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A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.

Crime

road in Male

Elderly man accused of sexually assaulting 4 sisters moved to house arrest

2 min read

The elderly man who has been accused of sexually assaulting four sisters on the back of a motorbike in the capital Male. Reportedly he fled from his island when the allegations surfaced and moved to Male — The elderly man who was arrested on Thursday after being accused of sexually assaulting four sisters in the […]

Teachers ‘must’ monitor students in anti-extremism fight

Teachers ‘must’ monitor students in anti-extremism fight

3 min read

Teachers in the Maldives must be educated on how to monitor students for extremist ideologies, according to the first strategy document from the National Counter Terror Centre. US-based security and risk management consultancy the Soufan Group says around 200 to 250 Maldivians are known to be fighting in Syria and Iraq, making the island nation […]

Four corruption cases filed for prosecution in Q3

Four corruption cases filed for prosecution in Q3

3 min read

The country’s anti-corruption watchdog filed just a handful of cases for prosecution during the third quarter of 2017, despite investigating 265 cases during that period. The monthly case reports for the year were released Wednesday by the Anti-Corruption Commission and showed the body investigated a total of 815 cases up until the third quarter, out […]

Watchdog deferred inquiry into US$1m deposited to president’s account

Watchdog deferred inquiry into US$1m deposited to president’s account

3 min read

A local company implicated in a historic corruption scandal deposited US$1 million into President Abdulla Yameen’s private account at the Maldives Islamic Bank, according to the Anti-Corruption Commission. The ACC confirmed the longstanding allegations in a document quietly published on Thursday with summaries of cases closed during August. Both Yameen and his jailed former deputy were […]

Court hears closing arguments in trafficking trial

Court hears closing arguments in trafficking trial

3 min read

The criminal court on Tuesday heard closing arguments in the trial of the first Maldivians charged with human trafficking. Mohamed Muahmar and Hussain Sunaih are accused of trafficking by submitting fake construction agreements and other documents to obtain hundreds of immigration permits. They were charged with participating in human trafficking, lying to a government office and […]

Street in Bangladesh

Maldivian man found dead in Bangladesh

1 min read

A Maldivian was allegedly found murdered in Bangladesh on October 31, 2017 — A Maldivian man was found murdered in Bangladesh on Tuesday. A police spokesperson told Mihaaru that they were also made aware of the incident, but that they have no comments available to the media yet, as the matter is currently being investigated. […]

Anas murdered in case of mistaken identity, police reveals

Anas murdered in case of mistaken identity, police reveals

3 min read

Mohamed Anas was brutally murdered because he was mistaken by his assailants for a member of a rival gang, the police have revealed. Anas, a 25-year-old speedboat captain from the island of Meedhoo in Raa atoll, was stabbed to death by a group of masked men inside a motorcycle shop in Malé around 9:15 pm on […]

Bangladeshi admits guilt on trafficking charge

Bangladeshi admits guilt on trafficking charge

3 min read

A Bangladeshi man on trial for trafficking three fellow countrymen into the Maldives admitted guilt at the criminal court on Monday. Mohyuddin and Masoodh Rana are accused of taking money from three Bangladeshi men to bring them to the Maldives on false pretences. The two defendants were arrested last year after a meeting with the victims at the Sultan Park in Malé turned into a fistfight. […]

Closed hearings continue in blogger’s murder trial

Closed hearings continue in blogger’s murder trial

3 min read

Hearings in the trial of six suspects accused of murdering liberal blogger Yameen Rasheed continue to be closed at the request of the Prosecutor General’s office. PG office spokesman Ahmed Thaufeeg, who previously assured that public hearings will be held in the future, told the Maldives Independent that a hearing on Sunday afternoon was closed because […]