Tag: supreme court

65 persons arrested in 11 nights of MDP protest

Police have today said that a total of 65 persons have been arrested in the series of protests held by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), criticising the delayed – now annulled – presidential election.

Beginning as part of a pre-election rally on September 27, the protests continued over the following 11 nights after the Supreme Court ordered security forces to stop preparations for the presidential run-off by force if necessary.

In a statement issued today the police said that all of the persons were arrested on charges of objection to order and obstructing police duty.

Police said that the investigation into the cases of 29 persons were concluded and have been forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s office to put them on trial.

Allegations of arbitrary and frequent use of pepper spray, beating, strip-searching, frisking, handcuffing and drug testing of MDP supporters were heard during the Parliamentary Privileges Subcommittee last week.

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) also met with the police after being made aware of allegations that strip searches were being used in an unnecessary and discriminatory manner following the arrest of protesters.

During the HRCM’s meeting with police, it stressed its belief that strip searches were a “degrading and inhuman treatement” that was to be avoided whenever possible.

In a statement issued last Wednesday (October 2) police said they were authorised to frisk and conduct strip-searches under Articles 32-36 of the the Police Powers Act.

According to police 12 persons were released without being taken to the court to extend their detention period, and nine were released by the court when brought before judges for a potential extended detention period.

Police said that 11 persons were released by the court on different conditions.

Police are investigating the cases of 30 persons currently held in custody, whose detention period was extended by the court.

Last night MDP supporters gathered again in front of police barricades at the FDI photo studio, the nearest point protesters could get to the Supreme Court, calling for justice and early elections.

Three persons were taken into custody – also on charges of obstruction of police duty and objection to order.

Following the Supreme Court ruling to cancel the first round of presidential elections and to hold the election again, the MDP has commenced its campaign and ceased the ongoing protests.

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Supreme Court annuls first round of presidential elections

Additional reporting by Mohamed Naahii, Neil Merrett and Zaheena Rasheed

Read the verdict (Dhivehi)

The Supreme Court has annulled the first round of the 2013 presidential elections citing electoral irregularities, despite unanimous positive assessment of the polling by more than a thousand local and international election observers.

The 4:3 verdict cited a confidential police report submitted to the court allegedly claiming that 5600 votes were ineligible. The report has not been made public and was not shown to the Election Commission’s defence lawyers.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed emerged the front-runner with 45.45 percent of September 7’s vote, while half-brother of former President Gayoom, Abdulla Yameen, came second with 25.35 percent.

Gasim Ibrahim, resort tycoon and member of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) until his candidacy, came third with 24.07 percent of the vote, and filed a case demanding the result be annulled after declaring “God willing, Gasim will be President on November 11”.

Incumbent President Mohamed Waheed, who ran in coalition with the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP), received just 5.13 percent of the vote. The DRP subsequently allied with the MDP. It is uncertain if Waheed will run independently again, or form a coalition with Yameen.

The Supreme Court indefinitely suspended the second round on September 23, issuing a supplementary midnight ruling on September 26 ordering the police and military to forcibly prevent the Elections Commission from holding the second round.

The EC had said it intended to comply with the constitutionally-mandated deadline for the run-off of September 28, but was forced to capitulate after it was surrounded by special operations police with orders to storm the building, arrest officials and confiscate ballot papers.

The court’s annulment of the result follows two weeks of street protests, strikes, travel warnings and rumblings of concern from top ranks in the military.

The verdict

Gasim’s legal team, led by his running mate Dr Hassan Saeed, sought to annul the poll on the grounds that it was a “systematic failure”. Yameen’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and Attorney General Azima Shukoor – Yameen’s former lawyer – sided with Gasim in court against the Elections Commission.

The EC disputed the credibility of the evidence presented against the polls, which besides the secret police report, included hearsay and speculative testimony from 14 anonymised witnesses. It also noted that even if factual the evidence was not sufficient to impact the results of the first round. The EC’s head lawyer, former Attorney General Husnu Suood, was subsequently ejected for contempt of court.

The majority ruling to annul the election was given by Justices Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi, Abdulla Saeed, Adam Mohamed – also Chair of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) – and Ali Hameed, currently under investigation by police and the JSC for his appearance in multiple leaked sex tapes involving unidentified foreign women in a Colombo hotel room. While on the JSC, Gasim had voted against the JSC’s investigating subcommittee’s own recommendation to suspend the judge, and labelled the tapes “fake”.

In the verdict, Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain, Justice Abdulla Areef and Justice Muthasim Adnan argued that Gasim’s Jumhoree Party (JP) had failed to show sufficient grounds to annul the poll.

In issuing the majority ruling, Justice Abdulla Didi said the Supreme Court had sought the assistance of Forensic Investigations Directorate of the Maldives Police Service in carrying out a documentary analysis and comparison of the documents submitted by the JP as evidence, against the original voter list used by the EC officials at the polling booths.

Justice Didi noted that the report by the police investigation team – which according to him consisted of technical experts – had produced a report that claimed 5,623 ineligible votes had been cast during the poll.

The ineligible votes, as per Justice Didi, had included: votes cast under the name of dead people, votes cast by underage children, double voting and votes cast under unregistered National Identification Cards.

Didi in the ruling claimed that the figure quoted in the police report exceeded the narrow margin between the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and JP Candidate Gasim Ibrahim, who finished the race in second and third position respectively.

Didi also said that EC’s actions amounted to undermining of the people’s right to vote and conflicted with the concept of Universal Suffrage which had been acknowledged in the constitution.

He also noted although a new president is unable to be sworn in on November 11 – the date on which the current presidential term expires – the country would not go into a state of constitutional limbo as the principle of continuity of legitimate government would override any repercussions faced by failure to adhere to constitutional deadlines.

Therefore, the first round of presidential election held on September 7 lacked any legal grounds to be considered legitimate, Justice Didi declared.

With the declaration, the four Justices who had formed the majority ruling laid down an interim schedule for the holding of fresh elections.

According to the schedule, the fresh presidential elections are to be scheduled by October 20, and a second round – if required – is to be held on November 3.

The Supreme Court also laid down guidelines which the EC was ordered to follow, including giving the police a substantive role in handling the logistics and security of the election and ballot papers.

The court also ordered the EC to collaborate with the National Center for Information Technology (NCIT) and other government institutions to enhance the security of its database and network server.

Reaction

MDP protesters gathered near the Supreme Court as the verdict was given greeted the announcement of the October 20 deadline with cautious optimism, noting the second chance for a first round victory.

“We will win in a first round with 150,000 votes. We will beat them down with votes. We will beat the Supreme Court judges,” said MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy, while the party’s running mate Mustafa Lutfi called for a ‘celebratory march’.

Not all in the crowd were as enthused. There was an air of latent anger, disappointment and determination.

One woman shouted at the police monitoring the protest: “Traitors! You facilitated one coup, now a second coup, you will do it again. But we will beat you down with votes.”

Yameen’s running mate and Gayoom’s former Justice Minister, Dr Mohamed Jameel, welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“This time around there will be a certain guideline which Elections Commission (EC) must follow,” he said. “I think based on the judgement of the Supreme Court, the head of the EC must resign as a moral and legal step.”

88 percent of the country’s 240,000-odd eligible voters cast their ballots in the first round, many of them for the first time.

First-time voter Mohamed Haisham, 19, said today’s Supreme Court ruling had only been a victory for the country’s rich elite, keen to keep resort profits to themselves.

“In my opinion, [JP candidate] Gasim did this. He used his wealth and power to buy the election. However, people are aware of this now, he will not get as many votes this time around.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the fresh election was scheduled on Oct 20 with run-offs on Nov 3. According to the court, elections are to be held BY Oct 20 with run-offs BY Nov 3. A written verdict had yet to be released as of 3:00pm Tuesday.

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Transparency International “gravely concerned” about safety of Maldives staff, volunteers

Transparency International has expressed “grave concern” about staff and volunteer safety and “alarm” over the intimidation and public allegations threatening its Transparency Maldives chapter.

“Transparency International is gravely concerned about the safety of chapter staff and volunteers following an attack on one of its volunteers and telephone threats received by chapter members,” the international anti-corruption NGO highlighted in a press statement issued today (October 7).

“There appears to be a negative campaign in the local media aimed at undermining the effectiveness of Transparency Maldives’ anti-corruption work. Last week a senior member of the cabinet publicly threatened to close Transparency Maldives down,” Transparency International noted.

“Transparency Maldives has always played an active and constructive role in advocating for government transparency and accountability. We call on the authorities to ensure the safety of its staff and volunteers,” stated Transparency International.

Transparency Maldives is part of the Transparency International anti-corruption movement that includes more than 100 chapters worldwide.

Death threats and street attack

“An elections program intern was attacked on the street and had her phone snatched away,” Transparency Maldives’ Advocacy and Communications Manager Aiman Rasheed told Minivan News today.

Death threats were issued to Transparency Maldives staff by an unknown caller who contacted the organisation’s office, explained Rasheed. Both incidents occurred within five day period, during the last week of September.

“During every election these things occur, it’s not abnormal. However, the situation in the country has worsened since the 2008 [presidential] election,” said Rasheed.

“At that time, murder was unheard of and stabbings were rare. Now the threats seem more real in the current environment [with tensions escalating],” he added.

Today a death threat tweet stating “We will slaughter all of you goats until there are none left” was directed at Transparency Maldives and the Maldives’ former UK High Commissioner Farah Didi.

In regard to the “negative media campaign” aimed at undermining Transparency Maldives’ anti-corruption work, Rasheed noted that the Maldives Media Council (MMC) and Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) “will be aware of this” given their participation in the Elections Commission’s National Advisory Committee.

It is unclear whether MMC or MBC have taken actions to address these local media issues, but given the “general environment… a lot needs to be done in this situation” by regulatory authorities, he continued.

“Keeping [Transparency Maldives] staff and volunteers safe is our number one priority,” Rasheed declared.

In light of the recent death threats and attack of an intern, Transparency Maldives is urging staff and volunteers to be more careful, he explained.

“We are monitoring the environment and updating all our people,” said Rasheed.

Staff training has been conducted as part of Transparency Maldives’ security priorities, and the organisation’s electronic equipment and office are closely guarded, he explained.

“All [election] observers and volunteers are trained to remove themselves from any situation if any violence occurs,” he noted. “Their purpose is to observe whether violence has occurred, not to determine who hit whom.”

Transparency conducted an extensive election monitoring program, fielding a team of 400 election monitors during the first round of September 7. The organisation stated that the process was fair and credible and that incidents observed on the day would not have had a material impact on the outcome of the election.

Transparency Maldives called on all parties to act with restraint and uphold the constitution to allow for a run-off election to take place.

The Supreme Court on September 23, however, issued an indefinite injunction halting the second round of the presidential election, which had been scheduled for September 28.

Following the Supreme Court injunction, Transparency Maldives noted that the failure of parliament and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to address alleged integrity issues of the Supreme Court judges have “created avenues for political and other actors to question the conduct, injunctions and verdicts of the Supreme Court”.

The following week, State Minister for Home Affairs and the Registrar of NGOs Abdulla Mohamed declared that Transparency Maldives and the Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM) were under investigation for “unlawful acts” and warned the NGOs that organisations acting outside of law would be dissolved.

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Supreme Court further delays election decision

The Supreme Court of Maldives has delayed its ruling on the potential annulment of the presidential election for the second time today.

Originally scheduled for 2:30pm today, the ruling was moved to 5:00pm, before court officials announced the decision to move the ruling back to 8:00pm.

“The Supreme Court can say whatever they want to say. But the constitution must be upheld,” Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed told a crowd of supporters gathered near the courthouse.

The case filed by the Jumhooree Party, alleges systemic fraud in the first round of the presidential election, despite the overwhelmingly positive assessments of all observer missions present.

The concluding arguments in the case were heard on September 25, two days after the court had issued an injunction calling upon all state institutions to halt election preparations until the case had been completed.

Numerous international actors – including the United Nations Security Council – have expressed their alarm at the decision to delay the second round, and the subsequent rising of tensions in the country.

Following the destruction of MDP aligned TV station Raajje TV this morning, party supporters gathered by police barricades on Fareedhee Magu.

MDP Imthiyaz Fahmy called for an investigation of the police’s role in the arson attack.

“[Police Commissioner] Abdulla Riyaz publicly announced previously that police will not provide protection to Raajje TV. Look how it has been absolutely burned down today,” said Fahmy.

Former President – and first-placed candidate in the initial poll –  Mohamed Nasheed addressed a crowd of around 300 just before midday.

“The Supreme Court may say anything at two thirty today. Do listen to their verdict, it will make no sense at all.”

“The letters in the constitution cannot dissolve and protect itself, it cannot come out to war to protect itself. It won’t come to life unless we get strength from it and come out to protect it.”

“We are not here to ascertain presidency for Galolhu Kenereege Mohamed Nasheed. We are here to get people’s rights. Not for the MDP, but for all citizens,” he added.

The area – close to the Supreme Court – has been the focal point of MDP protests for 10 consecutive nights following the Election Commission’s decision to abandon preparations for the September 28 run-off, in the face of government and judicial intransigence.

The integrity of the Supreme Court was a persistent theme during early protests, with frequent – often visual – references to the Justice Ali Hameed’s purported role in a series of sex tapes.

“We are demonstrating here and won’t stop until we hear a verdict,” Nasheed’s running-mate Dr Mustafa Lutfi told the crowd.

Police have reported “no tensions and no arrests” during today’s demonstration.

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“Potential for trouble”: UN Security Council briefed on Maldives

The UN Security Council has been briefed on the situation in the Maldives, following the suspension of the run-off elections, ongoing protests and the submission of a “letter of concern” signed by senior military officers to their leadership.

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco briefed the Security Council on Wednesday.

Citing a diplomatic source present at the briefing, AFP reported the senior UN official as warning the 15-nation council that recent democratic gains were “under threat” and that there was “potential for trouble”.

“We continue to follow the situation in the Maldives with concern in light of the mounting tension following the postponement of the second round of its presidential election,” said the UN Secretary General’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky, at a press briefing on Friday.

The UN Security Council Briefing came a day after Acting Foreign Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela addressed the UN General Assembly, and blamed “external forces” for “concerted efforts to prevent the emergence of an indigenous democratic system of governance in the Maldives [by] attempting to shape the outcome of, what is, an internal issue”.

“Democracy consolidation is not just about holding elections. Nor is it about having a democratically sound Constitution. In the Maldives too, we quickly found that changing the Constitution, or having a multi-party election, did not instill democratic values within our society,” Dr Shakeela told the UN.

Instability

The Supreme Court indefinitely postponed the second round of the run-off elections, initially scheduled for September 28, after third-placed candidate Gasim Ibrahim alleged electoral irregularities and declared “God Willing, Gasim will be President on November 11″.

The injunction was issued despite unanimous positive assessments of the polling by local and international election observers. The EC meanwhile contested the credibility of the evidence submitted to the court, observing that even if factual it was insufficient to impact the results of the first round. The subsequent delay of the second round was met with global concern.

Gasim was nonetheless joined in the case by second-placed Abdulla Yameen, and Attorney General Azima Shukoor, his former lawyer.

A second Supreme Court ruling issued at midnight prior to the vote ordered police and military to enforce the suspension, leading to police surrounding the Elections Commission (EC) and issuing an ultimatum. The EC relented, stating that it would be unable to hold the election without police and state cooperation, and noting that its staff had received threats of death and arson.

Now, two weeks after the suspension of the election, the hearing for the Supreme Court’s verdict has yet to be scheduled.

Protests resulting from the suspension of the election have led to other countries including the UK, China, Canada and Australia to upgrade their travel advisories to the luxury tourism destination, while port workers, customs officials, air traffic controllers and ground handling staff have staged strikes.

Senior officers of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) last week sent a “letter of concern” to Chief of Defence Force Major General Ahmed Shiyam, “over the Supreme Court’s order to delay elections, the failure of state institutions, and the possible politicisation of the military, and asking that unconstitutional orders not be issued,” according to one signatory.

The letter prompted a rapid reshuffling of the organisation, dismissals, suspensions, resignations, warnings to media and amendments to its regulations to to impose punishments on officers found guilty of inciting ‘upheaval and chaos’.

Former Brigadier General Ibrahim Didi, Male’ Area Commander at the time of the controversial 7 February 2012 transfer of power, meanwhile wrote a letter urging officers to “not give the opportunity to anyone who plans to rule this country by taking the laws to their own hands and override the constitution and undermine the constitutional framework of this country.”

“After November 11, 2013, regardless of who gives the orders and regardless of the situation, I sincerely urge the military to not let anyone take over the country in contrast with the provisions in the constitution, as this would have dire consequences,” he wrote.

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Waheed and Nasheed hold first meeting since power transfer

Former President Mohamed Nasheed met with his successor Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan yesterday evening for the first time since the former’s controversial resignation in February last year.

Meeting at the president’s official residence – Muleeage – at 9pm, the encounter lasted around fifteen minutes before Nasheed left without speaking to the press.

A subsequent Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) statement said that the discussion had included Nasheed’s concern at the delayed run-off election following the Supreme Court rulings ordering the cessation of preparations – by force if necessary.

The court is reported to be working around the clock to reach a conclusion in the Jumhooree Party’s (JP) case, which has requested an annulment due to what it allegs were systemic failings during the first poll.

Despite President Waheed’s hopes that the court reach a decision as soon as possible, none has been forthcoming since the concluding statements were heard one week ago.

A President’s Office statement today noted Waheed’s desire to see a smooth transfer of power to the eventual winner of the election.

Addressing the nation earlier in the day, Waheed said that verification of election related complaints was vital.

“Presidential candidates, political parties, individual citizens, foreign organisations and nations are all waiting to see the election being held as quickly as possible and to see the new president take oath on November 11,” said President Waheed.

The constitution mandates that a new president take office by November 11, a schedule the Elections Commissioner has said cannot now be met.

Both MDP and President’s Office statements claimed that the meeting had been requested by the other attendee.

Waheed assumed office within hours of Nasheed’s unexpected resignation, in what Waheed has insisted was a constitutionally prescribed procedure.

Nasheed would soon claim that his resignation had come under duress, publicly labelling Waheed as a conspirator in his demise and a ‘baghee’ (‘traitor’).

Whilst Nasheed topped the first round of polling on September 7 with 45.45% of the vote, Waheed’s ‘Forward with the Nation’ coalition gained just 5%.

The final result was due to be followed by a run-off on September 28 between Nasheed’s MDP and second-placed candidate Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives before third-placed candidate Gasim Ibrahim’s JP took his complaints to the Supreme Court.

Gasim – who himself met with Nasheed two weeks ago to discuss the maintenance of national interest and maintaining stability and public order – missed out on the run-off by less than three thousand votes.

Supporters of Nasheed have protested for six consecutive nights following the decision to indefinitely delay the run-off.

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Comment: Yameen the Meek

So much for ‘Yameen The Strong’, the tough, gunda boss: alleged purveyor of illegal oil to the Burmese Junta and other illegal substances to Male’s youth. Instead, he should be known as Yameen The Chicken, or Yameen The Meek.

For Abdulla Yameen is clearly scared of the Maldivian electorate, and afraid of losing the second round presidential polls. Why else would he conspire with half-brother Gayoom to get the Supreme Court to indefinitely postpone the vote? There can only be one explanation for PPM’s delaying tactics: Yameen knows that in a second round fight, the MDP’s Mohamed Nasheed will kick his ass.

Yameen’s election campaign has been lacklustre at best. He rarely campaigns, his policies sound as if they are made up as he goes along and, as I pointed out in my previous column, Yameen seems incapable of dropping his semi-permanent and voter-off-putting sneer.

Yameen barely scraped second place in the first round on 7 September, despite inheriting the second largest political operation in the country: the PPM. Yameen acquired a paltry 25.35 percent of the vote, to Nasheed’s 45.45 percent. Since then, the DRP has joined forces with Nasheed, likely pushing his vote above 50 percent and leaving Yameen’s campaign in big trouble.

And so, rather than choosing to man-up and fight Nasheed head-on, Yameen has hidden behind a bench of thieves, porn-stars and illiterates otherwise known as the Supreme Court of the Republic of Maldives.

The Supreme Court has entertained a ludicrous case about voter irregularities by third-placed Gasim Ibrahim – another Gayoom stooge. This farcical trial, involving witnesses “who heard from someone there was voter fraud”, has been used by the court to delay the second round indefinitely, despite numerous foreign and local election observers praising the vote for being free and fair.

Yameen’s gambit appears to be to delay the second round for as long as possible – perhaps until the New Year – so, in the words of his lawyer, PPM has “time to campaign.” Or maybe his game-plan is to get rid of the Elections Commission, so his mate Abdulla Riyaz – Police Commissioner and coup d’état perpetrator extraordinaire – can take over the voting process and rig it in Yameen’s favour.

Yameen’s running mate, Mohamed ‘Angry Bird’ Jameel has even muttered dark thoughts about disqualifying Nasheed from the race entirely, by re-starting the politicised trial against him over his decision, when president, to detain a corrupt judge.

Yameen’s undemocratic (and unconstitutional) behaviour might not be surprising. He is, after all, the little brother of a vicious dictator. But it does smack of cowardice. Because leaders – real leaders, that is – don’t hide. They don’t cower. And they don’t duck out of a fight, and get big brother to fight it for them.

Yameen has been accused of many things since the start of the election campaign. Hassan Saeed vowed to put Yameen on trial for the theft of US$800 million of state-owned oil, which Yameen allegedly stole while head of STO. Umar Naseer claimed Yameen peddles drugs, and pays street gangs to attack his political opponents. Mohamed Nasheed has called on people to be “mindful” of Yameen’s dark past and dodgy character.

But now the PPM candidate faces a new charge. One that, for an aspiring Head of State, is perhaps most damaging of all: that he is a chicken and a coward. He is Yameen The Meek.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Protesters adopt new tactics during fifth night of calls for elections

Additional reporting by Leah Malone

Multiple arrests and pepper spraying marked the fifth consecutive night of protests on Tuesday evening, as supporters of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) demonstrated near the Supreme Court in Male’.

Both regular police officers and Special Operations branches of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) were present at yesterday’s demonstrations, as well as Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officers who were manning barricades.

The Supreme Court has been the focus of protests after its order to indefinitely delay the second round of the presidential elections forced the Elections Commission (EC) to concede that the September 28 run-off could not go ahead.

Thirty female protesters gathered near the Supreme Court in the early evening and were met by Special Operations police in riot gear and MNDF officers. MDP MP Eva Abdulla and former Education Minister Shifa Mohamed were among those detained by police during the demonstration.

By 11:00pm approximately a thousand protesters had gathered near the FDI Station on Fareedhee Magu – the closest protesters can go to the Supreme Court building, as the area remains cordoned off by police and military forces.

Following a series of speeches by MDP MPs – including Eva Abdulla who was released from police custody in time to address the crowd – the demonstrators altered their strategy. Instead of remaining in a single location, the protesters divided their numbers between multiple locations on the north side of the capital.

Hundreds peacefully walked the back roads behind the Supreme Court calling for elections, and were met by MNDF officers in riot gear guarding the alleys leading to government buildings. A group of protesters were met by approximately 30 Special Operations police in riot gear near Republic Square, which prompted the crowd to continue their march.

After regrouping near the FDI building the protesters staged another march down Chandanee Magu, to Majeedhee Magu, and back up Orchid Magu – all main thoroughfares in the capital city. Groups of onlookers were seen gathered in front of private businesses and homes, some of whom joined the protest.

The seemingly spontaneous marches were to intended to disorient the smaller numbers of Special Operations police, an MDP activist and former government official told Minivan News during the demonstration.

Minivan News observed MNDF in riot gear blocking protesters from approaching government buildings, however they deferred to police once fresh squads arrived at the various intersections.

Standard police officer’s – ‘blues’ – were observers using pepper spray on protesters, while Special Operations officers sent in snatch teams to pluck people from the crowd once numbers had dwindled to around 400.

Although the police website reported 10 people arrested, Minivan News witnessed up to 20 people taken into police custody before the protest ended around 2:30am.

Picture by Ranreendhoo Maldives

Following criticism of police arrest procedures at the Parliamentary Privileges Subcommittee yesterday, the police today released a series of statements stating that strip-searching, testing for drugs and handcuffing were legal, and “not inhumane.”

The MDP has alleged arbitrary and frequent use of pepper spray, beating, strip-searching, frisking, handcuffing and drug tests of their supporters arrested at protests.

Arrests “not inhumane”

In a statement today, the police said they were authorised to frisk and strip-searches under Articles 32-36 of the the Police Powers Act. The articles state that police are authorised to frisk and carry out strip searches if the police have reasonable grounds to believe the detainee may hold an object to harm themselves or another, or an object for intoxication, or an object to commit an illegal object.

In a separate statement today, the police said that handcuffing is not an “inhumane act” saying the police are authorised under Article 57 of the police powers act to handcuff detainees while they are being transported.

The police said they are also authorised to ask for urine samples to do drug tests if there were reasonable grounds to suspect the detainee was intoxicated, even if the individual was not detained on suspicion of drug use.

Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizz meanwhile told the Parliamentary Privileges Committee that police could only carry out drug tests if the detainee was arrested for suspected drug abuse, or if police had reasonable grounds to suspect detainees arrested on different charges have used drugs.

Police carried out a drug test on Haveeru journalist during one of this week’s earlier protests, and requested a urine sample from MP Ali Azim.

Police also expressed concern about media taking photographs of the operations.

“Who is taking these photos? She’s snapping pictures of everything we do,” one SO officer objected to a colleague.

“Let her take photos, what can she do with them, right?” the second officer remarked.

“We should just take her in,” said a third.

The Supreme Court has yet to make a decision on Gasim Ibrahim’s bid to annul the first round of results after he placed third, despite the court concluding the hearings last week.

Earlier this week, court media officials offered assurances that the case was being worked on “around the clock”.

Speaking at a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) event on the island of Maafushi yesterday, presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen suggested that street protests would not influence the outcome.

“The Maldives will obey the rulings of the judicial courts. Street rulings will not work in the Maldives,” local media reported Yameen as saying.

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Don’t interfere in Maldives’ internal affairs, acting Foreign Minister tells UN General Assembly

The Maldivian government has called on the UN to ensure “non-interference in internal affairs of sovereign states.”

In her address to the UN General Assembly on October 1, Acting Foreign Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela referred to “concerted efforts by external forces to prevent the emergence of an indigenous democratic system of governance in the Maldives [by] attempting to shape the outcome of, what is, an internal issue”.

Dr Shakeela’s comments follow global concern over the Supreme Court’s indefinite suspension of a constitutionally-mandated run-off election scheduled for September 28. Police enforced the order on Saturday by surrounding the Elections Commission with orders to storm the building and seize the ballot papers unless the commission capitulated.

“Democracy consolidation is not just about holding elections. Nor is it about having a democratically sound Constitution. In the Maldives too, we quickly found that changing the Constitution, or having a multi-party election, did not instill democratic values within our society,” Dr Shakeela told the UN.

“For democracy to be cultivated and consolidated, the supremacy of the constitution must be upheld above all. The institutional deficiencies we face, must be addressed within constitutional provisions. And the political leadership must sustain an unshakable commitment to the principles and values of states.”

Presidential candidate Gasim Ibrahim, who placed third in the first round with 24.07 percent of the vote, went to the Supreme Court seeking to annul the vote alleging widespread electoral fraud and declaring “God Willing, Gasim will be President on November 11”.

He was swiftly joined in court by second-placed Abdulla Yameen, who received 25.35 percent of the vote, and Attorney General Azima Shukoor, Yameen’s former lawyer. Siding against the Elections Commission, the three alleged electoral irregularities despite the unanimous positive assessments of local and international election observers, including the UN itself.

In a statement, UN Secretary General Bai Ki-moon said he was concerned about the Supreme Court’s postponement of the second round, given that the first round was “widely recognised as a success by international and domestic election observers.”

“It is of the utmost importance that the will of the people be respected in deciding the future of the country. These are pivotal elections for reaffirming the democratic process in the Maldives,” stated the UN Secretary General.

Dr Shakeela meanwhile told the UN that “Some of the parties that competed in the election have identified serious issues with the conduct of the elections, and have asked the Supreme Court of the Maldives for a ruling. We are expecting the Court to come out with a ruling in the coming days. The integrity of the second round of our Presidential election cannot be maintained without ensuring the integrity of the first round through Constitutional means. We await the Supreme Court’s verdict to continue the electoral process.”

Dr Shakeela went on to accuse “some external forces” of “attempting to shape the outcome of, what in effect is, an internal issue. The Maldives is small. Our democracy is at an infant stage. Our institutions are young. That does not, however, mean that larger countries have a right to intervene and attempt to dictate outcomes in domestic affairs of the Maldives.”

Protests resulting from the suspension of the election have meanwhile led to other countries including the UK, China, Canada and Australia to upgrade their travel advisories.

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