Tag: russian

Adhaalath condemns Maldives abstention on UN gay vote

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party has condemned the government for abstaining from a United Nations vote on a resolution against providing gay marital benefits to all UN employees.

The secretary general of the Adhaalath Party, which condemns homosexuality, told Vnews the abstention indicated that the Maldives did not oppose providing the marital benefits for gay couples.

In a tweet yesterday, Adhaalath said that it was “shameful” that the Maldives abstained from voting on the resolution, which was voted down last week.

Secretary general Iaadh Hameed added that the government’s foreign policy should be built upon Islamic principles and values, and that those policies should not encourage irreligious acts.

The vote on the resolution was held on March 24, after Russia challenged UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s decision to provide marital benefits to legally wed gay and lesbian couples similar to those provided to heterosexual couples.

However, the UN General Assembly rejected the resolution, with 80 countries voting against it, 43 countries voted in favour and 37 countries abstaining.

While China, Belarus and Muslim-majority Malaysia voted in favour of the resolution, Muslim-majority Indonesia also abstained.

Previously, the Maldives government had strongly criticised the European Union, saying that EU asked the Maldives to legalise same sex marriage and freedom of religion in exchange for extending duty-free status on Maldivian fish.

Economic development minister Mohamed Saeed claimed at the time that the EU declined to extend the duty exemption after Maldives refused the condition of “allowing homosexual relations and the opportunity for people to follow any religion they want”.

“The Maldives is an Islamic state and will remain so. We will uphold Islam. We will not compromise on anything that conflicts with Islam,” he said.

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Case of Russian smuggling cocaine halted due to language barriers

The case of Prutova Angelina, a young Russian charged with smuggling 2kg of cocaine into the Maldives has been halted due to language barriers.

Angelina – a 25-year-old Russian national – was arrested on January 27 of this year, when she arrived in the Maldives from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Judge Abdullah Nasheed said that the next hearing will be held only after finding a translator who spoke Russian, according t Haveeru.

According to reports, during the first hearing of her case, with the aid of a translator, the state read aloud all of the charges against her at court. Angelina then demanded for a translator who knows Russian.

“I know English only a little bit”, Angelina replied when the judge questioned her about her English, reported Haveeru.

Angelina demanded for a translator who knew Russian for a second time when the charge sheet was read out to her.

She also said that she wished to arrange a lawyer for herself.

According to reports, Angelina failed to answer when she was asked how long it would take to arrange a lawyer, and the judge then instructed her to arrange a lawyer for the second hearing of her case.

Despite being sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office in April, the case had already been delayed due to a dispute between the Criminal Court and the PG’s office over the provision of a translator.

The Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances stipulates that a foreign national charged with importing over 1 gram of narcotics will be sentenced to life imprisonment. There is also a possibility of received a minimum fine of MVR10,000 (US$651).

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Russian accused of drug-smuggling remanded until trial

Russian national Purtova Angelina has been remanded until her trial for allegedly smuggling 2.5kg of cocaine into the Maldives.

Angeline was arrested on January 27 this year when she arrived in the Maldives from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Despite being sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office in April, the case has been delayed due to a dispute between the Criminal Court and the PG’s office over the provision of a translator.

Haveeru reported yesterday that Angelina will now be held until her trial has concluded.

The Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances stipulates that a foreign national charged with importing over 1 gram of narcotics will be sentenced to life imprisonment. There is also a possibility of received a minimum fine of MVR10,000 (US$651).

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Maldives acted under its own laws in Seleznyov expulsion, says US Embassy

The Maldives acted under its own laws in the expulsion of Russian national Roman Valerevich Seleznyov, the US Embassy in Colombo has said.

Seleznyov, 30 years, was reportedly about to board a flight to Moscow after holidaying in the Maldives when he was arrested from the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

He was then transported to Guam Island with the help of the US Secret Service. Seleznyov is the son of Russian parliamentarian Valery Seleznyov.

Russia has earlier called Seleznyov’s arrest a “kidnapping” by the US Secret Service and described the actions of Maldivian authorities in the incident as “outraging.”

A spokesperson with the US Embassy in Colombo said Seleznyov was detained by the Maldivian authorities “following the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice” in relation to indictments relating to bank and computer fraud that affected thousands of American citizens.

“This was a law enforcement action, and was based solely on law enforcement considerations. The indictment in this case was returned on March 2011, and thus long predates any current issues involving Russia and the United States. It has nothing to do with any of those issues. Nor was this a ‘kidnapping’ or in any way illegal,” the US Embassy said.

Seleznyov “was arrested following his expulsion from another country, acting under its own laws. He was advised of his rights and given consular notification. These actions also were in no way inconsistent with any treaty arrangements with Russia.”

The Maldives Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have also claimed Seleznyov’s “expulsion” was in response to a Interpol red notice and said the government followed due process.

President Abdulla Yameen has also dismissed claims of a US Secret Service operation on Maldivian soil as baseless.

During a press conference at Muleeage on Wednesday night, he said the arrest was not prompted by a request from the US.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has accused the government of flouting due process in Seleznyov’s arrest.

In a statement on Wednesday, the party said that personnel of Maldivian security services must make arrests within Maldivian territory and a warrant from a Maldivian Court must be obtained for such seize-and-arrest operations.

Further, the suspect should also be produced at the relevant court in Maldives prior to repatriation, the party said.

The MDP has also expressed concern the incident may have adverse effects on trade and tourism.

Russia is currently the fifth in terms of the number of tourist arrivals to Maldives, with more than thirty three thousand tourist arrivals within the first five months of 2014.

Yameen said he hoped the Seleznyov incident would not affect bilateral relations with Russia and said the government is already working on relieving tensions between the two countries.

A high level delegation from the Maldives, led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Fathimath Inaya, met with officials from the Russian Embassy to Sri Lanka and Maldives in Colombo today to explain details of the incident.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Inaya told Russian officials that the Maldives is certain this incident would not severe bilateral relations with Russia.

The Russian officials have said the country is prepared to work with Maldives in preventing any future incidents, the ministry said.

Other members in the delegation include s the High Commissioner of the Maldives to Sri Lanka Zahiya Zareer, Deputy Attorney General Ahmed Usham and the Chief Superintendent of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) Mohamed Riyaz.

In its statement today, the US also denied Russia’s allegation that the arrest was a violation of a bilateral treaty on mutual legal assistance between the two countries.

The move was “in no way inconsistent with any treaty arrangements with Russia,” the embassy said.

Further, Seleznyov was advised of his rights and given consular notification, the US added.

The US has thanked the Maldives government for their commitment to other Interpol member states, and thanked them for the support “in pursuing justice for the victims of these crimes.”

President Yameen has pledged to introduce legislation on extradition within the coming week.

The Maldives has signed a number of extradition treaties with other nations, but they are not being enforced due to the lack of necessary legislations, Yameen said.

The Maldives does not have an extradition treaty with the United States at present.

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Case of 25-year-old Russian woman smuggling cocaine sent to Prosecutor General

The case of the Russian woman – arrested after attempting to smuggle 2.5kgs of cocaine into the Maldives – has been sent to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office.

Purtova Angelina – a 25-year-old Russian national – was arrested on January 27 this year when she arrived in the Maldives from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Deputy Prosecutor General Hussein Shameem has confirmed with Minivan News that police have finished their investigation, and that the case was forwarded to the PG last Thursday (April 3). Shameem estimated that the court hearing will take place within the next week.

“We don’t know yet what the decision will be, we will have to wait until the court hearing next week.” Shameem told Minivan.

Purtova, a makeup artist, allegedly has a history of distributing cocaine to a number of countries and has associations with a large drug trafficking network in Europe, according to Haveeru.

According to the reports, Angelina had been reported missing by her family when she arrived in the Maldives. Family members and friends had used social media networks to try and find her.

On January 26 2014, the Criminal Court ruled that Philippines national Jenerosa Pancho Mapula was guilty of smuggling 3 kgs of cocaine into the Maldives, and fining her MVR100,000 (USD 6510) and sentencing her to life imprisonment.

The Criminal Court ruling stated that, on April 24, 2013, Jenerosa arrived in the Maldives at about 8:50am and that police searched her luggage after receiving intelligence reports that she was carrying illegal narcotics.

Jenerosa denied the charges, the court said, though according to witnesses produced in court the drugs were found inside her luggage. Jenerosa was ordered to pay the fine within one month.

The Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances stipulates that a foreign national charged with importing over 1 gram of narcotics will be sentenced to life imprisonment. There is also a possibility of received a minimum fine of MVR10,000 (US$651).

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