Female circumcision occurring in Addu atoll, reveals AG

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Attorney General Husnu Suood has said the practice of female circumcision in the name of Islam has been revived in Addu atoll.

Speaking at a human rights function last night, Suood said although there have been significant successes in human rights in the past six years new problems and violations were emerging, “especially atrocities against women and children”.

Suood said “false scholars” were promoting anti-Islamic activities that also violated human rights principles.

“I will note one thing I learned in the past two weeks: religious scholars are going around to midwives giving fatwas that girls have to be circumcised. They’re giving fatwas saying it is religiously compulsory. According to my information, the circumcising of girls has started and is going on with a new spirit.”

He added it had to be stopped and “cannot be tolerated.”

“This is not something we can just stand by and watch. In the recent past, I would say this had ceased almost completely. But today in Addu atoll, the circumcision of girls is going on at some speed. I call upon the relevant authorities to stop this.”

Suood said one of violation the authorities have been alerted to was violence against women in the name of Islam.

“Violence against women and children in the name of Islam, or in the name of promoting Islam, is something we should be concerned about,” he said.

Suood said Islam is a religion that protects the dignity of human beings, and referred to the efforts to put an end to the practice of female infanticide during the early days of Islam.

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Gang muggings net large haul

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Last week a man was stabbed and robbed of Rf400,000 (over US$30,000) by a gang who attacked him at the Gadiburu roundabout near Orchid Magu in central Male’.

The previous month a pair of men were attacked with iron rods by a gang who then stole a bag containing Rf762,700 (US$60,000).

Four men were arrested by police in relation to the incident, including an underage boy, although the perpetrators of the latest assault are yet to be found.

Police Sergeant Ahmed Shiyam said store owners carrying large amounts of cash at night following the close of business were particularly at risk.

"Some businesses carry around a very big amount of money [after they close]," he said. "We're trying to give the message that business and local residents should be careful about carrying such large amounts money."

Shiyam said in some cases businesses were putting large amounts of money into bags and then leaving them on motorbikes, a practice he described as "very careless".

One storekeeper, the manager of a shop selling souvenirs to tourists near Independence Square, said the incidents were generating concern among local businesses.

"It's not very common and for this to happen recently with two incidents so close together is unbelievable and very harmful. The amount of money [stolen] is huge," he said.

"We don't carry large amounts of money because most of our transactions are by card - it's much safer," he added.

Shiyam said while police had yet to apprehend anybody in relation to the most recent incident, the investigation of last month's mugging had linked previous cases to the same people.

Businesses needing to carry large amounts of money from one location to another could ask for police assistance, he added.

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Is that 6 years enough for a man like fazeel

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Serial paedophile sentenced to six years
Convicted paedophile Hussain Fazeel has been sentenced to six years' imprisonment for 39 counts of child sexual abuse, the highest sentence for such a crime in the Maldives and a landmark decision for the country.

Fazeel was initially arrested in February for smuggling alcohol in Male, but when police searched his home they discovered a hard drive containing a large quantity of images and videos of Fazeel having sex with young boys, some as young as 10.

In other videos, the boys were made to had sex with each other.

Inspector Ismail Athif of Maldives Police Service said at the time that many of the boys appeared to have aged in the material, suggesting the abuse had been occurring for some time.

He also noted that the material was of a sufficient resolution to be used for commercial purposes, and that it was possible Fazeel was part of a larger ring.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Mahmoud Saleem said that while Fazeel had committed the crimes before the recent Child Sexual Abuse (Special Provisions) Act was ratified this month, which carries penalties of up to 25 years, six years was the highest sentence recorded for the crime.

In particular, "the statements made by the victims carried great weight," he said.

Police sergeant Ahmed Shiyam said Fazeel's sentencing was only the beginning "and there will be more of the same", adding that two other child sex offenders currently being investigated by police had been linked to some of the same boys abused by Fazeel.

"When we investigated Fazeel we found some boys involved in both cases," Shiyam said.

As for the sentence given today, "I don't know why it was only six years, it should have been more than that."

Mohamed Shihab from Child Abuse Watch Maldives said while the sentence was not administered under the harsher laws only recent enacted, as a first step it promised "a very positive future."

"We have not seen anything like this ever before; I've already called the prosecutor general to thank him for this very important first step," Shihab said. "We can look at it very happily that justice has finally been done for the children."

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Maldives first swine flu death

Health Ministry has confirmed the first death case of swine flu in Maldives.The infected person who has died Wednesday was a 65 year old man from Raa atoll.He died in Inguraidhoo while treating for Influenza-A at Inguraidhoo Regional Hospital. Till now six people has been confirmed infected in Maldives two of them were expatriates and four were Maldivians.They all have been treated under corentine while this was the first reported death case.

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Rival gang sets parked motorcycles on fire

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Several motorcycles belonging to a group of people suspected to have been getting ready for a street fight were set on fire while parked on the road.
According to some eyewitnesses, the group that set the motorcycles on fire, while they were parked on Dhevina Magu on Sunday afternoon, had battered the cycles with bricks before setting the vehicles on fire.
Not long after the fire was set, Police had arrived and extinguished the flames, he said. All the motorcycles were destroyed beyond use.
A Police official said that two people suspected of having committed the act had been arrested at the scene of the incidence. They were caught while on the roof of a house in an attempt to escape from the Police, the official said.
Although Police did not reveal too many details about the incident, eyewitnesses said that a brawl had occurred between two groups before the motorcycles had been set on fire. Several wooden clubs, believed to have used in the fight, were retrieved from the area.

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The biggest assault in 2007 starts charges

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Police officer charged with assaulting Hussain Solah acquitted
The Police officer charged with assaulting Hussain Solah, whose dead body was later found floating in the harbor, has been acquitted of the charges by the Criminal Court on Sunday.

Corporal Ahmed Shah, of Primrose / Haa Dhaalu atoll Vaikaraidhoo, was charged with assaulting Solah while he was incarcerated at the Atholhuvehi Detention Centre on 12 April, 2007.

Judge Ali Rasheed said that two detainees in the Detention Centre had testified that they had seen Shah attack Solah but that the third witness had said that they had given the testimony because they had grievances against the Police.

“Since the three witnesses were detainees and because Ahmed Shah was the senior officer at the Centre at the time, it is possible that those in custody there would have some animosity towards the officer,” Judge Ali said.

The Judge ruled that since there was no other evidence, except the eyewitness accounts from the three detainees, the charges against Shah could not be proved beyond doubt.

The case against Shah had been filed by the Human Rights Commission, based on the testimonies of the three detainees.

28-year-old Hussain Solah had been found dead in the Southwestern harbor of Malé not even 24 hours after he was released from Police custody. The report published by the Human Rights Commission on his death in 2007 stated that there was no evidence that Hussain Solah had been tortured and that it wasn’t confirmed whether he had been released from Police custody at the time that the Police had stated he had been released. The report further stated that although Police had denied any wrongdoing in the incident and issued a statement that Solah had died after being released from Police custody, there was no evidence to support the claim.

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Islanders against governments decision

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Thulusdhoo residents throng Atoll Office
Residents of Kaafu atoll Thulusdhoo thronged the Atoll Office last Thursday in an effort to block Police officers from moving the office equipment inside to the new Atoll Office in Maafushi.

The Senior Assistant Atoll Chief Ibrahim Rauf said that when the Police officers had arrived in Thulusdhoo, around 300 residents of the island had surrounded the former Atoll Office building since 11:00am to express their dissatisfaction.

The crowd had said that unless someone senior enough to answer the residents’ questions arrived on the island, they would not allow any of the equipment inside the building to be taken away.

Some of the residents said that the crowd had blocked entry to the former Atoll Office building, so that the Police could not get inside. Another resident said that the crowd was requesting for an audit of the Atoll Office before anything could be removed.

“The Home Ministry announced that the Atoll Office was being relocated because the situation here wasn’t stable,” a resident from the island said. “The residents want the Home Ministry to elaborate on that and explain their reasoning. One year has passed since the new Government came into power. Other than Monaza Naeem, no one else from the Government has come here to see what the conditions here are.”

Despite the arrival of a large Police force in the island, there were no confrontations between Police and residents. Thulusdhoo residents have previously, on two separate occasions, thronged the Atoll Office due to the issue of the relocation of the Atoll Office to another island in the atoll.

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Maldives fails to convince fellow vulnerable states to go "carbon neutral"

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Earlier this week, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed in his opening speech addressed the "Climate Vulnerable Forum" in Bandos Island, calling on fellow vulnerable, developing countries to embrace a carbon neutral future.

He regretted the lack of progress being made in international climate change negotiations and called on poor, vulnerable countries to show "moral leadership" by shifting from fossil fuel to renewable energy.

"A group of vulnerable, developing countries committed to carbon neutral development would send a loud message to the outside world... If those with the least start doing the most, what excuse can the rich have for continuing inaction," Nasheed asked, according to a press release from his office.

However, the president did not get everything he asked for. According to Reuters, heads of state and ministers at the "Climate Vulnerable Forum" agreed Tuesday to "green" their economies, but stopped short of promising to become "carbon neutral".

"In short, we have been able to agree that development and green technology or less-carbon development is possible," President Mohamed Nasheed said afterwards, according to Reuters.

The Climate Vulnerable Forum adopted a declaration emphasizing the need for ambitious financial package and technical help from the developed world in order to achieve carbon neutral status, The Hindu reports.

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Adhaalath continues bullshitting Maldivians -Hilath

HRCM confirms concubine existence in Maldives while the Adhaalath party has told it is based on hearsay last week

Miadhu. Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has yesterday confirmed the reports of under aged concubine existence in the country and has said that they have evidence of this now.

Speaking at the press conference held yesterday, Deputy President of HRCM Mohamed Zaahid said that since the case is still under investigation, they cannot reveal the evidence that they have.

He said that even though some medical documents related to this case were found at one point, it is lots now. He added that the hospital should have these medical documents and that it would be helpful for the investigation process if they are found.

The HRCM member Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Kareem said that they investigated the under aged concubine case because it was an issue of sexual abuse of a child and not because it was related to the religion. The members expressed their dismay over some people viewing HRCM’s involvement in this case as a religious issue.

The HRCM has made this statement at a time when Ministry of Islamic Affairs dismissed the under aged concubine issue as a hearsay and a rumor. Speaking at a press conference held on 27 October, State Minister of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheed Ali Saeed said that the issue of child concubine was only based on hearsay. He said that the Ministry has been unsuccessful in their attempts to find the truth of this matter and that this makes one doubt the authenticity of the talk of child concubine. Shaheem further said that they had done a lot of work by contacting Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), to find the truth about child concubine case and that so far they have no evidence to prove that this actually happened.

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Protest Alliance calls President Nasheed to resign

Miadhu.
The Protest Alliance jointly organized by main opposition DRP and its co partner PA has called the MDP Government of Mohamed Nasheed to resign as it has failed to fulfill its promises. The Alliance held a large demonstration last night in the main streets of Male’ in what they earlier described as a protest to oust the President and his government.

The demonstrators were carrying placards and flags and were chanting anti government sentiments throughout the long rally. They were calling the Government liars and cheaters and warned they will topple the Government soon. The demonstrators were expressing their anger for the escalating cost of living, increase in the electricity cost, reducing the salary of civil service, reducing the number of civil service employees, and failing to deliver the promises the Government has made.

Leaders of DRP and PA were not seen in the demonstration but IDP President Umar Naseer and DRP Leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son Ghassan Maumoon were leading the demonstration joined by some MPs and large number of supporters.

The demonstration clashed with some MDP supporters when the latter tried to enter Boduthakurufaanu Magu where the demonstration was proceeding to the Highland behind Dharubaaruge where the demonstration started and ended. Attempts of MDP supporters were stopped by Police. The scene became very hostile and stones were thrown into the crowd. There were reports of a woman and a police being hurt during the clash.

IDP President who is a key organizer of the Protest Alliance issued a strong warning to the Government that the demonstration was held not to oust the Government but to condemn it, and they will bring down the Government if it continues to lie and cheat the people. The Protest Alliance has however warned the Government that they will hold a massive demonstration on 3 November to topple the Government.

President Nasheed has said on several occasions he and his Government are not afraid of demonstrations but he challenged the opposition it cannot topple the Government.

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