Citing instances of human rights violations in Maldives and the clamp down on peaceful protests, Amnesty International wants India as a large, thriving democracy with a prominent role to play in the region to intervene.
Armed with the report of a fact finding mission that was carried out in the island nation between April 17 and 22 April, Amnesty claims human rights situation in the Maldives is deteriorating alarmingly and has accused the authorities of “muzzling peaceful protesters, silencing critical media and civil society, while abusing the judicial system to imprison opposition politicians”.
Amnesty said the civil society in Maldives too is looking at the world community, especially India to engage with the Maldivian authorities to improve and protect human rights.
Speaking to media here on Thursday, Abbas Faiz, Amnesty International’s Maldives researcher said while the principles of a fair trial were not followed in the case of former President Mohammed Nasheed, former defence minister Mohammed Nazim and MP Ahmed Nazim, as many as 140 “peaceful protesters” who were arrested since February, have been released on conditions that severely limited their rights to take part in further demonstrations.
“The judiciary did not allow Mr. Nasheed and the others access to legal counsel for the first hearing; the authorities are stopping the right to freedom of assembly, which is an accepted international human rights law. Civil society is resisting these impositions, but it is powerless,” Mr. Faiz said.
Referring to the role of the judiciary he said, in all three cases [of Mr. Nasheed and others], the right to a fair trial has been seriously undermined, “Mohamed Nasheed’s imprisonment came after a sham trial, but he is far from the only one locked up on trumped-up charges and after unfair trials. It is disturbing how far the Maldives government has co-opted the judiciary as a tool to cement its own hold on power,” said Mr. Faiz.
The delegation, which interviewed lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists and political activists, was restricted from meeting former President Nasheed who has been sentenced on terrorism charges to 13 years in prison and with government officials during this visit; though the authorities have agreed to allow a meeting in May.
“There’s a climate of fear spreading in the Maldives, as safeguards on human rights are increasingly eroded. The authorities have a growing track record of silencing critical voices by any means necessary – be it through the police, the judicial system, or outright threats and harassment. This must end immediately,” said Mr. Faiz.
Reaching out to the international community to step-in, Raghu Menon, Amnesty International India’s advocacy coordinator, who was part of the fact finding mission said: “Media freedom too has been hit hard…as an influential neighbour and an important regional power India has a responsibility to work towards a human rights-friendly environment in the Maldives.”
The fact finding team also flagged the issue of threats and attacks against independent media critical of the government and claimed several journalists told Amnesty International they have received death threats through texts or phone calls, but police have refused to follow up and investigate these threats meaningfully.
The rise of vigilante religious groups allegedly in cahoots with the police has also been highlighted. “The Maldives authorities must immediately end its disturbing crackdown on human rights. Political tensions are already at a boiling point, and further harassment and attacks on those opposing the authorities will only make the situation spiral out of control. The upcoming UN UPR session in Geneva in May is a key moment to push the Maldives authorities to immediately take concrete action to improve the country’s human rights situation,” Mr. Faiz said.
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