Intervene to improve situation in Maldives: Amnesty to India

Amidst "alarming deterioration" of human rights situation in Maldives, Amnesty International today urged the international community, including India, to engage more with the island nation to protect the human rights of its citizens.
The global human rights body, which conducted a five-day fact finding mission in Maldives, claimed that the authorities there were "muzzling" peaceful protesters, "silencing" critical media and civil society and "abusing" judicial system to imprison opposition politicians.
"The international community must wake up and realise that behind the facade of a tourist paradise, there is a dark trend in Maldives where the human rights situation is rapidly deteriorating."

"As an influential neighbour and an important regional power, India has a responsibility to work towards a human rights-friendly environment in the Maldives. A favourable human rights environment is essential for strengthening democratic processes in the Maldives," Raghu Menon, Amnesty International India's Advocacy Coordinator, who was part of the fact finding mission, told reporters here.
Amnesty International conducted a five-day fact finding mission to Maldives from April 17-22 this year in which its delegation interviewed lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists and political activists.
"There is a climate of fear spreading in 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," Amnesty International's Maldives Researcher Abbas Faiz told reporters here.

Referring to former President Mohamed Nasheed who was sent to prison on charges of terrorism, the global body said that after their own investigations, it found that 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," Faiz claimed.
"The international community cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in the Maldives. The upcoming UN Universal Periodic Review (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," he added.