A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
The first Maldivians to be charged with travelling abroad with the intent of joining a terror group have been acquitted and set free. In a closed hearing Thursday, the criminal court decided that the prosecution was unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Ahmed Latheef, Ahmed Suhail Moosa, and Munawwar Abdulla went to Turkey to cross the […]
Two Maldivians en route to join the fighting in Syria have been arrested in Turkey and brought back to the country, according to the police. Both suspects have been remanded for 15 days, the police said, declining to disclose any further details. Two Maldivians were arrested in Turkey and brought back to Maldives while en […]
Police have started implementing monitoring and control orders against five suspected criminals. The police last week asked the High Court for monitoring and control orders for nine people seen as a “danger to society or suspected to attempt an act that is not in line with expected social behaviour”. It is not clear if the […]
The anti-corruption watchdog has asked the Prosecutor General’s office to press charges against a senior official of a state-owned utility company over allegations of corruption and mismanagement. The Anti-Corruption Commission is seeking charges against the procurement department director of Fenaka Corporation for allegedly providing undue benefit to private parties in purchasing diesel for the company. […]
The High Court on Wednesday began hearing an appeal from a man found guilty of planting a bomb near the official presidential residence in November 2015. After a secret trial, Mohamed Ubaid was handed a 17-year jail term in June last year along with co-defendants Zihan Ahmed and Thal’ath Mohamed. A fourth suspect, Mohamed Mamdhooh, […]
Two separate investigations are under way into the death of a Maafushi inmate who died while being treated at a Malé hospital, with his family alleging he was denied medical treatment. The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives and the National Integrity Commission are probing the custodial death on October 10 of Abdulla Rasheed, who […]
The civil court has thrown out RaajjeTV’s lawsuit against the state for failure to protect the station during the 2013 arson attack that destroyed its studios and master control room. The lawsuit was filed citing police incompetence in protecting the broadcaster’s assets, despite information being given to law enforcement authorities about the possibility of an […]
Former defence minister Ameen Faisal, charged over the military’s “protective custody” of then-MP Abdulla Yameen, has been given a week to prepare the closing arguments in his terrorism trial. Ameen, who served under former president Mohamed Nasheed, was charged with abduction under the now-defunct 1990 Anti-Terrorism Act. He faces up to 15 years in jail […]
Police have downplayed the scale of ‘party drug’ abuse in the Maldives, dismissing rumours it is being distributed in schools and appealing against sensationalist reporting. Following the death of two young people late last month, messages about “Strawberry Quick meth” being distributed in schools started circulating through Viber groups, the common medium of messaging in […]