Republic of Maldives
Head of state and government: Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom

The government intensified its crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly. Authorities used new laws and criminal cases to silence political opponents, as well as human rights defenders, journalists and civil society. Lack of independence of the judiciary remained a concern. The government took steps to reintroduce executions after more than 60 years.

BACKGROUND

The ruling coalition enacted new legislation to curtail peaceful protests and expression. An opposition coalition, the Maldives United Opposition, was set up. It was headed by former Vice-President Mohamed Jameel and advised by former President Mohamed Nasheed who was granted political asylum in the UK. There were growing signs of splits in the ruling coalition between factions loyal to the current President and those loyal to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

UNFAIR TRIALS

The authorities increasingly ignored constitutional safeguards on the right to a fair trial, as evidenced by a string of criminal cases against political opponents. On 10 June, former Vice-President Adeeb received a 15-year jail sentence; he was convicted in connection with a plot to assassinate the President, amid serious concerns about the fairness of his trial. In February, Sheikh Imran Abdulla leader of the Adhaalath Party, was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for terrorism after a trial which was widely criticized as unfair and politically motivated. The Supreme Court upheld lengthy jail sentences for former President Nasheed and former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim; both had been sentenced in trials criticized as grossly unfair.

JUSTICE SYSTEM

The judicial system continued to be deeply politicized. In July, a civil court threatened to hold the Attorney General in contempt after his office said it would appeal against a judgment that barred former staff of Haveeru newspaper from working for any other media organization for two years. The government failed to strengthen the Judicial Services Commission to ensure impartiality.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

A new defamation law criminalizing "defamatory" speech, remarks and other actions was passed by Parliament and ratified by the President in August. The law is vaguely worded and broad in its application, giving the authorities wide discretion to target and silence peaceful critics.[1]

Free and independent media faced harassment in the form of lawsuits and bans. News outlets Haveeru, DhiTV, AdduLIVE and Channel News Maldives were on occasion blocked or forced to shut down. Four journalists from the pro-opposition Raajje TV were charged with obstructing law enforcement officers after covering a protest; their sentences were expected in early 2017.

Social media activist "Lucas" Jaleel was arrested for "inciting hatred" in July after he alleged excessive use of force by police in a series of tweets.

In April, police confirmed that reporter Ahmed Rilwan had been abducted outside his home in 2014, having previously denied there was evidence of an abduction. In May, the government denied involvement in his disappearance to the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances.

In September, police raided the premises of the newspaper Maldives Independent, on the basis that it was suspected of involvement in a coup plot. The raid took place hours after the premiere of an Al Jazeera documentary alleging large-scale corruption by the President and senior ministers, in which the newspaper's editor was interviewed.

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY

Arbitrary restrictions on peaceful protesters and human rights defenders continued. In February, police banned an anti-corruption rally in the capital, Malé. In April, 16 journalists were arrested after staging a peaceful protest against the defamation law outside the President's office,[2] and in August journalists were stopped from protesting against the same law. In July, the Maldives United Opposition was refused permission by the government to hold a rally. A law was enacted in August requiring written permission from the police to hold a protest in Malé.

CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING PUNISHMENT

Courts continued to sentence people, the vast majority of them women, to flogging. This was most commonly imposed for "fornication". Despite flogging constituting torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, the government continued to insist that it would not remove the punishment from Maldivian law.

DEATH PENALTY

Senior officials repeatedly pledged to resume executions and end a moratorium on the use of the death penalty that has been in effect for more than 60 years. The government declared that it would carry out executions within 30 days of the Supreme Court upholding death sentences and changed the method of execution from lethal injection to death by hanging. Death sentences against three people were upheld by the Supreme Court in June and July, despite well-documented fair trial concerns in at least one case.[3] No executions took place, as negotiations with the victims' families over possible pardons under Islamic law were ongoing. Of the 17 prisoners on death row, at least five were sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were below 18 years of age.

1. Maldives: Proposed defamation law is an attack on freedom of expression (ASA 29/4573/2016)

2. Maldives: Arrest of 16 journalists threatens freedom of the press (ASA 33/3773/2016)

3. Maldives: Halt plans to carry out first execution in more than six decades (ASA 29/4364/2016)

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