Ex defence minister’s appeal underway

The High Court today began hearings into an appeal filed by ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim over a 11-year-jail term on weapons smuggling charges.

Nazim, who maintains he was framed by rogue police officers, highlighted several lapses in due process, including the criminal court’s refusal to call defence witnesses, discrepancies in testimony by anonymous police officers, and the police’s alleged failure to follow the law and standard procedures in the midnight raid on Nazim’s apartment.

The retired colonel was charged with smuggling weapons after masked police officers said they had discovered a pistol, three bullets, and a pen drive with documents detailing a plot to assassinate President Abdulla Yameen, inside a bedside drawer in Nazim’s apartment on January 18.

The rushed trial has been widely criticised for apparent lack of due process.

Five high court judges are presiding over Nazim’s appeal.

Presiding Judge Abdul Ganee Mohamed said hearings will be held daily, as agreed by Nazim’s lawyers and the Prosecutor General’s Office. Hearings are expected to conclude within the week and a verdict is expected soon.

Nazim was sentenced to jail on March 27.

He claims a team of Specialist Operations (SO) police officers had planted the weapons at his apartment on the orders of tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb.

Adeeb and Nazim had fallen out over the tourism minister’s alleged use of police officers to commit criminal activities including the cutting down of all of Malé City’s Areca palms in October last year, Nazim has alleged.

Adeeb has denied Nazim’s claims.

At today’s hearing, Nazim’s lawyers said the criminal court issued search warrant was invalid as police officers had provided false information to obtain it.

The court warrant was issued based on information provided by a senior officer and  not based on intelligence reports, lawyers said.

While some police officers had said they did not know which floor they were to search for the weapons, another officer had testified in court that they were only instructed to search the eight floor of the apartment building, lawyers said.

The court warrant had authorized a search of the entire building. The discrepancies in police testimony on the floor to be searched showed they had lied to obtain the warrant and also demonstrated that the police were aware they would be searching the ex-defence minister’s apartment, lawyers said.

 

Nazim’s lawyers also said that criminal court judges prevented them from questioning the validity of the court warrant.

Police officers did not follow standard procedures during the raid on the apartment, lawyers said. A copy of the warrant was not provided to Nazim, and officers spent time unsupervised in Nazim’s bedroom before the search, they said.

Charges against Afaaf Abdul Majeed were dropped at the first hearing, claiming evidence from the pen drive indicated she had no connection to the weapons.

Lawyers argued charges should have been dropped against Nazim, too, claiming a police officer, who had conducted the analysis of the documents found in the pen drive, had said there was no evidence to suggest the weapons belonged to Nazim. The media was barred from the hearing in which the data analysis expert had testified.

Lawyers said they were blocked from mounting a defence because judges refused to call defence witnesses and because several key police witnesses were anonymous.

Noting discrepancies in testimony provided by police officers, Nazim’s lawyers accused them of lying under oath. Lawyers also accused public prosecutors of coaching witnesses, as they had admitted to meeting with witnesses before they appeared in court.

The criminal court prevented the ex-defence minister from making an independent analysis of the weapons and from collecting defence statements.

Public prosecutors will respond to Nazim’s appeal tomorrow.

Judges Abdul Ganee, Abdulla Hameed, Shuaib Hussain Zakariyya, Abbas Shareef and Abdul Rauf Ibrahim are overseeing Nazim’s appeal.

Two judges who oversaw Nazim’s trial, Abdulla Didi and Sujau Usman, were promoted to the High Court on June 8.

Nazim’s trial also coincided with a terrorism trial against ex-president Mohamed Nasheed. The opposition leader was sentenced to 13 years in jail on March 13.

He was tried by the three judges who oversaw Nazim’s trial.

The pair’s imprisonment has triggered a political crisis with daily protests from February through May, two mass demonstrations and hundreds of arrests.

Foreign governments, international organizations including the UN, and civil society groups have criticised the trials for apparent lack of due process. President Yameen, however, insists he has no constitutional authority to release the pair and says they must exhaust all appeal processes.

Nasheed’s lawyers were blocked from filing an appeal when the criminal court failed to issue the required case documents within a shortened 10-day appeal period.

The former president was temporarily transferred to house arrest today.

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Jailed ex-minister Nazim to travel abroad for treatment

Jailed former defense minister Mohamed Nazim has been authorised to travel overseas for medical treatment for a potentially life threatening condition.

He will be allowed to leave the country for a set period of time, a media official from the Maldives Correctional Service said.

However, the jailed politician’s family said they had not yet been told about his permission to leave.

“The family has not been officially informed of the [authorisation] to leave the country. We are working on it,” said Adam Azim, Nazim’s brother.

The family declined to reveal details of Nazim’s medical condition, but said it needs to be monitored and treated.

“We are very concerned. But the government doesn’t seem to feel any urgency at all,” he said.

Nazim was arrested and fired from the cabinet in January after police found a gun during a controversial raid on his home, and in March was handed an 11-year jail sentence for smuggling illegal weapons.

After the midnight police raid in January, officers said they had confiscated a pistol, bullets and a pen drive containing information that Nazim was plotting a coup d’etat and planning to harm the president, police commissioner and tourism minister.

Nazim says the items were planted, and the opposition has been campaigning for his release.

He requested permission to travel overseas three weeks ago after his doctor advised him to undergo some tests unavailable in the Maldives.

Nazim’s lawyers are meanwhile compiling their appeal against his sentence.

“Lawyers are working on the appeal round the clock, listening to recordings, and hoping to file by Thursday or Sunday,” said Azim.

The correctional service said Nazim’s family would need to notify them of which country he plans to travel to so that they can check it is a country approved for Maldivian prisoner visits.

No prison guards will travel with him, but the correctional service and a guardian from the family will come to an agreement under which the guardian will be responsible for the inmate.

The spokesman said that inmates are usually allotted three months for overseas treatment, but that the medical board can extend the period if treatment is taking longer.

Nazim’s family had a monthly visit with him on Monday at Humafushi jail for two hours and reported he was in “high spirits”.

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Weapons, alcohol and petrol bottles planted to disrupt peaceful protests, says MDP

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has claimed weapons, alcohol and petrol bottles found by the police during opposition protests over the weekend were planted to disrupt peaceful protests.

Speaking to Minivan News, MDP Vice President Mohamed Shifaz described the weapons find as “an attempt to instil fear among the public.”

On Friday, Specialist Operations (SO) police officers claimed to have found knives, daggers and iron rods in a gunny bag hidden among the trees at Usfasgandu, minutes before the MDP and Jumhooree Party-led (JP) demonstration started.

Later that night, on a live blog covering the mass protests, police claimed to have found a cardboard box containing four bottles of whiskey and one bottle of vodka on the pavement outside the Islamic Bank at 7pm.

Last night, the police also found six bottles containing petrol hidden in a pickup, a few blocks from an opposition protest.

“It is well known that police do these kinds of things to disperse peaceful gatherings,” Shifaz said.

A police spokesperson said they are conducting a forensic analysis of the weapons discovered at Usfasgandu, and said it was “not possible to say whether there is any link between the protesters and the weapons right now.”

Over 10,000 people attended Friday’s opposition rally. Protesters called for former President Mohamed Nasheed, former Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim and MDP MP Ali Azim’s release. Nasheed and Nazim are in jail until the conclusion of a terrorism trial while Azim was arrested from a protest last week.

Friday’s protest ended unexpectedly at 6pm, but hundreds continued scattered protests in Malé calling for Nasheed’s release.

Gang disruption

At 8:00pm a group of young men barged into the crowd, attacked protesters and journalists and vandalised opposition-aligned Raajje TV’s equipment, cutting off the station’s live feed for 20 minutes. Some of the young men had their faces covered.

Shifaz said the young men were “gangsters” and were working alongside the police to disrupt the protests.

“People in the crowd heard the police saying to the attackers ‘why didn’t you leave before we came.’ This is not hearsay. Both protesters and journalists who covered the event heard this,” he alleged.

Some protesters told Minivan News that police arrested the attackers while others said the police arrested the protesters who had tried to obstruct the attackers.

Speaking to the press on Saturday, Superintendent of Police Hamdhoon Rasheed said the police had observed several people attacking protesters.

“We know that some men went into the crowd and disrupted the protests. We are investigating the matter now,” Hamdhoon said.

The police arrested 28 people from the protest, and 10 have been remanded for 10 days. Former MDP President, Dr Ibrahim Didi, is among the detainees in police custody.

A police spokesperson told Minivan News today that “a number of people who tried to disrupt the protest” are among the ten who were remanded.

Dismissing the opposition’s allegations, the police said: “It does not make sense that people who are assigned to protect the people are also attacking them.”

Former Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim has also accused the police of planting weapons at his apartment in order to frame him. The police have denounced the former minister’s claims.

The opposition has long accused the government of illicit connections with Malé’s gangs, especially after Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb led a march of 400 young men through the streets of Malé on February 19.

Adeeb has denied the claims, while ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) supporters insist the opposition’s allegations stem from the lack of youth support for the opposition.

MP Ahmed Mahloof, expelled from the PPM last week for speaking out against the government, said he had been receiving threats from gangsters since his dismissal from the party.

“I have been receiving threats from members of gangs for the past three nights after I spoke against President Abdulla Yameen. But I will not step back in fear,” the Galholu North MP tweeted on Friday.

JP Deputy Leader Ameen Ibrahim yesterday said many ruling party MPs had communicated their desire to join the opposition, but were scared due to intimidation.

“The most secure platform is that of the people. And we, MDP and JP, now hold that platform. The citizens will protect you,” he said.


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Police accuse Nazim of plotting coup, planning to harm senior government officials

Additional reporting by Mohamed Saif Fatih

The Maldives Police Services has accused former Defense Minister (retired) Colonel Mohamed Nazim of plotting to overthrow the government and harm senior government officials.

A police statement issued at 9pm tonight claimed to have found documents in a pen drive confiscated from Nazim’s house during a midnight raid on January 18 suggesting he “was plotting to physically harm senior Maldivian state officials.”

“In addition, police intelligence has received information that he was plotting with various parties to overthrow the government,” the statement read.

During the search, the police claimed to have found a pistol, bullets and an improvised explosive device.

Nazim was arrested at 1:15am on Tuesday (February 10) on charges of treason and possession of illegal weapons. The Criminal Court has extended his detention for 15 days.

At a 9pm press conference at Villa TV tonight, Nazim’s legal team said the former minister is being framed and have implied the firearms found during the raid were planted. Nazim’s remand sentence is to be appealed at the High Court tomorrow.

If convicted, Nazim faces a jail term between seven and ten years. The police have forwarded charges to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

“Framed”

Nazim’s lawyer Maumoon Hameed suggested weapons may have been planted, claiming police officers who raided Nazim’s apartment had spent ten minutes in the bedroom in his absence.  Further, police only announced they had found an improvised explosive device days later after an analysis conducted without independent oversight, he said.

“This is nonsense,” Hameed repeatedly told the press at Villa TV tonight.

After police forced open Nazim’s door at 3:30am on January 18, police immediately entered Nazim’s bedroom, taking him, his wife and two of their children to the living room, Hameed explained.

“After the whole family was taken to the sitting room, the police officers who had initially entered the apartment remained in the master bedroom for approximately ten minutes.”

A team of plainclothes officers arrived afterwards and produced a search warrant. The pistol and three live bullets were found in a bedroom drawer during a search in Nazim’s presence.

The improvised explosive device had not been found during the initial search and the item was not even listed in a record of items found during the search, he said.

The police have maintained they were unaware the apartment they were raiding belonged to the former defense minister and said they had decided not to arrest him at the scene due to his high profile.

Hameed questioned police’s decision to arrest Nazim after the completion of investigations, and claimed such an arrest can only be made through a PG order.

Jumhooree Party MP and former Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz accused the police of unprofessionalism and said: “This was clearly done to frame Colonel Nazim.”

Nazim and his wife’s passports have been confiscated.

His arrest appears to be part of a larger crackdown on political rivals by President Abdulla Yameen. The former minister had revealed his presidential aspirations following the raid on January 18.

Nazim was a central figure in former President Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster. He had delivered an ultimatum to Nasheed demanding an unconditional resignation on February 7, 2012.

He has served as Defense Minister for three years now, first under Nasheed’s successor Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

Following Nazim’s dismissal, Nasheed’s former Chief of Defense Forces Moosa Ali Jaleel was appointed as Defense Minister.

Prior to Nazim’s arrest, President Yameen retired Vice Chief of Defense Forces Ahmed Mohamed and appointed Brigadier General Ahmed Shahid to the post.

Changes brought to military ranks in late January include the dismissal of Major Ahmed Faisal and Captain Ibrahim Naeem from the posts of head of the Special Protection Group (SPG) and Head of Armory, respectively.

Lieutenant Colonels Ahmed ‘Papa’ Fayaz and Abdul Rauf were appointed to head the SPG and Armory respectively.

(PHOTO: MOHAMED NAZIM ADDRESSING MUTINYING SECURITY FORCES ON FEBRUARY 7, 2012)



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Former Defense Minister brought to Police for statement

Former Defense Minister Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim was brought  to the Maldives Police Services (MPS) headquarters to give a statement last night (February 7).

A police media official told Minivan News that Nazim was summoned in order to obtain a statement regarding the ongoing investigation into weapons found at Nazim’s home.

Nazim’s lawyer Maumoon Hameed – who has replaced former Attorney General Azima Shukoor as Nazim’s legal representative – confirmed that he and some of his family members have provided the police with statements.

“I would like to reiterate that Nazim has been assisting the police with this investigation since day one,” Hameed told Minivan News today. “In doing so, Nazim and members of his family provided DNA samples and fingerprints to the police.”

The MPS had previously revealed that it found a pistol and a makeshift explosive device at Nazim’s home during a raid under a court warrant in the early hours of January 18.

Speaking to the media on January 29, Commissioner of Police (CP) Hussein Waheed said that, after searching Nazim’s home using “forced entry”, police found a 9mm handgun, an improvised explosive device, 3 bullets, and a magazine.

Nazim’s lawyer immediately released a statement denying that the items found were there with the former minister’s knowledge.

“The items claimed to have been found at Colonel Mohamed Nazim’s residence by Police Commissioner Hussein Waheed do not belong to Colonel Nazim or his family, and if there were any items were present at the house, they were there without Colonel Nazim’s or his family’s knowledge,” read the statement.

Both Nazim and his wife’s passport have been withheld by authorities, with Commissioner Waheed explaining that police did not consider taking Nazim into custody to be the “best course of action to proceed depending on his profile”.

“However, as you can see we have prevented him from leaving abroad,” he added.

Additionally, Commissioner Waheed said that police had written to the Maldivian National Defense Force to verify ownership of the weaponry, being informed that no items were missing from the military’s inventory.

Police have maintained that the service was not aware it was Nazim’s home until after the raid, noting that they had adhered to international best practices and that Nazim was present during the search.

Waheed described the weapons as “very dangerous”, saying that, while the handgun could be lethal, the explosive device when matched with another component could cause “large scale destruction”.

Nazim – who was also acting health minister and head of immigration – was dismissed from his post on January 20, three days after the police raid.

Speaking to the media at the time, Nazim said that events had shown that no Maldivian was assured of safety and security.

“This gives an alarming signal that entering any house, at any time and to do anything is possible. The defence minister is the most senior official standing beside the president,” he told the press immediately following his dismissal.

Police have since suggested that Nazim was questioned regarding the weapons but that he had failed to adequately respond to the questions.



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Pistol and explosive device found at Nazim’s home, says Police Commissioner

The Maldives Police Services has revealed that it found a pistol and a makeshift explosive device at the home of former defence minister Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim, during a raid on January 18.

Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed told media today that, after searching Nazim’s home using “forced entry”, the police found a 9mm handgun, an improvised explosive device, 3 bullets, and a magazine.

“We did not arrest Nazim at the time because we did not see it as the best course of action to proceed depending on his profile,” said Waheed.  “However as you can see we have prevented him from leaving abroad.”

According to media reports yesterday (January 28), the former minister’s passport was being held by the department of immigration after a court order was issued.

Nazim’s lawyer Maumoon Hameed – who replaced former Attorney General Azima Shukoor this week – has released a statement this evening denying that the items were there with his client’s knowledge.

“The items claimed to have been found at Colonel Mohamed Nazim’s residence by Police Commissioner Hussein Waheed do not belong to Colonel Nazim or his family, and if there were any items were present at the house, they were there without Colonel Nazim’s or his family’s knowledge,” read the statement.

Commissioner Waheed said this afternoon that the MPS had written to the Maldivian National Defense Force to verify ownership of the weaponry, but was informed that no items were missing from the military’s inventory.

He added that the weapons were “very dangerous” and that while the handgun could be lethal, the explosive device when matched with another component could cause “large scale destruction”.

The commissioner also revealed that a pen drive had been confiscated during the search, containing information that could help the investigation.

“We are still proceeding with the investigation of the case, but we plan to file it with the Prosecutor General’s Office as soon as the investigation is done,” said Waheed.

He maintained that the service was not aware that it was Nazim’s home until after entering, but noted that they had adhered to international best practices and that Nazim was present during the search.

Nazim – who was also acting health minister and head of immigration – was dismissed from his post on January 20, three days after police raid.

Speaking to the media at the time, Nazim said that events had shown no Maldivian was assured of safety and security.

“This gives an alarming signal that entering any house, at any time and to do anything is possible. The defence minister is the most senior official standing beside the president,” he told the press immediately following his dismissal.

Police have since suggested that Nazim was questioned regarding the weapons but that he had failed to adequately respond to the questions.

Nazim is currently being represented by lawyer Hameed – nephew of President Abdulla Yameen – after Azima Shakoor dropped the case yesterday citing “personal reasons”.

*Original article updated at 8:10pm to include a statement from Nazim’s lawyer



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Five suspects arrested in connection with gang violence

Police arrested four suspects with drugs and weapons from a residence in the Maafanu ward of the capital Malé last night.

According to police media, police searched Maafanu Badufangige with a search warrant at around 11:00pm and took four men into custody after discovering weapons, four balaclavas, and a packet containing illicit narcotics.

A fifth male suspect was also arrested last night with weapons and drugs after searching a residence in Malé.

The suspect was taken into custody from Maafanu Azma after obtaining a search and arrest warrant.

As part of efforts to curb gang violence, police have also been questioning and frisking individuals “loitering on the streets with no purpose” both after midnight and during the day.

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Violent assaults in Malé reprisals by gangs, reveals chief inspector

Police intelligence suggests that the spate of violent assaults in Malé during the past six days were gang reprisals “caused by a disturbance between two groups”, Chief Inspector Abdulla Satheeh said at a press briefing yesterday.

Three suspects were arrested in connection with two assaults and police are searching for two further suspects, he said.

All three suspects had prior criminal records, he added.

The cycle of violence began on Monday night (July 28) when an 18-year-old man was stabbed in the back in the Henveiru ward.

On the following night, two men were stabbed in Hulhumalé and a 23-year-old woman was stabbed in the back in Malé.

All five were hospitalised. Also on Tuesday night (July 29), a pedestrian was mugged and assaulted.

A 34-year-old was meanwhile stabbed to death on the island of Thulusdhoo in Kaafu atoll on Thursday night (July 31).

On the same night, a 22-year-old was stabbed in the neck in a narrow alley in the Manchangoalhi ward of Malé.

While a 19-year-old was knifed in the Henveiru Park on Friday night (August 1), a pair of 18-year-olds were stabbed on Saturday morning in the same area in broad daylight.

One of the victims – Mohamed Mazin, from Noonu Miladhoo – died while undergoing treatment at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) on Saturday night (August 2).

Mazin was the 31st murder victim in the Maldives since 2007.

Chief Inspector Satheeh, head of the serious and organised crime department, said yesterday that no arrests had been made yet in connection with the murder.

Chief Inspector Ismail Naveen meanwhile told reporters that police have confiscated a number of weapons from areas in the capital where gangs congregate, including the Henveiru Park, the park on Alifkilegefaanu Magu, and the open area near the State Trading Organisation’s main office.

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Seven arrested with sharp objects and weapons inside ‘Adu Park’

The police have arrested seven man in connection with a case where sharp objects and weapons were discovered in ‘Adu Park’ in Henveiru.

Police said the searched the park last night [3 September 2013] at about 7:45 pm and discovered knives, sharp objects, and other weapons.

According to police the seven persons were inside the park when police searched the area.

Police said that the seven men were aged 30, 23, 19, 22, 25, 20 and 31.

Serious and Organized Crime Department is further investigating the case, the police added.

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