Amnesty International Report 2005 - Maldives
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Date:
25 May 2005
Covering events from January - December 2004
Mass arrests of opposition leaders and activists followed large-scale demonstrations in August to press for political reform. Detainees were reportedly ill-treated in police custody. Among those held without charge or trial for more than two months were several members of parliament. Government promises of reform were undermined by arrests of political opponents in February and August, and the imposition of a state of emergency between August and October.
Background
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, head of state since 1978, announced plans in June to introduce constitutional reforms, to allow the formation of political parties and to strengthen the judiciary. However, the newly elected constitutional assembly (People's Special Majlis) was suspended in July after 24 members refused to take part in an open vote to elect the speaker. In October it held another session, but without opposition members who were in detention.
The government continued to state its commitment to the reform of the criminal justice system. A new penal code and police law were reportedly being drafted by the end of 2004. Existing legal safeguards, including access to lawyers and independent medical examinations, were ignored or withdrawn under emergency powers.
In January, regulations were issued for the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, established and appointed by President Gayoom in December 2003. The regulations provided for the Commission to initiate investigations and prosecutions, and to publish an annual report of its activities. Statutory legislation had not been passed by the year's end.
Maldives acceded to the UN Convention against Torture in April.
At least 82 people were killed, 26 people remained missing and over 20 inhabited islands in the Maldives were destroyed as a result of the tsunami that struck countries around the Indian Ocean on 26 December.
Detentions and ill-treatment
The government declared a state of emergency following mass protests at the slow pace of democratic reform on 12 and 13 August in the capital, Malé. About 200 people were detained, most of them supporters of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The authorities said that 128 detainees had been released without charge by mid-September. The emergency was lifted in October, when more than 50 detainees were reportedly still held without charge. By the end of 2004 all of the detainees, including members of the constitutional assembly, had been released.
Under emergency powers, the government suspended normal legal safeguards, including the right of detainees to have access to a lawyer. Detainees were allowed only limited visits from their families, weeks after their arrest. Some relatives were harassed and briefly detained.
There were consistent reports that some detainees were beaten after being transferred, handcuffed and blindfolded, to the police training island, Girifushi, and that at least three woman were sexually assaulted. Although some detainees received hospital treatment for their injuries, others were reportedly denied medical attention.
- At least four prisoners of conscience – Fathimath Nisreen, Mohamed Zaki, Ahmed Ibrahim Didi and Naushad Waheed – were serving long prison terms imposed in 2002 after unfair political trials. They had been transferred to house arrest in early 2004, but were taken into police custody after the imposition of the state of emergency. In October, they were transferred back to house arrest.
- Jennifer Latheef, a freelance filmmaker, and Mohamed Mahir, a businessman, who had both been prisoners of conscience on several previous occasions, were among those detained in August. Jennifer Latheef was reportedly punched in the face, held in tight handcuffs for several hours, sexually molested and kicked while blindfolded and shackled. She was transferred to house arrest in November. Mohamed Mahir was transferred to house arrest in November, reportedly after three months in solitary confinement. They were both released at the end of 2004.
Politically motivated charges and trials
At least 17 people were charged with criminal offences for attending mass rallies in August after they had been released or transferred to house arrest. They included four members of the constitutional assembly – Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, Mohamed Munawwar, Gasim Ibrahim, and Ibrahim Ismail – who were charged with treason. However, charges against them were withdrawn at the end of the year.
- Islamic preacher Ibrahim Fareed was arrested in August. He was reportedly sentenced to two years' imprisonment after a hasty trial in September on charges of attempting to overthrow the government.
Prison killings investigation
In January the report was published of an investigation into the death of prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem in September 2003 at Maafushi prison, and the deaths of four other prisoners and the injury of dozens more after police fired on a prison protest the next day. The investigators concluded that security personnel had violated procedures for the treatment of prisoners and the use of firearms. Subsequently, the government announced plans to reform police security, staff training and health care provision at the prison. Some 12 suspects arrested in 2003 in connection with the deaths had not been brought to trial by the end of 2004.
AI country visits
AI delegates visited the Maldives in October for meetings with government officials and non-governmental organizations. The delegates were given access to political detainees arrested in August.
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