Maldives News

President nominates campaign staff as broadcast regulators

The president’s spokesperson said the names of all 23 individuals who applied to the president’s office will be forwarded for parliamentary approval today to fill six upcoming vacancies on the Maldives Broadcasting Commission. However, he explained, the names were ranked in order of preference.

Are we all going to kill Humam?

Hussain Humam was sentenced to death “through a process that has breached the principles of Islamic Shari’a, common law, international obligations and even common sense,” argues Shahindha Ismail, calling for an independent psychiatric evaluation of the 23-year-old death row inmate.

Audit uncovers discrepancies in tourism ministry’s financial records

The tourism ministry’s audit report for 2013 has revealed shocking discrepancies amounting to more MVR300,000 (US$19,400) in the records of income collected from the billion-dollar Maldivian tourism industry during the financial year in review.

Police searching for three suspected gang members with ‘MoniCon’ orders

The police are searching for three young men in order to enforce monitoring and control (MoniCon) orders granted by the High Court to electronically tag and monitor their whereabouts.

MP questions composition of parliament’s graft-probe committee

The parliament’s public accounts oversight committee has launched an inquiry into corruption cases under investigation since 2008, including the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation corruption scandal.

Two judges in Imran’s criminal court trial are part of panel hearing appeal

Two former criminal court judges who presided over the first hearing of Sheikh Imran Abdulla’s trial are among a three-judge High Court panel hearing the Adhaalath Party leader’s appeal of his terrorism conviction. Imran’s trial was stalled in June last year when Judges Abdulla Didi and Shujau Usman were promoted to the High Court.

Three Maldivians en route to Syria extradited

Three Maldivian men have been arrested in Turkey while attempting to illegally cross over into Syria and join extremist militant groups in the war-torn country.

Police issued orders for monitoring and control of gang members

The High Court has granted the police monitoring and control or ‘MoniCon’ orders to electronically tag, conduct surveillance, and intercept communications of “10 known gang members,” Home Minister Umar Naseer revealed today.

Maldives moves ahead with criminalising defamation

Sinamalé fire prompts building safety concerns

Government proposes mandatory re-registration of opposition party members

A ruling party MP has proposed changes to the Political Parties Act to make it compulsory for members of political parties to resubmit membership forms with fingerprints.

Fugitive admits to paying Omnia Stategy on behalf of Maldives government

“Let’s say Al Capone were to come along and tell you to do something, well you would just do it. In the Maldives, the president and Vice President are like Al Capone, so I did what they said,” says Mohamed Allam Latheef, owner of a company implicated in the Maldives biggest corruption scandal.

CONI and the Coup III: The legacy

If there is a particular event which can be pointed to as the beginning of the end of Maldives’ peaceful transition to democracy, the acceptance of the 2012 CONI report as a way forward can be described as such, writes Azra Naseem.

Parliamentary committee rejects judge’s complaint over abrupt transfer

The parliament’s independent institutions committee has rejected High Court Judge Dr Azmiralda Zahir’s complaint regarding her transfer to the court’s newly established southern branch.

First couple departs to Singapore on unofficial trip

President Abdulla Yameen and First Lady Fathmath Ibrahim departed for Singapore on an unofficial visit last night in the first couple’s first overseas trip since the September 28 blast on the presidential speedboat.

Man falls to death during suspected robbery in Malé

The 29-year-old man fell from the second floor of the Sunny Coast house in the Maafanu ward of the capital around 3:20am. “As of now, we know that the man does not reside in the building,” a police spokesman said, declining to confirm local reports that the individual fell during an attempted robbery.

11 arrested in ongoing clashes between police and Malé’s gangs

The police claim the arrests are linked to a “special operation to curb violence” while the gangs are accusing the police of attempting to cover up an unlawful assault by Specialist Operations officers and vandalism of three gang hangouts on Friday.

Maldives urged to ‘end arbitrary actions targeting judges’

The International Commission of Jurists condemned today “arbitrary and politically motivated actions against judges” in the Maldives, shining the spotlight on the arrest of a magistrate judge and the abrupt transfer of two top judges in the past year.

New artificial beach closed to swimmers after sewage pipe bursts

The recently opened ‘Rasfannu’ artificial beach in Malé’s west coast has been closed to swimmers after an underwater sewage pipe in the area burst open.

Supreme Court begins review of its first murder conviction

State prosecutors asked the Supreme Court today to uphold a death sentence handed to Hussain Humam Ahmed by the criminal court over the brutal murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in October 2012.