Maldives this week: 17 – 23 June

On 22 June, local NGO ARC said that there were systemic flaws in the Maldives' child protection mechanism, and this was what had led to the death of a 13-year-old, who had been allegedly kidnapped, murdered and left in a suitcase in the Hulhumalé lagoon.  

On 21 June, the government submitted a bill on establishing the Maldives' foreign service. A Foreign Service Institute will be established under the bill once law.

On 21 June President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih departed on a private visit to the United Arab Emirates. The president is visiting the UAE to attend the funeral of his brother. He returned to the Maldives on 23 June. 

On 21 June, parliament approved the Maldives joining the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investments and Export Credit (ICIEC). The Maldives made the application to join the ICIEC on 4 July 2017. 

On 21 June, former President Abdulla Yameen's lawyers denied allegations that he was involved in politics while under house arrest. 

On 20 June, Prosecutor General Hussein Shameem raised questions on the validity of holding a hearing via video conferencing on the case against former Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed when he was in a location in which Maldivian courts did not have jurisdiction. On 22 June, after a hearing at the Criminal Court, he announced that the decision to hold the hearing will be appealed at the High Court. 

On 20 June, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer estimated that the government will lose MVR36 billion in revenue between 2020 and 2022 due to the pandemic. He says it was important to reduce government expenditure in view of this. 

On 20 June, the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) approved COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca for emergency use in the Maldives. On 20 May, Ministry of Health published the findings of its investigation into alleged negligence in all phases in the case of a 10-year old victim of COVID-19. The Ministry of Health notes that if sufficient care had been provided on time, the tragedy could have been avoided. On 21 June, Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem, speaking at a parliament committee says action will be taken against all found negligent in the case. He also announced that a separate ambulance service will be established. On 22 June, the President's Office announced that government offices in the Malé region will remain closed until 29 June with most staff working remotely. 

On 17 June, 101 religious scholars submitted a petition to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih calling for the withdrawal of an amendment proposed to the Penal Code. The amendment criminalises labelling a Muslim as an infidel and a non-Muslim, as part of the articles on hate crimes. On 20 June, the Adhaalath Party met with President Solih to share its concerns on the amendment. It said that the President has assured that the concerns raised by the public and religious scholars will be addressed. About 100 islands councils, three atoll councils and the Malé City Council has issued statements calling on the government to recall the amendment. On 22 June, the Minister of Islamic Affairs  Dr Ahmed Zahir Ali said that the ministry has advised the parliament to include provisions criminalizing any actions that were against Islam in the amendment to the Penal Code to include hate crimes. 

On 17 June, Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam said that the government prioritised voluntary resettlement and was not considering reducing the number of inhabited islands in the Maldives. 

On 17 June, the parliament committee conducting an inquiry into security breaches around the 6 May terror attack against Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed, summoned Central Bank Governor Ali Hashim for questioning in the inquiry. On 20 June Prosecutor General Hussein Shameem said that he expected the investigation into the attack to be completed in July and for charged to be filed before 5 August. On 21 June the parliament committee summoned Minister of Defence Mariya Ahmed Didi for questioning in the inquiry. On 23 June, chair of the committee Mohamed Aslam said that the inquiry will be completed next week.