Tag: police

Court extends detention of Godzine Sargsyan and Maldivian arrested in connection with Artur brothers case

The Criminal Court has extended the detention period of French national Godzine Sargsyan and a Maldivian man identified as Ahmed Nishan.

The Criminal Court today told local media that police have charged the pair with assault and battery, cases related to fraud, and providing invalid documents to government institutions.

Police have previously said there are many accusations against the two, but said details cannot be given as the case is still under investigation.

In April, police issued a statement asking for public assistance in locating Godzine Sargsyan. Godzine has been identified as one of the Artur brothers, who have come under scrutiny from local authorities after being linked in local media with alleged drug trafficking, money laundering, raids on media outlets and other serious crimes in Kenya.

Police said Godzine was a French national who came to the Maldives under the passport number 10CZ05238.

The pair turned themselves into police last week and were arrested.

Police are still looking for a Maldivian identified as Ahmed Visham of Henveiru Everchance House, in connection with the same case.

Local newspapers reported that the pair were living at Marble Guest House before they surrendered themselves to police. The Maldives Police Service later searched the guest house after arresting the two men.

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

A letter from the Tourism Ministry to immigration authorities requesting a residency visa for Margaryan and Sargayan Artur, dated January 27 and signed by Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb, was subsequently leaked on social media.

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.

Waseem’s share was subsequently transferred to Abdulla Shaffath of H. Ever Peace on November 25.

Meanwhile, on April 8, reports in local media suggested that Zaidul Khaleel, General Manager of the Club Faru resort, operated by the state-owned Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), had been dismissed after he was found to have paid the brothers’ US$6000 bill.

Immigration Controller Mohamed Ali previously told local media that while Sargasyan Artur had left the Maldives on March 31, given issues with the country’s border control system “there are questions surrounding the second brothers’ exit from the Maldives.”

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Six expats arrested over alleged fight with Maldivian colleagues in Noonu Atoll

Police have arrested six expats working on Fushivelaavaru in Noonu Atoll, after they allegedly assaulted two Maldivian staff members on the island.

According to a police statement, the incident occurred last night with the six expats workers being arrested at 5:30am this morning.

The expats arrested were all Bangladeshi nationals aged between 25 to 31, police stated. Police have not revealed the names of the persons arrested or the details surrounding the incident.

However, police stated that a 19 year-old and 25 year-old Maldivian were injured in the fight.

The two Maldivians were hospitalised at Manadhoo Hospital based in Noonu Atoll.

A police team is on the island investigating the case.

According to local media, Fushivelaavaru is an uninhabited island being developed into a resort.

An online newspaper based in Noonu Atoll, ‘Manadhoo Live’, reported that according to people working on the island, the incident occurred at about 8:15pm after a Maldivian staff member accidentally ran into a Bangladeshi man while he was walking out of the mess room.

The paper reported that the Bangladeshi workers on the island confronted the Maldivians following the incident and four Bangladeshi men allegedly attacked the two Maldivians using an iron bar.

Last Wednesday (May 15), an Indian physics teacher was hospitalised after a group of angry islanders allegedly confronted him on the island of Kumundhoo in Haa Dhaalu Atoll.

The teacher was then reported to have been beaten over accusations he hit a student in the chest.

Police have arrested eight persons from the island in connection with the case.

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Dhuvaafaru woman rescued from suicide attempt by police

A woman on Dhuvaafaru Island in Raa Atoll was saved from committing suicide by the police, reports local media.

Police received a report Monday (May 13) night that a 26 year-old woman was attempting to take her own life by swimming away from Dhuvaafaru. At approximately 11pm officers in uniform waded out into the sea to rescue the woman.

According to police, the woman was trying to commit suicide due to “family problems”.

She was put in the care of the island’s Family and Children’s Center following the incident, said police.

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Four arrested in connection with gang rape of 20 year-old girl on Dhuvaafaru

Police have arrested three 17 year-old males and a 19 year-old man in connection with the gang rape and filming of a 20 year-old girl on the island of Dhuvaafaru in Raa Atoll.

Police would not provide further information on the matter, but said the case was now under investigation.

A member of the Dhuvaafaru Island Council told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that the incident occurred three days ago.

“They went out to drive a motorbike around the island and they stopped near the beach in the industrial zone of the island near the power house,’’ he said. “The case was not reported to the council but was reported directly to police, we only heard of it the next day.”

The councillor insisted to Minivan News that media reports of the incident were inaccurate.

“The four boys always hang out with this girl and she is not very well disciplined; it is very unlikely that anyone would have to rape her, it would be easier than that,’’ he claimed. “I think the girl reported it to police as a gang rape because they filmed the incident.”

‘’It’s very sad, I think the boys will be scared and worried, because they are not that type of guys,’’ he added.

The councillor said the detention period of the four suspects was extended to 15 days. All were from Dhuvaafaru, he said, and were being held in a detention centre on Ungoofaaru island.

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Two arrested with 16 alcohol bottles in Male’

Two men have been arrested after police received a “tip off” on Sunday (May 12) that they were in possession of 16 bottles of alcohol, reports local media.

The 32 year-old Maldivian and 44 year-old Bangladeshi were arrested around 7:17pm while on a speedboat near the public swimming track in Male’.

The alcohol seized by police included 12 Absolute Vodka bottles, one King Robert vodka bottle, one Russian Standard vodka bottle, and two Irish Jameson whiskey bottles.

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Minor arrested in connection with Dr Afrasheem’s case sentenced for misleading investigation

The Juvenile Court has sentenced a minor arrested in connection with Dr Afrasheem Ali’s murder to eight months imprisonment after the court found him guilty of misleading the police investigation.

According to local newspapers, the court ruling was based on witness statement and the minor’s confession.

However no media outlet has yet been able to get details regarding the hearings inside the Juvenile Court, which were closed to the public and media. The court ruling was issued yesterday.

The trial of Hussain Humam and Ali Shan, two other men charged with the murder of Dr Afrasheem Ali, continues in the Criminal Court.

MP Afrasheem was stabbed to death on the night of October 1 2012, by the staircase of his home. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the case including Humam and a suspect identified as Ali Shan of Henveiru Hikost.

A Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) officer and Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid – son-in-law of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik – were also detained by police over alleged involvement in the case. Both were later released by the courts.

Javid spent 45 days in detention in connection to the Afrasheem murder, after which time at the time his lawyer argued his continued detention was unconstitutional given there was no evidence to support keeping him in custody.

In December last year the MDP accused the police of attempting to pin Afrasheem’s murder on its members, instead of going after those guilty of the crime.

Police Commissioner Abdullah Riyaz has previously stated the child “deliberately misled” police by providing false information during their investigation into Afrasheem’s murder. The minor was the “lookout” during the stabbing and subsequent murder of the moderate Islamic scholar.

In accordance with the Penal Code, any person who gives false testimony can be given a jail sentence of up to a year, face two years of banishment, or receive a maximum fine of MVR 1,000 (US$65).

Minors can be given only two-thirds of any given sentence, according to juvenile crime regulations.

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Man found dead after morning swim in Thaa Atoll

A man from Kinbidhoo Island in Thaa Atoll was found dead after he went for a morning swim today (May 9), reports local media.

The man was taken to the island’s health centre by the group of people who discovered his body.

He was identified as Abdul Kareem Dauood of Andhaasy Villa, Kinbidhoo Island.

The examining doctor determined Dauood was already deceased when he was brought to the centre, according to a police media official.

The police were notified of the incident at 12:49 and are looking into the cause of the incident, a police media official told local media.

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IGMH doctors threatened by group of men after not signing for overseas treatment on Aasandha

Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH)’s orthopedic department has stopped work after a group of people threatened an orthopedist, seeking a doctor’s note for treatment overseas through the Maldives’ nationwide health insurance scheme ‘Aasandha’.

The person who asked for the doctor’s recommendation to receive medical treatment abroad was first told by IGMH that such a recommendation could not be made because his injury could be treated in the hospital, according to a statement issued by IGMH.

The hospital claimed the man then refused treatment from IGMH.

IGMH said the same person later came into the hospital with a group of 10 men and threatened to attack the doctor, stating that he too would have to seek medical treatment through ‘Aasandha’ if he did not write the recommendation note.

The doctor then filled in the form for the man to receive treatment abroad, according to IGMH.

Aasandha’s free medical treatment is provided only when a doctor completes the special designated form.

The person sought out the doctor during a departmental staff meeting, according to IGMH.

Head of the Orthopedic Department Dr Ali Muznee told newspaper ‘Haveeru’ that in the past doctors have been subjected to such threats individually, but today the group threatened all the doctors working in the Orthopedic Department.

IGMH also said today that they are considering having police officers maintain security in the hospital after the incident.

Minivan News reported in September 2012 the widespread intimidation, fraud and “substandard” treatment by patients, health authorities, local staff and the country’s courts faced by expatriate medical professionals in the Maldives.

One foreign doctor who spoke to Minivan News sat the time said there was a lack of public understanding concerning the scheme and what they were entitled to.

“They become very angry when we tell them that this or that medical condition is not covered by Aasandha. A lot of times they force the management to force us to fabricate a medical condition just to get Aasandha approval,” he said.

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Police still looking for Godzine Sargsyan and two Maldivians in Artur brothers case

Police have been unable to determine the whereabouts of Godzine Sargsyan and two other Maldivians they have been searching for in regard to the ongoing Artur brothers case, police told local media today.

Police began looking for the individuals on April 23 and asked the public to provide assistance in locating Godzine Sargsyan. They separately issued a statement identifying the two Maldivians also sought by police.

At the time police did not state that the two Maldlvians were being searched for in connection with the Artur brothers case.

The two Maldivians were identified by the police as Ahmed Visham, 28 of H. Ever Chance in Male’ and Ahmed Nishan, 31 of Hulhumale’ flat number 5-2-04.

Earlier in April, pictures of the Artur brothers with Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb and Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim emerged on social media. The photos of the two Maldivian ministers in the company of the Arturs were apparently taken during the Piston Motor Racing Challenge held on Hulhumale’ between January 25 and 26.

However, the ministers denied involvement with the infamous brothers, who are linked to drug trafficking, money laundering, raids on media outlets and other serious crimes in Kenya.

A letter from the Tourism Ministry to immigration authorities requesting a residency visa for Margaryan and Sargayan Artur, dated January 27 and signed by Adheeb, was subsequently leaked on social media.

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

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