Politics
Court order sought to prevent Haveeru staff from registering new paper
The battle for the Maldives’ oldest newspaper, Haveeru Daily, took a new twist on Thursday, with the paper’s new shareholders requesting a stay order to prevent its founder and staff from registering or operating a new paper.
22 Apr 2016, 09:00
Commissioner of Prisons suspended
The home ministry has suspended Commissioner of Prisons Mohamed Husham pending the outcome of an investigation on unspecified charges. Contrary to media reports, Home Minister Umar Naseer said last night that Husham has not been fired. He has been asked to stay home, Naseer said.
21 Apr 2016, 09:00
Maldives remains ‘very hostile for independent and opposition media’
The Maldives remains “very hostile for independent and opposition media” since the February 2012 “coup d’état,” reads the Reporters Without Borders’ 2016 press freedom index entry on the Maldives. “In a state of emergency and ‘national security’ climate, the media continue to be subjected to police brutality and government obstruction,” RSF observed.
21 Apr 2016, 09:00
Jailed opposition leaders invited to join talks
“The government must not expect to hold our leaders as hostages at the negotiating table! Negotiations must be sincere and should pave way for political reconciliation,” Shidhatha Shareef, chair of the Adhaalath Party’s foreign relations committee, told The Maldives Independent.
20 Apr 2016, 09:00
Government to reconsider decision to revoke Nasheed’s medical leave
Home Minister Umar Naseer said in a tweet this morning that he has asked the Maldives Correctional Services’ medical board to review a decision to revoke a 30-day extension of medical leave “due to the confusion created by [Nasheed’s] lawyers,” who had denied President Yameen’s claim that the opposition leader was due to undergo surgery in the UK.
20 Apr 2016, 09:00
Majlis passes long-awaited Criminal Procedures Act
The landmark Criminal Procedure Act, comprising of 30 chapters, codifies in detail the rules to investigate, prosecute and pass judgment on suspected criminal offenders. The legislation had been pending for seven years at the People’s Majlis.
20 Apr 2016, 09:00
Nasheed stripped of ex-president’s privileges
President Abdulla Yameen ratified today a bill that strips former President Mohamed Nasheed of state benefits, security, and privileges. The opposition leader is no longer entitled to security and protection from military bodyguards as well as medical insurance, a monthly pension, and funds to manage the former president’s office.
19 Apr 2016, 09:00
Government revokes extension of Nasheed’s medical leave
Commissioner of Prisons Mohamed Husham told the press this afternoon that the 30-day extension was revoked after Nasheed’s lawyers denied President Abdulla Yameen’s claim that the opposition leader is due to undergo surgery tomorrow.
18 Apr 2016, 09:00
Ex-defence minister, ex-MP ordered to return to Maldives in 48 hours
If the retired colonel fails to return in the next two days, the Maldives Correctional Services will “begin work to bring him back,” Superintendent of Prisons Ibrahim Mohamed Didi informed Nazim’s wife today. The prisons authority has also ordered former MP Ahmed Nazim to cut short his medical leave in Singapore and return to prison within 498 hours.
18 Apr 2016, 09:00
Five months after raid, police return some of Sangu TV equipment
The police have returned seven out of 33 pieces of broadcasting equipment confiscated from Sangu TV during a raid of the privately-owned station’s offices in Malé more than five months ago.
17 Apr 2016, 09:00
Prosecutors return charges against MP Mahloof
Citing insufficient evidence, the Prosecutor General’s office has declined to prosecute Independent MP Ahmed Mahloof on a charge of assaulting a police officer during an anti-government protest in Malé on March 11.
17 Apr 2016, 09:00
Top UN official arrives in Malé to resuscitate all-party talks
Tamrat Samuel, a senior advisor to the UN’s department of political affairs, is seeking to lay the groundwork “for substantive political party dialogue in the interest of attaining long-term political stability and rule of law in the Maldives.”
17 Apr 2016, 09:00
Second trial begins for Raajje TV journalists
The second trial against opposition aligned Raajje TV journalists began at the criminal court today, with reporters Mohamed Wisam and Adam Zareer pleading not guilty today to charges of obstructing police officers
17 Apr 2016, 09:00
Children of Haveeru founder launch counterclaim in ownership battle
The Haveeru Media Group, owned by Dr Zahir Hussain’s three children, are urging the civil court to protect their rights, claiming that Zahir had transferred the paper’s ownership to HMG before its former staff, Farooq Hassan, Ibrahim Rasheed Moosa and Mohamed Naeem sued Zahir in 2013.
16 Apr 2016, 09:00
Adeeb’s lawyer refused response on Supreme Court-ordered criminal inquiry
The Department of Judicial Administration has refused to answer a letter by detained Vice President Ahmed Adeeb’s lawyer asking for specifics of a Supreme Court ordered criminal inquiry against him.
16 Apr 2016, 09:00
Trial begins for Raajje TV journalists
State prosecutors claimed today that Mohamed Wisam and Leevaan Ali Naseer had attempted to block the arrest of a third journalist on November 2, during a bomb scare in the capital. If found guilty, they could be fined or imprisoned for a period up to four months.
14 Apr 2016, 09:00
Nasheed calls for reforms to the Commonwealth
“The Commonwealth, in short, needs to stop giving legitimacy, and thus helping to prop up, the dictators and authoritarians who abuse their people and flout the values that the Commonwealth is supposed to stand for,” said former President Mohamed Nasheed.
14 Apr 2016, 09:00
Raajje TV forced to apologise for report on president’s links to Sri Lankan sorcerer
The broadcasting regulator instructed Raajje TV in a letter yesterday to issue a formal apology over a documentary aired on February 6 about a Sri Lankan man who allegedly performed sorcery or black magic to help President Abdulla Yameen win the 2013 election.
14 Apr 2016, 09:00
Imran petitions UN rights panel over terror conviction
A local human rights NGO has petitioned the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Sheikh Imran Abdulla’s behalf, requesting a judgment declaring the Adhaalath Party president’s terror conviction illegal.
14 Apr 2016, 09:00
Human rights group urges retrial for Afrasheem murder convict
The Maldivian Democracy Network has called for a retrial in the case of a young man convicted of killing a parliamentarian, arguing that the death sentence handed to Hussain Humam Ahmed was unfair and contravened the Islamic Shari’ah.
13 Apr 2016, 09:00
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