A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
A 24-year-old man has been arrested on the island Kalaidhoo in Laamu atoll on charges of blackmailing a minor for sexual favours, according to local media. He was sentenced to 15 days detention by Isdhoo Magistrate court. Under the Maldives Constitution, a person arrested on suspicion of a crime is required to be brought before […]
Photo: Sun.mv Esa Khaleel, a former councillor of Malé Atoll Kaashidhoo, was found dead Sunday in a dinghy at the island’s harbour. Ali Sultan, Kaashidhoo island council’s current president, told the Maldives Independent that youths found him lying unconscious on a dinghy at around 3pm. The dinghy was not tied to the jetty and was floating […]
Councillors who were suspended without pay after meeting the Indian ambassador have taken up fishing, carpentry and construction to earn money, local media has reported. Ahmed Fuad, Ahmed Nazmeen and Hussein Adam from Gaaf Alif atoll were punished last month, after the Local Government Authority (LGA) banned local officials from meeting diplomats without permission from […]
A 34-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a teenage girl, according to police spokesman Javid Ismail. According to the police media group on Viber, the arrest took place late Saturday night. The 18-year-old alleged victim told the Maldives Independent she was raped in the capital on Wednesday night and was […]
A top Maldivian diplomat has criticised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for cancelling a 2015 state visit to the Maldives. In an interview with Tribune India about Indo-Maldives relations, the ambassador to India Ahmed Mohamed spoke about the free trade agreement with China that has raised concerns over China’s influence in the Maldives. Mohamed told the […]
The former managing director of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation cannot be tried on fresh corruption charges because he was never questioned about the case, his lawyers told the criminal court on Thursday. Abdullah Ziyath faces more than 30 counts of corruption for misappropriating US$44 million (MVR721 million) by leasing islands and lagoons […]
MP Imthiyaz Fahmy has filed a police complaint over articles on a pro-government tabloid site that he claims could put his life at risk, local media has reported. The Maafannu-Uthuru lawmaker urged police to investigate Vaguthu Online over three articles about him, according to Vnews. Vaguthu claimed the parliamentarian had called for Buddhism in the […]
Detained MP Ahmed Faris Maumoon has submitted disciplinary complaints regarding five Supreme Court judges to the Judicial Service Commission, Mihaaru has reported. The complaint is about the judges’ failure to create regulations that, under the Criminal Procedures Act, are stipulated to be made within an allocated time period, said Maumoon Hameed from Faris’s legal team. […]
The opposition will not be able to field one candidate for the presidential elections, according to the former chair of the Maldivian Democratic Party. The deputy speaker of parliament Moosa Manik said he had no concerns over President Abdulla Yameen winning the presidency because the opposition was already showing signs of infighting, Mihaaru reported. The […]