Raajje News Blog

#Maldives: Days before ex-President Nasheed's trial for human rights abuse, international media and countries have stepped up efforts to assist Nasheed to block the trial. While international media such as AFP have reported the trial as a politically motivated, it is in fact a criminal case brought by the country's first independent Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu, for violation of human rights in the military arrest of the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court in January this year. The Prosecutor General's case is built upon an independent investigation by the country's Human Rights Commission, an independent institution headed by a 5 member panel appointed by the Parliament. The current Human Rights Commission consists of 5 members nominated to the Parliament by Nasheed himself.  The Report of the HRCM on the investigation of the Judge's arrest and subsequent solitary confinement at a military training camp for 22 days determined the said actions to be blatant ...

#Maldives: Ex-President Nasheed and his militant party Maldives Democratic Party last week declared a ban on all courts of Maldives, in response to the scheduled start of human rights case against Nasheed. MPs and leading individuals of Nasheed's party are also currently facing charges ranging from terrorism, corruption, arson, vandalism, theft, pillaging and slander. Nasheed, together with four others, is being presecuted by the Prosecutor General for the illegal and unconstitutional arrest of the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court in January this year. Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arbitrarily arrested by the Military and held in solitary confinement upon Nasheed's orders as President and Commander in Chief. The Judge was released by incoming President Waheed after the transfer of power on February 7th upon Nasheed's voluntary resignation as President. During his tenure as President, Nasheed locked down the Supreme Court of the country using military personnel. He also abo...

#Maldives' decisive win at the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) may be the death knoll for ex-President Nasheed's political ambitions. The unconditional removal of Maldives from the CMAG Agenda and the invitation for Maldives to resume its seat in the group came without any restrictions on legal actions towards Nasheed. The rumor of such restrictions had been widely circulated by Nasheed and his party Maldivian Democratic Party in the days leading to the CMAg Report. The CMAG decision is the most recent in the line of a long list of victories by President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik,in the sustained attacks on the Presidency by Mohamed Nasheed who resigned on February 7th this year. Nasheed resigned after months of public anger and dissatisfaction with his corrupt and incompetent Administration, and amidst days of popular unrest at his violation of constitutional rights and human rights abuse. In addition to the CoNI Report, the landmark reports by two key...