A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
Former president Mohamed Nasheed was the target of vituperative speeches at a ruling party rally held to commemorate the failed coup attempt of November 3, 1988. All the speakers at Thursday night’s rally sought to tie Nasheed with the violent attempt by a group of Maldivians and Tamil mercenaries to overthrow former President Maumoon Abdul […]
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 […]
Ruling party lawmakers rushed to declare that former president Mohamed Nasheed cannot contest the 2018 presidential election after he asserted that foreign pressure would secure his candidacy. The exiled opposition leader told newspaper Mihaaru in London that joint diplomatic efforts by India and the US would pave the way for inclusive elections and the release […]
MP Riyaz Rasheed has accused Sri Lanka of assisting alleged opposition efforts to overthrow the Maldivian government. Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Riyaz said he was concerned that neighbouring countries were allowing exiled Maldivian politicians to plot attempts to oust President Abdulla Yameen. “Every Maldivian citizen has the right to believe that the efforts […]
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 […]
The joint opposition has not started talks on fielding an interim candidate in the 2018 presidential election, former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has said. “We haven’t talked about that yet,” he told the press Monday night. “It’s a bit early for that so haven’t talked about that at all,” he told reporters when asked about […]
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 […]
Parliament on Monday approved the ratification of the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to reduce the global production and use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The Maldives’ accession was endorsed with 28 votes in favour from the 85-member house. After boycotting debate and voting on a supplementary budget last month, opposition lawmakers resumed […]
Raajje TV has paid off an MVR500,000 ($32,467) fine imposed by the broadcasting regulator for airing comments deemed a threat to national security, as a preliminary hearing to appeal an earlier fine began Sunday. The opposition-aligned station was last month penalised for broadcasting remarks from opposition MP Mohamed Musthafa. It was the third fine slapped […]