male’, several police officers of various senior ranks questioned him, outside the processes of investigation, including Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz. They all pushed him to confess, assuring him that he would be spared the death sentence if he did so, and threatening that if he did not, they would ensure that he was sentenced to death. Police further said that if he chose to confess, he would be spared from both the death sentences and charges previously raised against him, and tried to confuse and delude him,” he alleged.

“I have also learned that police, even in other instances, have tried to threaten and coerce Humam into a confession, and have asked him to make use of the opportunity presented.’”

“The confession was an exaggerated mix-up of disjointed statements”

“My wife – Humam’s mother – and I met Humam on May 23 and my wife asked him to tell the truth for her sake and the nine months and ten days she carried him inside her, and Humam cried out, ‘No, mother, I did not kill Afrasheem’. He said the same when I repeatedly questioned him about it,” Khaleel stated.

“Therefore, Humam having stated in front of both of us in the court hearing, in such a way that will be heard by the whole of the country, that he had killed Afrasheem, he then told us that he had, in fact, not committed the murder, and this gives rise to many questions in my mind about how this could have happened,” he continued.

“I am now certain that the police and various political leaders, in a bid to hide the truth behind this, and to conceal the real murderer, have made police question Humam and get details about his life and past. I am also certain that the statement that was submitted to the court as one provided by Humam, is in fact an exaggerated account mixing together responses Humam gave to police about unrelated matters, adding and taking out details, and changing and editing it to align with what the police want it to state,” Khaleel alleged.

“When police are exerting undue influence and interfering with a case under the jurisdiction of your court; forcing Hussain Humam to give up a constitutional right, concealing the actual culprits behind the murder for different political gains, telling Humam various things in a bid to pin this on innocent people, and senior police officers are pushing their long arms into this matter outside the boundaries of the trial, I would like to bring this matter to your attention,” he wrote in conclusion of his letter to the Criminal Court Chief Judge.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Khaleel confirmed that officials of the Criminal Court had met with him and advised him on the best way to proceed.

“They told me that some of the matters I had pointed out can only be raised through a lawyer. They were helpful and listened to my concerns,” Khaleel said.

Criminal Court Media Official Ahmed Mohamed Manik was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Police deny coercion allegations

“It is an outright lie. The hearing proceeded in the presence of the judge. Media was also present in the room. Police did not at all intimidate or threaten Humam in any way, nor did police attempt to influence the courts in any form,” stated a police media official, requesting to remain unnamed.

“We can say with certainty that at no time, during or after the investigation stages, did senior officials talk to Humam to pressure him into a certain action or to influence the trial,” the police spokesperson said.

“Confused how HRCM defines human rights”

Khaleel also wrote to HRCM, expressing concern that his son was being subjected to psychological trauma, threats and intimidation while being held in police custody.

He further alleged that Humam was being coerced into confessing to a crime he did not commit, requesting the commission to look into the matter, and to grant an appointment in which he could provide further details of the allegations.

Khaleel further claimed that police had initially prevented Humam from seeking legal representation, thereby stripping him of the constitutional right stipulated in Article 16 of the Constitution of Maldives.

“I have not had any response from HRCM. I have been endlessly trying to get them to do something about this. I have called them lots of times, and they either say they’ll call back or that there’s no one relevant to talk to. Once, I was told there was no point in meeting the HRCM President just yet, that maybe I should meet someone else they recommend. My point is, how will I be able to meet anyone unless they grant me an appointment, at the least?” Khaleel told Minivan News.

“If they call themselves the Human Rights Commission, shouldn’t they be looking into matters like this where a citizen is being deprived of his rights? I am no longer sure how this commission defines human rights, or just how much they are able to protect such rights,” he said.

HRCM Media Official Sajidha Majdi confirmed that the commission had received the letter, but declined from commenting on the matter, stating it was against the commission’s policy to speak about an ongoing case.

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Police discover over 14,000 cans of beer in water near Male’

Marine Police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers were today collecting thousands of cans of beer found floating in the sea on the west side of Male’.

According to the statement issued by police, so far 14,548 cans of beer have been taken from the sea, with more continuing to be found.

Police initially received a report yesterday afternoon at 1:00pm that a dhoni named ‘Azum’ had tipped off balance near Male’, and some beer cases on the vessel had fallen into the sea.

However, a police media official later told media that the earlier statement was a mistake, and said police have been unable to determine the owner of the beer cans or how they were lost.

A police media official stated that police were still trying to determine whether the beer was dumped intentionally.

Marine police are patrolling around Male’ to pick up the floating beer cans.

‘’No one has claimed responsibility for this nor have they admitted the cans belong to them,’’ a police media officer  told Minivan News.

Possession and consumption of alcohol is illegal outside resort islands and licensed safari boats in the Maldives.

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Third man arrested in Arturs brothers case charged with fraud, forgery

The police have charged 28 year-old Mohamed Vishal of Everchance in Henveiru with fraud and forgery, confirmed Criminal Court media official Ahmed Mohamed Manik.

Manik confirmed that Vishal was brought before the judges last night, where his pretrial detention period was extended by 15 days.

Manik said Vishal had been accused of obtaining over US$32,000 from a company called company called ‘King Global Development Private Limited’, owned by a Thai national. It is currently unclear as to how the charges relate to this company or the money.

According to its website, the company deals in seafood, aviation services, dietary supplements and jewelry.

Visham is the third suspect along with fellow Maldivian Ahmed Nishan and French national Godzine Sargsyan to be detained by police in relation to investigation into the Artur Brother’s presence in the country.

A company named ‘Artur Brothers World Connections’ was registered in the Maldives in October 2012, with the Artur brothers holding an 80 percent share in a 61-19 percent split.

French nationals identified as Godzine Sargsyan and Edga Sargsyan had a 10 and 7 percent share, while a Maldivian national Ismail Waseem of H. Ever Chance was listed as holding the remaining 3 percent.

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MDP MP Imthiyaz to face charges of “disobeying orders” for criticising judiciary

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy – who is also one of the party’s spokespersons – is set to face another criminal charge of “disobeying orders” over allegedly contemptuous remarks he made against the judiciary during a television show.

Earlier in April, Fahmy told Minivan News that Police had begun investigation of a case filed by the Department of Judicial Administration against him, over his allegedly “contemptuous remarks” against the Supreme Court and its judges.

Police Media Official Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef told Minivan News at the time he was “unsure” whether police were currently investigating the matter, but said cases concerning contempt of court had previously been investigated and sent for prosecution.

In June 2012, police sent a case concerning Imthiyaz Fahmy for prosecution, requesting he be charged with disobeying orders, obstructing police duty and physically assaulting a female police officer during an MDP demonstration on May 29, which had followed the dismantling of the party’s protest camp at Usfasgandu.

In a subsequent statement condemning “excessive use of force” against demonstrators, Amnesty International stated that according to Fahmy, “police in Dhoonidhoo told him he was arrested for ‘disrupting peace’.”

“The next day in court, police stated that he had been detained for ‘physically attacking a woman police officer.’”

Fahmy denied the charges pressed against him by the prosecution.

In the  latest case, Fahmy will be prosecuted under section 88 of the Penal Code for disobeying legal orders.

Section 88(a) states – “It is an offence to disobey an order issued lawfully within the Shari’ah or Law, person guilty of this offence shall be subjected to a punishment of exile or imprisonment or house detention not exceeding 6 months or fine not exceeding MVR 150.00 (US$9.73)”

Speaking to Minivan News earlier regarding the charges, Fahmy claimed the judiciary was attempting to silence elected members of the public, and that allegations of contempt of court were a facade.

“People elected me to find faults in institutions such as the courts and find ways to reform them, to correct those faults. I have been elected as a member of parliament by the people to talk about such issues and that is my responsibility. It is a duty vested in me by the people and I will remain firm in executing that duty,” Fahmy said at the time.

He further claimed that discrepancies and flaws within the courts were already being widely discussed by the general public.

“The courts themselves do not comprehend the real meaning of the concept of judicial independence,” he claimed.

“They should also understand that dignity and honour is not a one-way train. It goes both ways. Their actions should be of a standard and performed in a transparent fashion so as to have dignity,” he said.

“The first thing is that the judges were wrongfully reappointed. The constitutional provisions indicate that the judges were appointed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) wrongly without proper consideration being given to Article 285 of the constitution. That is unconstitutional.”

Fahmy – who is a lawyer himself – claimed that other powers of the state including the legislature and the executive had been set up in accordance with the 2008 constitution and that it was only the courts and the judiciary that had failed to be established in accordance with the new constitution.

“Am I being punished for coming out and speaking the truth? What is so wrong about reiterating the same facts that are being highlighted by several respected international authorities on the same issue?” he questioned.

Apart from Fahmy, cases against several other MDP MPs are either being currently investigated or being heard in the courts including that of MP Ali Waheed (the party’s Deputy Parliamentary Group Leader), MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor (the party’s spokesperson for international affairs), MP Abdulla Jabir, MP Mohamed ‘Matrix’ Rasheed and MP Ibrahim ‘Bondey’ Rasheed.

Charges faced by the MPs include contempt of court, obstruction of police duty as well as the offence of consumption of alcohol.  According to the constitution, a member of parliament loses his seat should he be convicted of a criminal offense that requires serving a sentence longer than a period of 12 months.

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