A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
The police headquarters, Shaheedh Hussain Adam Building in the capital Male. PHOTO / MIHAARU Maldives Police Service revealed on Sunday that they have expunged over 15,000 criminal records since the regulation on keeping criminal records was amended and gazetted last Wednesday. The new amendment allows the police to expunge misdemeanours from the criminal records of […]
Justice Building in the capital Male. Maldives marks the first year anniversary of its new penal code on Saturday. MIHAARU FILE PHOTO The Civil Court has ordered former deputy prosecutor general, Dheebanaz Fahmy, to pay over MVR 500,000 to the state. The government had filed a lawsuit against the former PG, seeking a reimbursement of […]
People making fun of Islam on social media will get house calls from government officials who will educate them about the faith, authorities have said. It was common for Maldivians to use social media to insult or disrespect the country’s official religion, Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Ziyad Bagir said at a news conference, and the […]
A Maldives company chairman and CEO, who is also a Member of Parliament in his country, was fined $12,000 (800h 0m) (800h 0m) for contempt of court in failing to honour court dates here. Ahmed Nashid of Maldives-based ADK Travels had first failed to comply with a court order to show up in July 2015 […]
A key witness in the bribery trial of MP Faris Maumoon has alleged attempts to coerce false testimony against the opposition lawmaker. Ahmed Shafiu, a Jumhooree Party activist, was arrested on July 4, a day after the opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against the parliament speaker. Citing lack of evidence to support alleged bribery of lawmakers, the […]
The police headquarters, Shaheed Hussain Adam Building in the capital Male. PHOTO / MIHAARU Following an amendment to the regulation on keeping criminal records, Maldives Police Service has begun expunging criminal records of those convicted of minor crimes, upon request. The new regulation that was gazetted on Wednesday allows the police to expunge misdemeanours from […]
The detention of former Maldives defence minister Mohamed Nazim, who has been behind bars for 1,000 days, has been condemned by the US and the UK. Nazim was found guilty of weapons smuggling in 2015 and sentenced to 11 years in prison. A UN rights panel found that Nazim was not afforded a fair trial and […]
A bribery hearing of MP Faris Maumoon was postponed Tuesday after the opposition lawmaker complained about not getting enough time to meet his lawyers. Faris, son of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, allegedly bribed a fellow lawmaker before a no-confidence vote against the parliament speaker in July. The MP for Dhiggaru requested to cancel proceedings […]
The Maldives is tightening its grip on the media and freedom of speech by using the broadcasting regulator to silence and intimidate journalists, a leading NGO has warned, as the government pushes a draft law that could see newspapers and TV stations temporarily shut down or fined. Transparency Maldives, in a statement Monday, condemned the […]