Maldives News
Ex-defence minister under investigation over Yameen’s detention in 2010
Police are investigating Ameen Faisal on terrorism charges over the president’s military detention in 2010 and have barred the ex minister from leaving the country
20 Sep 2016, 09:00
Pakistani convicted of drug trafficking, sentenced to life imprisonment
Mohamed Asif was found guilty of smuggling 286 grammes of illicit narcotics into the Maldives in February. He reportedly swallowed 35 bullets containing the drugs and arrived on a Sri Lankan airlines flight.
20 Sep 2016, 09:00
Commonwealth urged to suspend Maldives over ‘slide to dictatorship’
A New Delhi-based human rights group has urged the Commonwealth’s democracy watchdog to suspend the Maldives from the organisation over an unresolved and protracted political crisis, warning that “the nation is sliding into a dictatorial system once again.”
19 Sep 2016, 09:00
Witnesses testify about coffee-table conversation in ‘sniper’ plot trial
Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, who is serving a 33-year prison sentence on corruption and terror charges, is accused of hiring an alleged Sri Lankan sniper, Lahiru Madhushanka, to shoot President Abdulla Yameen in October last year.
19 Sep 2016, 09:00
EPA assesses damage to Fuvahmulah reef from grounded ship
The Environment Protection Agency is assessing the damage caused to the Fuvahmulah reef after a Vietnamese cargo ship ran aground on the southern island’s lagoon.
18 Sep 2016, 09:00
Trial resumes for sole Raajje TV arson suspect
The trial of the only suspect charged over the arson attack on the opposition-aligned Raajje TV resumed today after a six-month hiatus. Mohamed Meead is the only suspect to stand trial out of 18 young men arrested after the torching of the studios in October 2013.
18 Sep 2016, 09:00
PPM denies talks between Nasheed and Gayoom
Abdul Aleem Adam, the PPM’s deputy secretary-general, accused the exiled opposition leader of “lying to bring to President Maumoon into disrepute and to create discord among PPM members.”
15 Sep 2016, 09:00
57-year-old dies in Malé remand centre
A 57-year-old man held in pre-trial detention at a remand centre in Malé died on Tuesday morning in the second custodial death in less than a month.
14 Sep 2016, 09:00
Jihadi literature distributed after Eid prayer
A group of men with their faces covered reportedly handed out a two-page letter to prayer-goers urging Maldivians to wage jihad. According to the letter, its contents were sourced from Bilad Al Sham, a jihadi media group operated by Maldivians fighting in Syria with the al-Nusra Front.
14 Sep 2016, 09:00
Committee to Protect Journalists condemns raid of Maldives Independent office
The New York-based press freedom organisation also called on the government to “immediately stop all attempts to intimidate the press, and send a clear message to Maldives Independent editor Zaheena Rasheed that she can return home without fear of persecution.”
13 Sep 2016, 09:00
Transparency calls for ‘broad investigation’ after corruption exposé
Anti-corruption NGO Transparency Maldives has called for a broad and independent investigation into allegations raised in an Al Jazeera exposé about systemic corruption, abuse of power and criminal activity at the highest level of government.
13 Sep 2016, 09:00
‘Let me know if you need a lawyer’
Omkar Khandekar recounts the police raid on the Maldives Independent’s office in the wake of the much-anticipated release of Al Jazeera’s corruption exposé Stealing Paradise.
13 Sep 2016, 09:00
Gayoom denies demanding US$100k from Nasheed as ‘goodwill’ gesture
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has denied demanding US$100,000 from his longtime rival and successor as a “goodwill” gesture for negotiations on forming an alliance to oust his embattled half-brother.
08 Sep 2016, 09:00
Two men detained over ‘coup plot’ released without charges
Ibrahim Shahiban Ahmed and Mohamed Shamin Ali, who work for various environmental NGOs, were detained during a raid of the building that houses the Maldives Independent.
08 Sep 2016, 09:00
Al Jazeera corruption exposé dismissed as ‘defamatory and biased’
The government has dismissed an explosive Al Jazeera corruption exposé aired on Wednesday as defamatory and biased, accusing the Qatari broadcaster of advancing the opposition’s agenda to oust President Abdulla Yameen.
08 Sep 2016, 09:00
Opposition activist arrested over tweet released with conditions
Shammoon ‘Lucas’ Jaleel was arrested on June 29 over a tweet in which he likened police officers to a streak of tigers. The 27-year-old spent one month and seven days at the police detention centre on the island of Dhoonidhoo.
08 Sep 2016, 09:00
Opposition condemns ‘desperate’ smear campaign against Al Jazeera
The opposition has condemned a campaign launched by President Abdulla Yameen’s administration to discredit an upcoming corruption exposé by Al Jazeera as “desperate moves by a government on the defensive”
07 Sep 2016, 09:00
Immigration revokes Nasheed and Jameel’s passports
Maldivian citizens who are instructed to return to the country either in connection with a court judgment or an ongoing investigation do not have the right to stay or reside overseas using a Maldivian passport, the department said in a press statement this afternoon.
07 Sep 2016, 09:00
Police raid Maldives Independent office over ‘coup plot’
The police have raided the Maldives Independent office in Malé with a court warrant over an alleged coup plot, hours after an highly-anticipated and explosive Al Jazeera corruption exposé was released on YouTube.
07 Sep 2016, 09:00
Gayoom vows to uphold constitution as Nasheed speaks of new alliance
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has vowed to uphold the Maldives constitution after the opposition leader spoke of an alliance between the pair to oust the country’s current leader, Abdulla Yameen
07 Sep 2016, 09:00
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