Tag: umar naseer

Home Minister refuses to cooperate with disobedience trial

Home Minister Umar Naseer has refused to cooperate with a Criminal Court trial on charges of disobedience to order.

The Prosecutor General’s Office charged Naseer with violating Article 8 (a) of the 1968 General Laws for his public call in January 2012 to storm the military headquarters. The clause prohibits speech or writing contravening Islamic tenets.

In a previous hearing, Naseer asked Judge Abdulla Didi to annul Article 8 (a), claiming the clause contradicted the freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution.

Didi ruled Naseer’s claim does not classify as a point of procedure and has ordered the trial continue.

Naseer’s lawyer Adam Asif has refused to proceed with the trial until Didi’s decision on the procedural matter is issued in writing. Asif has said that Naseer intends to appeal the decision.

Didi today declined despite these repeated requests and adjourned the hearing.

On Thursday (June12), Didi had issued an arrest warrant ordering the police to present Naseer at court today after he missed three consecutive hearings. The home minister had been out of the country on official visits during all three hearings.

The police made no move to arrest the minister on his return to the Maldives yesterday, with Naseer travelling to the court this morning with a bodyguard escort.

Meanwhile, President Abdulla Yameen has urged his ministers not to leave the country on court dates.

“I’ve told all ministers. But I have not had an opportunity to tell Umar Naseer. With recent events, I’ve said even if you have an official visit, cancel it if you have to attend court. And even on private visits, if it’s a family medical emergency, get permission from the court to leave,” he said.

Disobedience to order

Rejecting Naseer’s point of procedure, Didi said the General Laws stand until the People’s Majlis decides to annul the law.

The Criminal Court would interpret the law if needed, Didi said and ordered the state and Naseer to proceed with the trial and to present witnesses.

Asif asked for the decision in writing, stating that Naseer would like to appeal the court’s decision. The constitution guarantees right of appeal to all individuals, Asif argued, stating that Naseer will only proceed with the trial after appealing Didi’s decision.

Didi said he took Naseer’s refusal to proceed with the trial as a refusal to speak in his own defense.

He adjourned the hearing after allowing the state to present video evidence of Naseer’s speech, and said he would hold one more hearing for concluding statements and issue a verdict in a separate hearing.

If convicted under Article 88 of the penal code, Naseer faces imprisonment, banishment or house arrest not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding MVR150 (US$10).

Attorney General Mohamed Anil last week asked the parliament to annul several clauses of the General Laws. Asif claims Article 8 (a) is among the clauses up for annulment.

Arrest warrant

The heated trial comes in the aftermath of the dissolution of a coalition agreement between Naseer’s Jumhooree Party (JP) and the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

Four ministers were appointed to the cabinet on JP slots, but following recent defections and dismissals, Naseer remains as the only JP minister.

The JP’s backing had been crucial in Yameen winning November’s presidential polls, although the JP’s agreement with the PPM fell apart in May following JP leader Gasim Ibrahim’s decision to stand for the Majlis speakers position.

Naseer had joined the JP in 2013 after losing to Yameen in the PPM’s presidential primaries.

Following this defeat, he held a rally in which he alleged widespread vote rigging and accused Yameen of illicit connections with gangs and the illegal drug trade.

Naseer also implicated Yameen in MP Dr Afrasheem Ali’s death, claiming he had witnessed a meeting between Yameen and an individual who was under investigation for Afrasheem’s brutal death.

The PPM expelled Naseer after he refused to apologise for his comments.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Eva Abdulla has asked the Majlis to summon Naseer on his comments on Afrasheem’s death and progress on the investigation.

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Home Minister returns to Malé, High Court rejects appeal to overturn arrest warrant

Home Minister Umar Naseer has returned to the Maldives from an official visit to the Netherlands, although police have made no move to arrest the minister as per a Criminal Court arrest warrant.

The warrant orders the Maldives Police Services to arrest and present the minister at the Criminal Court on Tuesday (June 17) to answer charges of disobedience to order. The case has been scheduled for 11am tomorrow.

Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Didi issued the warrant on Thursday while Naseer was away in the Netherlands to source sniffer dogs and body scanners.

Naseer’s lawyer Adam Asif appealed the warrant at the High Court, but the court rejected the appeal today claiming an arrest warrant cannot be appealed.

Article 56 of the constitution grants individuals the right to appeal convictions, sentences, judgments or orders by the courts, but arrest warrants do not fall under the category, said the High Court.

The police were not responding to calls at the time of press.

Naseer had failed to attend three consecutive hearings. Two of the hearings were scheduled during Naseer’s Netherlands visit from June 9 – 16.

The minister is accused of calling for 2,000 volunteers on January 23, 2012 to storm the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) headquarters with 50 ladders during the two weeks of protests sparked by the military’s controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

If convicted, Naseer faces banishment, imprisonment or house arrest not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding MVR150 (US$ 10) under Article 88(a) of the penal code.

He denied charges during the first hearing into the case on April 27. At a second hearing on May 22, he asked the court to strike down the clause he is being prosecuted under.

The Prosecutor General’s Office is pressing disobedience to order charges under Article 88 of the Penal Code with reference to Article 8 (a) of the General Laws.

The General Laws was passed in 1968 and the clause in question prohibits writing or speech against any tenet of Islam.

Meanwhile, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Eva Abdulla has tabled a motion at the People’s Majlis, to summon Naseer for questioning over comments he made in 2013 implicating President Abdulla Yameen in the death of MP Afrasheem Ali in 2012.

Naseer lost to Yameen in the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) primaries in April 2013. He held a rally in which he alleged widespread vote rigging and accused Yameen of illicit connections with gangs and the illegal drug trade.

Yameen met with an individual accused of Afrasheem’s murder at the PPM offices, Naseer said at the time.

He was later expelled from the PPM and joined the Jumhooree Party (JP), backing tourism tycoon Gasim Ibrahim for the presidency. The JP placed third in November’s presidential polls, before throwing its weight behind the PPM at the eleventh hour in exchange for a 35 percent stake in government.

Naseer was appointed home minister on a slot allocated for the JP although the coalition agreement was dissolved in May following a dispute over Gasim’s decision to stand for the Majlis speaker position.

Two of the four JP ministers have now joined the PPM and its ally the Maldives Development Alliance.

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Home Minister appeals arrest warrant

Home Minister Umar Naseer has appealed a Criminal Court arrest warrant at the High Court today.

The arrest warrant issued on Thursday orders the Maldives Police Services to arrest Naseer and present him at the Criminal Court at 11:00am on Tuesday (June 17), a High Court official said.

Naseer – currently in the Netherlands on an official visit – has failed to attend three consecutive hearings at the Criminal Court to answer charges of disobedience to order.

The Home Minister was abroad during all three hearings.

Home Ministry’s Media Coordinator Thazmeel Abdul Samad told Minivan News on Saturday that Naseer is not a fugitive from justice and will attend hearings willingly once he returns from the Netherlands on June 16.

The Maldives Police Services has acted differently in different arrest warrant cases.

The police arrested former President Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, and former MPs Abdulla Jabir and Hamid Abdul Ghafoor on the Criminal Court’s orders in 2013. But when the court ordered MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam be arrested in March, the police asked him to present himself at the police headquarters on the day in question and escorted him from the police station to the court.

The police have refused to comment on the arrest warrant.

Naseer was appointed as Home Minister on a cabinet slot allocated for the Jumhooree Party (JP) as part of the now defunct coalition agreement signed with the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

Two of the four ministers appointed on JP slots have switched to the PPM and its ally Maldivian Development Alliance (MDA) following the dissolution of the coalition.

Naseer joined the JP in 2013 after losing the PPM’s presidential primary to incumbent President Abdulla Yameen.

The PPM expelled Naseer from the party after he alleged the primaries were rigged and accused Yameen of illicit connections with gangs and the illegal drug trade and vowed to bring a “white revolution” within the party.

Speaking to Minivan News in January Naseer said his earlier comments were “political rhetoric.”

In March, Naseer announced he will run for the presidency in 2023 but pledged to back Yameen for re-election in 2018.

“I am not a political threat to President Yameen. I am ready to work to help President Yameen get re-elected to presidency in 2018. What I may have said before, and the competition that existed between us before is a completely different matter. That has come to an end,” he said in an interview on state broadcaster Television Maldives’ Friday variety show ‘Heyyambo.’

Naseer is accused of calling for 2,000 volunteers on January 23, 2012 to storm the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) headquarters with 50 ladders during the two weeks of protests sparked by the military’s controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

On the night in question, Umar told anti-government demonstrators in front of the Maldives Monetary Authority building that they should use tactics to tire out the soldiers on duty before climbing into the military barracks, at which point “the people inside will be with us.”

“From today onward, we will turn this protest into one that achieves results,” Naseer had said.

“We know how people overthrow governments. Everything needed to topple the government of this country is now complete.”

After he was questioned by the police in September 2012, Naseer told the press that “there will be no evidence” to prove he committed a criminal offence.

“In my statement I did not mention where to place the ladders or where to climb in using the ladders,” Naseer had said.

If convicted, Naseer faces banishment, imprisonment or house arrest not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding MVR150 (US$ 10) under Article 88(a) of the penal code.

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Umar Naseer is not a fugitive from justice, says Home Ministry

Home Minister Umar Naseer is not a fugitive from justice, the Home Ministry has said in response to local media reports of an arrest warrant to present Naseer at court.

Naseer – currently in the Netherlands on an official visit – has failed to attend three consecutive hearings at the Criminal Court to answer charges of disobedience to order.

Local media have claimed the Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant ordering the police to present the Naseer at court, but the Home Ministry and the Maldives Police Services declined to confirm if a warrant was issued.

Instead, Home Ministry’s Media Coordinator Thazmeel Abdul Samad said Naseer is not hiding from the courts and will attend hearings willingly once he returns from the Netherlands on June 16.

Naseer is accused of calling for 2,000 volunteers on January 23, 2012 to storm the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) headquarters with 50 ladders during the two weeks of protests sparked by the military’s controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

During a first hearing into the case on April 27, Naseer denied charges. At a second hearing on May 22, he asked the court to strike down the clause he is being prosecuted under.

The Prosecutor General’s Office is pressing disobedience to order charges under Article 88 of the Penal Code with reference to Article 8 (a) of the General Laws.

The General Laws was passed in 1968 and the clause in question prohibits writing or speech against any tenet of Islam.

The Criminal Court scheduled a hearing on May 25, but Naseer left the country on an official trip and asked Judge Abdulla Didi to delay the trial.

A hearing was scheduled again for June 10, but the minister left the country on June 9 to source sniffer dogs and body scanners from the Netherlands.

The Home Ministry had sent a letter to the Criminal Court informing Judge Didi of Naseer’s absence on June 10, but Didi decided to go ahead with the hearing.

He argued the minister’s absence was unacceptable given his previous absence on May 25, and warned Naseer’s lawyer Adam Asif that action would be taken if the minister fails to attend the next hearing scheduled for June 12.

“I sincerely appeal to you not to force us to have the minister placed under detention and presented to court,” Didi said.

If convicted, Naseer faces banishment, imprisonment or house arrest not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding MVR150 (US$ 10) under article 88(a) of the penal code.

Naseer was appointed as Home Minister on a cabinet slot allocated for the Jumhooree Party (JP) on a now defunct coalition agreement with ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

Two other ministers appointed on JP slots have switched to the PPM and its ally Maldivian Development Alliance (MDA) following the dissolution of the coalition.

On January 23, 2012, Naseer told anti-government demonstrators in front of the Maldives Monetary Authority building that they should use tactics to tire out the soldiers on duty before climbing into the military barracks, at which point “the people inside will be with us.”

“From today onward, we will turn this protest into one that achieves results,” Naseer had said.

“We know how people overthrow governments. Everything needed to topple the government of this country is now complete.”

After he was questioned by the police in September 2012, Naseer told the press that “there will be no evidence” to prove he committed a criminal offence.

“In my statement I did not mention where to place the ladders or where to climb in using the ladders.” Naseer had said.

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Home Minister fails to attend court, leaves on official trip to source sniffer dogs, body scanners

Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer has failed to attend a second court hearing into charges of disobedience to order.

The Home Ministry has reported Naseer left the country last night on an official trip to the Netherlands to source sniffer dogs and body scanner machines for airport security purposes.

Naseer is accused of calling for 2,000 volunteers to storm the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) headquarters with 50 ladders on January 23, 2012 during two weeks of protests following the military’s controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

Judge Abdulla Didi, who is presiding over Naseer’s case, warned action will be taken against the minister if he fails to attend the next hearing of the case, scheduled to be held on Thursday, June 12.

“I sincerely appeal to you not to force us to have the minister placed under detention and presented to court,” Abdulla Didi said to Naseer’s lawyer, Adam Asif, in court today.

The Home Ministry, however, said it had notified the court in advance that Naseer will be out of the country from June 9 to June 16. The Criminal Court has rescheduled hearings in previous cases if any of the parties are unable to attend.

But the judge stated that Naseer had gone abroad previously on an official trip after receiving summons for the last scheduled hearing.

Although the Home Ministry had sent letters notifying the court of Naseer’s absence from the capital in advance, Judge Didi said he did not accept the justification.

Today’s hearing had been scheduled after the Home Ministry had assured that Naseer will be in Male’ from June 8, Didi said adding that he did not accept Naseer’s absence for an official trip as a sufficient reason for a second absence.

The Home Ministry’s official website has issued statement saying that Naseer will be in the Netherlands until June 16 on an official trip.

During the trip, he will be meeting with OD Security – a company which builds body scanners to combat drugs and terrorism, and the K10 Working Dogs – a canine supplier for global government agencies.

Naseer is also scheduled to visit Abu Dhabi on the trip, where he will be meeting with the United Arab Emirates Minister of Interior Lt General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

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“Invisible war” being waged against nationalism and faith, says home minister

An invisible war is being waged against the Maldives’ nationalism, claimed Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer when commemorating Martyr’s Day last Thursday (May 29).

“We are under attack even today, at this very moment, and this minute and second – but in a different way. Today the targets are our thinking, creed, the good views we hold of our nation – the love for the nation, the respect for national history.”

“Today there are great efforts destroy these. This is an invisible war, weapons that cannot be touched,” said Naseer during an event held at the Olympus Theater in Malé.

Martyr’s day has been officially commemorated since 1979, in remembrance of Sultan Ali VI – commonly known as Ali Rasgefaanu – who is said to have died fighting Portuguese invaders in 1558.

The occasion was also observed by the police service, with the controversial Sheikh Adam Shameem Ibrahim advising officers of the importance of martyrdom in Islam.

Additionally, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon warned of attempts by outside actors to enslave the nations politically and economically.

Beware of hidden enemies: home minister

The four pillars on which the Maldives stands are the Dhivehi language, Islam, the Dhivehi culture, and independence said the home minister.

Naseer stated that the foundation of Maldivian culture was Islam alongside social values such as respecting elders and women, and showing kindness towards one another.

Naseer requested people be vigilant of anyone who “casts a gaze filled with hatred” towards national properties, land, religion, and peace.

“Today we will have to face such experiences within the Maldives and from abroad. This is today’s war. You will not be martyred in this war, instead you will face death. Thinking and ideologies will be corrupted. The result would be unhappiness in both worlds,” said Naseer.

The home minister’s sentiments were also reflected in Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon’s statements on the occasion.

Recalling the sacrifices of various national heroes Dunya said that today’s globalised attacks were not waged with guns.

“In today’s world, most of the time we are uncertain about how or from where the enemies attack [us]. Attacks indented to enslave [us] come in many different forms,” said Dunya.

“In today’s world, instead of colonisation countries are being enslaved economically and politically.”

Asking whether a nation dependent on others for its basic needs can be considered independent, Dunya noted the importance of an economically independent Maldives that can protect its religion and identity.

Police commemoration

The Maldives Police Service also held a special parade at Iskandar Koshi on Thursday in order to mark the day.

Chief Guest at the ceremony, attended by Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed and Deputy Commissioner of Police Ahmed Saudi, was the controversial preacher Sheikh Adam Shameem Ibrahim.

Addressing the police parade, Sheikh Shameem said police officers should always posses the will to be martyred in defending the people and the nation.

Remarking that the country was passed onto the present generation with the hard work of Mujahidin who were martyred in defending Islam and the nation, the sheikh explained the high regard for martyrdom in Islam.

Shameem has recently prayed for the acceptance of the martyrdom of Maldivians killed in the Syrian civil war, stating that anyone who fights to glorify Islam against disbelievers are Mujahideen (Holy warriors).

He also said on his Facebook page that Nusayri (Shiah Muslims) of Syria are disbelievers “worse than Christians and Jews”.

Sheikh Shameem first came to public attention following his ‘mega-lecture’ ‘Andalus‘, during the 2013 presidential elections.

Live broadcasts of this lecture were interrupted by authorities for violating state broadcaster’s guideline, while the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party condemned the lecture accusing Shameem of inciting hatred in order to sway the electorate.

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Open prisons and electronic tagging part of plans to overhaul jail

Inmates at Maafushi Island Prison are to be categorised into four groups according to security risk, with the least dangerous criminals to be tagged and released on work and study programmes.

“This is a huge change to the prison system,” Naseer told Haveeru adding that the reforms will reduce state expenditure on the rehabilitation system.

Older inmates or inmates nearing the end of the sentence will be housed in an open jail on a separate island, Home Minister Umar Naseer told local news agency Haveeru today.

Inmates in category two will be allowed to work on the industrial Thilafushi Island, and the most dangerous criminals or category one criminals will continue to serve their sentences behind bars in Maafushi prison.

“This will be advantageous to the state budget. Secondly, it will allow criminals to undergo rehabilitation and integrate back into society. With this, when inmates are released from jail, they will have undergone one of the programs,” the Home Minister told Haveeru.

The inmates who are to be released on the work and study programme will have an electronic tag fixed to their legs. In addition to undergoing a security screening, they will also have to be nearing the end of their sentence.

“They will have to do one or the other [work or study]. If they are working, we have to know where they are going. We also have to know the exact route they are taking. Through the tag, we can track which streets they are walking on,” he said.

The home minister said the tags have been tested during his trip to Singapore earlier this week. An expert team is to visit the Maldives to demonstrate how the tags work to government offices, he said.

The open jail is to be established on an uninhabited island. The government will provide modest shelter, run a mosque, and establish an administrative office and a security post. The inmates will cook for themselves and be self- sufficient, but will not be allowed to leave the island, Naseer said.

“These are people who pose no harm to society. And elderly inmates who are weak,” he said.

Plans are underway to designate an island for the open jail. The Home Ministry is currently working on a policy paper on the matter to be submitted to the social council at the President’s Office.

Category two criminals will be provided employment with the Road Development Corporation and will be put to work and housed on Thilafushi.

The Maldives Correctional Services (MCS) and the corporation have already signed an agreement to transfer jobs from expatriate workers to inmates.

“The Road Development Corporation’s labour quarters will be changed into prison labour quarters. That means there will be a fence around the quarters,” he said.

Inmates will be released during the day for work and brought back to the labor quarters at night. The renovation is expected to cost MVR6 million (US$ 389,105) and will be funded through the state budget.

Approximately 50 inmates are already employed on Thilafushi, he said.

The reforms will reduce the prison population from 1000 inmates to 300 or 400 inmates, the home minister said.

Naseer has overseen a series of radical changes including a decision to implement the death penalty.

New regulations formulated in April have ended a sixty-year moratorium on the practice. The Maldives Correctional Services is now preparing facilities to implement the death sentence through legal injection.

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Former home minister questions government’s sincerity regarding death penalty

Former Home Minister Hassan Afeef has questioned the government’s intention to carry out the death sentence under recently introduced regulations.

“I think they are just playing to the minds of the people because they say they want to protect the religion and protect the country as one of their campaign pledges,” he said.

Afeef – home minister between 2010 and 2012 – also questioned the ability of the current tainted judiciary to provide the certainty required for implementation of the death penalty under Islamic law.

“The judiciary might pass the sentence, there may be a verdict, but I don’t think the current regime will carry it out,” said Afeef.

“They know how politically influenced the judiciary is as the present government are the people who politically influence these judicial decisions – so they know why they make these decisions.”

Afeef’s comments follow further international headlines regarding the new regulations.

The AFP has described the recent murder conviction of a minor to be a “test case” for the new law, although the home minister had previously said that the rules will be applied retroactively to all pending death sentences.

In a statement released yesterday, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) joined the growing international criticism accusing the Maldives government of being out-of-step with its international commitments.

“The decision to reinstate the death penalty in the Maldives, in particular against minors, is an outrage and gravely at odds with the growing international momentum towards abolition,” said FIDH President Karim Lahidji.

Lack of capacity

Speaking with Minivan News today, Afeef said the government’s attempts to carry out death sentences in accordance with Islamic Shariah were not possible with the criminal justice system as it is.

Afeef argued that those found guilty of such crimes beyond any doubt should be punished according to Islamic law, but questioned the capacity of the police and the judiciary to provide this certainty.

“According to Islam, when you pass the death penalty it has to be proven beyond doubt that the person has committed that crime and, according to the present situation – the present judiciary and the autocratic regime – we may find a situation where the person sentenced may not be the actual culprit,” he said.

The impartiality of the police and the judiciary has continued to be questioned this month, with the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party describing failures investigate the multiple charges against Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed as “awe-inspiring”.

The statement said the failure of the police and the Judicial Services Commission to conclude investigations or to prosecute Judge Hameed were a clear indication of the status of the Maldives’ criminal justice system.

“Such a judge sitting on the supreme court bench is not recognised by any judicial or legal system in the world. And surely it is the general public who are facing injustice because of this,” said the party.

Hameed – who stands accused of appearing in a sex-tape as well as corruption – adjudicated on both the annulment the first round of last year’s presidential elections as well as the dismissal of the elections commissioner prior to parliamentary elections in March.

Both incidents were denounced by the international community, which has consistently called for judicial reform. Current Attorney General Mohamed Anil has pledged review and reform of the courts as part of the government’s legislative agenda.

Dheen and Qawm

Home Minister Umar Naseer’s January announcement that the government was making preparations to end the country’s 60-year moratorium on the death penalty culminated in the publication of new procedural regulations last month.

Following the gazetting of the new guidelines, Naseer said the chances of killing an innocent person after completing all the procedures in the regulation were “far-fetched” and “almost impossible”.

The regulation – which only allows implementation of death penalty when the sentence is delivered by the Supreme Court – will establish a death penalty committee to assure all procedures have been adhered to.

Mediation between the Islamic Ministry and the victim’s family is also mandated, with family members who are ‘warith’ (heirs in Shariah law) given an opportunity to pardon the convict with or without receiving blood money.

After having previously been opposed to the practice, President Abdulla Yameen announced a “change of heart” just weeks after winning his party’s presidential primary race last year.

Suggesting that “murder has to be punished with murder” in order to “save society”, Yameen embarked on a campaign of ‘dheen and qawm’ – religion and country – winning a drawn-out election in the second round last November.

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Death penalty can be implemented starting today: Home Minister

The death penalty can be implemented in the Maldives starting today following the publication of procedural regulations in the government gazette, Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer has said.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Naseer said the chances of killing an innocent person after completing all the procedures in the regulation – titled “procedural regulation on investigating and penalising the crime of murder” – was “far-fetched” and “almost impossible”.

The regulation was formulated under the Police Act and the Clemency Act with the objective of specifying the procedures for investigating murders and implementing death penalty, and came into force today.

While Maldives has been maintaining an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty since 1953, several people have been sentenced to death over the years. The common practice had been for the president to commute all death sentences to life imprisonment through powers vested in him by Clemency Act.

With the new regulation, the president will no longer have this authority if a person is sentenced to death for murder by the Supreme Court, Naseer noted.

Both President Abdulla Yameen and Vice President Mohamed Jameel have expressed their support for implementing death penalty.

Procedures

The regulation only allows implementation of death penalty for intentional homicide or premeditated murder and only when the sentence is delivered by the Supreme Court.

A death penalty committee comprised of the Prosecutor General, Chief Justice (or someone appointed by him) and the Commissioner of Prisons have to send a written confirmation to the president that all procedures of the regulation have been followed.

After receiving this confirmation, the president is required to send an execution order to the Commissioner of Prisons within three days.

Within seven days of receiving this order, the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) has to carry out the execution using lethal injection.

Naseer said the executions will take place at a building in Maafushi Prison, which is currently under construction.

Mediation process

The regulation requires Ministry of Islamic Affairs to mediate between the victim’s family and the convict.

Through this process, which reflects the Shariah principle of qisas (retaliation), family members who are ‘warith’ (heirs in Shariah law) will be given an opportunity to pardon the convict with or without receiving blood money.

The execution will not be carried out even if a single member of the family chooses to pardon the convict.

The family is given a ten-day period following the mediation to come to a decision.

“A first step”

According to the regulation, implementation of death penalty can be delayed if the convict is underage, till he or she is 18-years-old and if the convict is pregnant, until she gives birth and the child is two years old.

If a medical board appointed by the Commissioner of Prisons finds the convict is of very weak health, the sentence will be delayed till he recovers.

Responding to a question about implementing stricter punishments for other crimes as well, Naseer said the decision to implement death penalty for murder is just a first step and noted that “the Quran was also revealed through different stages.”

“Look at this as a first step. God willing, this government will take all necessary action for keeping peace and creating a safe environment for our citizens.” He said.

Naseer also noted that there maybe some countries and organisations which would be concerned over the decision, but said the Maldives will go ahead with it as a sovereign nation and a 100 percent Islamic country.

“There will be some parties who will be concerned about this. Concerned countries, concerned NGOs. Some counties are not too pleased with it [death penalty, but we will know about the issue of executing people in this country, the overcrowding of prisons in this country, how much the criminal environment is more lively in this country. And we are a hundred percent Islamic country and there are certain values that we all believe in,” Naseer said.

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