Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) presidential primary candidate Umar Naseer has claimed he has “received information” of an attempt to plant drugs in one of his offices.
A post made under Umar’s name on his Facebook and Twitter pages stated he had received “intel” that an attempt would be made to discredit his name by planting contraband in one of his offices.
Umar Naseer is the Managing Director of both Whale Submarine and and Alarms Pvt Limited. One of building in which the Whale Submarine office is located caught fire on Saturday (March 9).
Despite the posts on social media, a source familiar with the matter told Minivan News on Tuesday (March 13) that police had already searched through the Umar’s offices looking for contraband.
“After Home Minister [Dr Mohamed] Jameel [Ahmed] joined Umar’s competitor [Abdulla] Yameen in his campaign meeting, police turned up at Umar’s offices with a search warrant allegedly looking for alcohol,” the source claimed. “It is an intimidation tactic I think.”
Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef denied that police had searched the offices of the PPM presidential helpful.
Both Umar Naseer and Abdulla Yameen are currently campaigning to win the PPM’s presidential candidate slot for the upcoming presidential elections to be held in September this year.
Umar Naseer’s secretary, when contacted by Minivan News, said that Umar was unable to comment on the matter as he was away on a campaign trip.
Asked whether she was aware of any office searches by police, the secretary stated: “I am in no position to answer that. I will get back to you.”
Minivan News was awaiting a response at time of press.
On Saturday (March 9), local media reported that a fire had broken out at a Sakeena Manzil property in Male’ – a building also used by Umar Nazeer’s ‘Whale Submarine’ company.
Soon after the flames had been extinguished by Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) firemen, local media reported that the MNDF equipped two well-known PPM activists with gas masks and oxygen tanks, who then entered the building.
According to a report in Sun Online, the two PPM activists went inside the building to retrieve some “very important objects”, but it had not been elaborated as to what these objects might have been.
MNDF Spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem denied reports made by local media, stating: “The fire chief told me they did not allow any civilian to enter the building or tamper with fire equipment.
“Once the area was deemed safe however, members of the public were allowed back into the building with the guidance of police,” Raheem told Minivan News.
Police have arrested 10 people in the ‘Roma Beauty and Wellness Centre’, a private beauty salon in Male, on charges of prostitution.
In a statement police said the arrest was made last night at about 9:35pm in an operation police conducted after receiving intelligence reports about the salon.
Four Maldivians, four Thai women and two Bangladeshi men were arrested in the beauty salon, all of them were inside the premises when police raided.
Police claimed that when police raided the salon four of the 10 people inside the premises were naked and involved in sexual activities.
When police searched the premises of Roma Beauty and Wellness Centre they discovered MVR13,000 (US$845) and “tools used for sexual activities”.
Police said the office of Roma Beauty and Wellness Centre was also searched, where police discovered ‘’other items’’ in connection with the case.
Police said all the searches were conducted after obtaining search warrants from the court.
As police raided the salon located in the block between Ahmadiyya School and the UN Building, a large number of people gathered around the area to watch the raid.
The men and women arrested were teased by the crowd gathered as the police brought them out.
Police have arrested a 26 year-old male in connection to unrest at a protest outside Male’ City Council on March 5, local media reported.
Hussain Abdullah, of Blue Bird house in Male’, was arrested on Monday (March 11) after police posted a video online searching for individuals who had allegedly caused unrest during the protest.
The demonstration on March 5 followed the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed ahead of his scheduled trial hearing at Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court the next day (March 6).
A 22 year-old man with seven stab wounds on his left arm was found Saturday (March 9) night in front of a shop on a main thoroughfare in Male’, Majeedhee Magu, reports local media.
Bystanders near the area informed a patrolling police officer, and the person was taken to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
Police claim the young man stabbed himself and he is being tested to see whether he was intoxicated when the stabbing occurred, according to local media.
Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has claimed it is a religious obligation to bar former President Mohamed Nasheed from contesting the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled to take place on September 7.
Speaking at a rally held by Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) presidential primary candidate Abdulla Yameen on Saturday (March 9), Jameel accused Nasheed of being a “coward” who ran away after resigning from power, adding that he no longer had the courage to lead the country.
Highlighting Nasheed’s recent stay in the Indian High Commission, Jameel stated that “it was a shame that Nasheed fled when he was supposed to face justice,” before claiming that he would not give the opportunity for someone like Nasheed to come to power.
“Nasheed of Canaryge does not have any chance to come to power. We would not give that chance [to him]. That is something we ought to do. It is both a national and a religious Farḍ (obligation),” he said.
According to local media, the Home Minister stated that “if we complete that task,” God would grant success to those leaders in the upcoming presidential election.
Jameel claimed the country had fallen into a “deep mess” in almost all areas, adding that the country is desperate for a determined leader who can revive the economy.
He contended that Nasheed did not have the qualities the country was expecting from its future leader.
“Unlike Nasheed, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom whom Nasheed is saying that he would beat easily, had the courage to appear before police for questioning when he was called in,” Jameel said.
He argued that anyone other than Nasheed possesses courage to face law and justice.
Jameel – a former Justice Minister under President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s 30 year autocracy – has previously expressed urgency in concluding Nasheed’s trial before the upcoming elections.
In January, Jameel told local media that it was “crucial to conclude the case against Nasheed before the approaching presidential elections, in the interests of the nation and to maintain peace in it.”
“Every single day that goes by without the case being concluded contributes to creating doubt in the Maldivian people’s minds about the judiciary,” the home minister said at the time.
In January 2012, Jameel – who served as vice president of Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) – was questioned by police after Nasheed’s government accused DQP of attempting to incite religious hatred.
Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.
Maldives must curb external interference in its internal affairs
Also speaking at the rally on Saturday (March 9), half-brother to former President Gayoom, Abdulla Yameen, claimed that there was no need to allow “outside influence” in the internal affairs of the country.
The PPM presidential primary candidate said that should he be elected, he would protect the independence and sovereignty of the Maldives against the most powerful of nations.
Yameen’s comments come after Nasheed sought refuge in the Indian High Commission in Male’ last month.
For 11 days the former President stayed inside the high commission building, subsequently avoiding a trial hearing at Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.
The international community has since called for free, fair and inclusive presidential elections in the Maldives.
Earlier this month Nasheed, who exited the Indian High Commission on February 23, was detained by police and produced at Hulhumale’ court, despite an alleged “understanding” between India and Maldives that he would be able to compete in the upcoming elections.
Nasheed is facing criminal charges over the controversial detention of Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed during the last days of his presidency.
Speaking at the campaign rally, Yameen criticised the Prosecutor General’s (PG) statement made on March 7, which stated that the PG did not object to delaying the trial until presidential elections scheduled for later this year are over.
“The PG is not entirely an independent individual. The PG becomes independent when he executes his responsibilities in accordance with these procedures. The PG cannot say that he has no reservations in delaying Nasheed’s trial for four weeks.
“The PG cannot say for instance that it is alright to put off the trial after the elections. This is something that the PG cannot say,” Yameen was quoted as saying in local media.
Yameen stated that an impartial trial against Nasheed must be held for his actions, and that any other presidential candidate should be held liable for their actions at any given time.
“Why can’t the foreign ambassadors accept the fact that anyone [competing for the Presidential elections] who violates the law must be disqualified.
“We also might fail to meet the criteria. In such a society it is possible for us to violate an individual’s right. If so even I must spend the day in court. How can Nasheed be an exception,” local newspaper Haveeru quoted Yameen as saying.
A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting Maldivian Democratic Party MP Mariya Ahmed Didi, a year after the alleged assault took place.
Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef told local media that the man was arrested on 4 March 2013 in relation to the assault that took place on 7 February 2012.
According to local media, police have been investigating the videos of the unrest that followed the controversial change of power in February 2012.
The police have been criticised by various institutions for a failure to investigate several incidents that took place on February 7 and 8, 2012.
An oil transport vehicle was set on fire at 2:30am this morning while parked inside the Hakatha Petrol Shed near the Henveyru swimming track.
Local media reported that there had been no reported injuries during the incident, which was attended by police and military personnel who extinguished the fire.
Police told local media that a man was arrested for obstructing police duty whilst attending the fire.
It was around 2:00pm on March 5 when news of the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed became public, leading to gridlock on sections of Majeedhee Magu – the main road cutting through the Maldives capital.
Throughout the day, a few hundred demonstrators aligned to the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) attempted to “bring the capital to a standstill” with a protest to blockade traffic following the arrest of the former president.
A sit-down protest on Majeedhee Magu
At sporadic points during the afternoon, in between clashes with police forces and peaceful sit downs, ugly scenes of confrontation were also witnessed where trucks, bikes and even government-aligned people deemed “Baghee” – a traitor – were swarmed and attacked by the crowd.
“Your photos will be a problem,” isolated figures explained throughout the day, following such confrontations. “Do not take pictures here. Take them from further away,” they said. “Do not give them to police.”
In the battle for international media attention, an image speaks a thousands words – so long as it is the right image.
Following the arrest of Nasheed, who is currently standing trial for the controversial detention of the Criminal Court chief judge during his time in office, men and women of all ages gathered outside the Male’ City Council building (MCC) between the intersections at Alikilegefaanu Magu and Rahdebi Magu.
Among the crowd was Mohamed Aslam, a former Environment Minister under Nasheed’s government, who claimed there was no official plan for demonstrations or a protest at the time.
“People are agitated, they are angry,” he said. “There is no plan, there is just outrage.”
Nasheed taken
It was earlier in the afternoon that 15 masked police officers had entered Nasheed’s family compound of Kenerege with a court warrant to detain the country’s first democratically elected president.
Sources within the MDP later told Minivan News that the former president was taken peacefully, if reluctantly, briefly saying goodbye to his family before being escorted away by authorities. Police later returned for a second time to the compound, though no further arrests were made in the building.
However, by 2:00pm, there was clear anger among some three dozen predominantly male figures around the corner from Kenerege on Majeedhee Magu. The tension was exacerbated as a group of officers in the back of a van quickly singled out an elderly gentleman across a crowded intersection and took him away.
Media were quick to capture the image, as angry onlookers heckled the officers over a blare of horns from taxis and other motorists now blocked by the unfolding drama.
A group of people including Nasheed’s representative on the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI), Ahmed ‘Gaha’ Saeed, soon blocked the road in what they claimed was a makeshift protest.
Perched on front of delivery vehicle, Saeed told Minivan News that demonstrators had opted to blockade the truck that he said to belonged to one of the country’s largest private retailers alleged to be one of the masterminds behind a “coup d’etat” that saw Nasheed controversially resign from office last year.
“People have waited a year since the coup and are very angry and unlikely to act reasonably now. They could bring Male’ to a standstill,” Saeed stated.
As some attempted to dissuade Saeed from his actions, other figures in the crowd attempted to limit the taking of pictures – an impossible task considering the prevalence of I-pads, camera phones and social media in the country.
By 2:30 pm, as the sun beat down intensely on the intersection, tensions continue to escalate as the crowd singled out a figure passing through the intersection on his bike. The figure was Ali Waheed, the brother of current President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.
In the first of several such isolated attacks during the day, a crowd swarmed and surrounded Ali Waheed amidst shouts of Baghee, before he was pushed from his bike, surrounded and attacked. After a tense minute of confrontation, Ali Waheed was ushered from the intersection by some figures in the crowd – his bike abandoned on the street. It would not be the last vehicle left on the capital’s street during the day.
The crowd’s attention later turned to a military car with tinted windows. Isolated figures attacked the vehicle, ripping off its mirrors and smashing a rear passenger side window. Some three or four dozen young men appeal divided amidst appeals for calm from Saeed and several other figures asking to let the vehicle pass.
Heavy rainfall temporarily cleared the road and the simmering tension. As the situation calmed, Saeed explained that the crowd had sought out figures perceived to be tied either to senior government or the security forces, particularly the police’s Special Operations (SO) officers.
“They see it as you are either with us or against us,” he said. “We continue to ask for calm, but as always happens, it is the loudest in crowds who have their way.” Saeed rejected the accusation that individuals were being purposefully singled out as they passed through the barricade.
Sit down demonstrations
As the blockade continued, a growing number of men and women began to join the demonstrations, with former Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam joining a sit down in the middle of the street.
Further down the road, a single man lay in the rain soaked road outside the Male’ City Council building. The crowd suddenly appeared happy to clear to one side to let media to take a photo opportunity of the man. Meanwhile, curious and often bemused onlookers and shoppers stepped over him.
Demonstrator holds lie-down protest
However, the lighter mood was at times broken. In one instance, a man riding a bike with a young girl on the back was heckled as a “Baaghee” – prudently he avoided the crowd and detoured down a side street.
At the height of the demonstration, some two or three blocks on Majeedhee were blockaded, with an orange rope set up across the street to stop traffic coming through. A few motorists tried to get through to the derision of the crowd.
Shortly before 4:00pm, around 30 police officers in helmets arrive and begin to clear the intersection outside the city council building, removing Mohamed Aslam from the scene, while coming under fire from plastic water bottles and small sections of pavement stones.
Several other figures in the crowd were also taken by authorities, as police left the scene.
Behind them, some 200 demonstrators remained on the road, continuing with their blockade and chanting. Another group of women soon resumed their sit-down protests and anti-government chants.
The light mood again sporadically broken as another male – accused of being a member of the Police’s SO division – attempted to pass through the crowd. He was quickly swarmed as he was mobbed by a crowd divided over whether to attack or protect the figure.
Shouts of “baghee” from the crowd were punctuated by the screams of a woman travelling with the man. Both are eventually moved to safety.
“There is hatred here,” said one protester. “He was asking for it. He could see there was a [blockade] but came through anyway. It is very hard to control some of these [demonstrators].”
Soon after, individuals once again spoke to media figures, reiterating appeals to cease taking photos as some of the group turn their attentions to breaking through a glass door of a large clothes shop – eventually they are dissuaded by others in the crowd.
At the same time, the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) released a statement strongly condemning violent attacks said to be carried carried out against a journalist and a cameraman working from private media outlet Sun Online. Earlier in the day, a journalist for the same organisation had stayed in Nasheed’s family compound over concerns about his safety among the crowd outside.
Reinforcements
By 4:30pm, Police reinforcements once again arrived to clear the intersections, heckled by the 200 demonstrators who has sought to block sections of the road during the afternoon.
Though some officers were witnessed carrying firearms with rubber bullets, no such measures were witnessed being used by police, though one young woman arrested had appeared to have been pepper sprayed.
During the ongoing police operation, a further two dozen demonstrators were arrested and loaded into the back of a police van – among them a middle-aged women taken for heckling and singing songs. she soon becomes an inadvertent hero among her fellow demonstrators. Aware of her status, she begins dancing in the back of the police truck.
As order is restored by authorities and the arrested are taken from the scene in an open topped van, the crowd cheer and wave at the figures, including an elderly woman who blew kisses and waved to the crowd.
With the police presence again gone, the crowd return to their blockade to songs and anti-government chants. The mood once again light temporarily until protesters attack and roll over a van belonging to Eydhafushi MP Ahmed Saleem, another figure unpopuler among the core MDP supporters. According to local media, milk packets are taken from the van and distributed among the protesters.
Whether demonstrators succeeded in bringing the capital to a standstill as some had claimed, for large parts of the day, one of the capital’s busiest roads was transformed into a protest site for dissatisfaction with the government.
As police began to bring the crowds under control, among a blockaded section of Majeedhee Magu between Alikilegefaanu Magu and Rahdebi Magu, a shop-owner looked out from his door at the deserted road.
Police have asked for public assistance in identifying four men seen in a video clip captured of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) protest on Tuesday near the Male City Council Office in Majeedhee Magu.
In a statement police asked the public to provide any regarding the four persons to the police criminal investigation department on 963 1696 or police headquarters at 332 2111.
Police also said that, if required, protection will be given to anyone who shared information with the police.
Yesterday the police also published the picture of MDP activist Ali Hashim, 24, from the island of Dhidhoo in Haa Alifu Atoll.
Hashim was previously arrested by police in connection with the murder of Dr Afrasheem Ali, but was released without charge.
Police said Hashim surrendered himself to the police at 10:55pm last night and was is now under police charge.
Police have not disclosed why the four suspects were being searched for.
MDP protesters took to the street after police arrested former President Mohamed Nasheed in compliance with an arrest warrant issued by the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.
Nasheed is to appear for his alleged unlawful detention of Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed during his final days in office, charges his party maintain are a politically-motivated attempt to disqualify him from the September 7 elections.
Nasheed’s legal team filed a case at the Criminal Court yesterday requesting for a writ to habeas corpus. However the Criminal Court rejected the case without holding a hearing.
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