Former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom states the current administration acting contradictory to PPM’s beliefs after assuming office is the reason why he formed a new political party.

Yameen visited his new party, PNF’s office, to greet supporters after the High Court overturned a conviction against him for money laundering and bribery earlier this evening. Prior to this, he answered questions from the press outside the court.

Speaking with his supporters, Yameen said the current administration shaping all of its policies against the cornerstones of PPM. In this trajectory, he mentioned the appointment of uneducated individuals to various posts and the creation of political posts without any consideration.

“This government came and erased all this,” he stressed.

The former president also highlighted the government’s failure to disclose the “unknown” agreements made with India, the hesitancy to revoke the presidential decree during the former administration which banned the ‘India Out’ movement while defending the said decree.

Nevertheless, Yameen established that PNF does not support any efforts to impeach President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

“However, I will be very firm on matters such as infringement of major interests of the people and unjust treatment of state properties,” he added.

Yameen was posed by a question by a supporter as to whether the government should be given the majority of the parliament in the election slated for Sunday. In response, the former president said attaining powers would change the thinking of a person.

“How a person will change when they attain power and extremely wealth, is known to Almighty Allah,” he said.

Speaking further, Yameen extended gratitude to his supporters for believing in his innocence.

He expressed that he was not disheartened by the fact that he lost the chance to contest in September’s presidential election over the stalled appeal of his conviction.

Nonetheless, he questioned the state of the rights of the people who supported him. Underscoring that the Supreme Court could have ordered to expedite the appeal, Yameen said such a huge loss would not have been incurred if that had been done.

Source(s): sun.mv

The Chinese foreign ministry has dismissed accusations against China on the South China Sea issue by certain countries.

Relevant countries’ groundless accusations and deliberate smears against China on the South China Sea issue are unacceptable, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on a statement issued by the U.S., Japan and the Philippines after their trilateral summit. The statement expressed so-called “serious concerns about China’s behavior in the South China Sea” and called on China to abide by the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal.

Lin said China strongly opposes the practice of bloc politics by said countries, firmly opposes any acts that stoke and drive up tensions and harm other countries’ strategic security and interests, and is seriously against forming exclusive groupings in this region.

Noting that the award of the South China Sea Arbitration is illegal, null and void, he said China did not accept or take part in the Arbitration, does not accept or acknowledge the so-called award, and much less does China accept any claim or action that is based on the award.

Lin said the South China Sea Arbitration and its illegal award harm the interests of countries in the region, including the Philippines.

“No matter how some may try to frame the South China Sea issue, the issue remains what it is,” Lin said, adding that no political manipulation disguised as legal moves will go anywhere or deter China from safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

Lin said China will continue to firmly safeguard its lawful rights in accordance with domestic and international laws. “We urge relevant countries to be sober-minded and change course instead of going further down the wrong path,” he added.

Source(s): CGTN

Former Maldivian leader Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom walked free on Thursday, after the High Court overturned a conviction against him for money laundering and bribery.

Yameen was sentenced to 11 years in prison on December 25, 2022, on charges of bribery and money laundering in connection to the sale of V. Aarah. The High Court delivered its verdict on Thursday, after a months-long pause in the appeal proceedings.

But instead of a full exoneration, the court overturned the two convictions and ordered a retrial in the case.

Earlier on Thursday, the High Court overturned the three-year prison sentence issues against Yameen’s co-defendant in the case, former Felidhoo MP Yoosuf Naeem, who was convicted of bribing the former president.

Delivering the judgement, Judge Hassan Shafeeu – who chaired the three-member bench – said that the Criminal Court committed major wrongs in the trial. He said the verdict was issued “outside the bounds of the law.”

The other two judges concurred.

The High Court’s judgement comes four months after it concluded appeal hearings in the case. The sentencing hearing was scheduled on Wednesday night, after Speaker Mohamed Aslam – a top politician from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – threatened to lodge a case with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) over the prolonged appeal process.

This marks the second time for a court to overturn a conviction against Yameen. In 2021, the Supreme Court overturned a five-year sentence issued against him for money laundering in connection to the sale of GA. Vodamulla – another island which was leased for resort development during his administration.

The conviction in the Aarah case had disqualified Yameen from contesting the 2023 presidential elections. Though he initially asked the then-opposition PPM-PNC (Progressive Party of Maldives-People’s National Congress) coalition to boycott the election, he later endorsed President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who won the vote taken by the coalition’s joint senate to produce a backup candidate.

Yameen was transferred home on October 1, 2023 – a day after President Muizzu won the presidential election.

But less than a week after President Muizzu took office in November, Yameen left the ruling PPM-PNC and initiated efforts to form a new party, the People’s National Front (PNF).

He has also grown increasingly vocal in his criticism of President Muizzu’s administration, has repeatedly alleged that President Muizzu and other members of the PPM-PNC leadership had never wanted him freed.

Source(s); sun.mv