Freedom Watch Maldives

After a six-decade moratorium on capital punishment, the Maldives have decided to reinstate the practice for the crimes of premeditated murder or deliberate manslaughter. Since the age of criminal responsibility is 10 years of age, this means that juveniles maybe sentenced to death for crimes committed before the age of 18.

The Maldives, a nation of islands southwest of India, is an Islamic state that requires all of its citizens to be Muslim. Freedom of religion on the islands for non-Muslims is severely restricted.

For certain offenses, referred to as hadd crimes (crimes including apostasy, adultery and theft which require pre-established punishments under Islamic sharia law), the age of responsibility is seven.

Umar Naseer, the Minister of Home Affairs, was quoted saying that the Maldives was "a hundred percent Islamic country and there are certain values that we all believe in." He added that the Maldives had an overcrowded prison system and "lively criminal environment."

Since the law was enacted at the end of April, 20 people have been sentenced with the death penalty, with one of the convictions overturned by a higher court.

A spokesperson for the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, said that according to international law, juveniles who are charged and convicted while under the age of 18 are not allowed to be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without the possibility of release.

Further, the Maldives has ratified the the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which explicitly forbids handing down the the death sentence to juveniles below the age of 18 at the time when the crime was committed.

"We urge the government to retain its moratorium on the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, particularly in cases that involve juvenile offenders and to work towards abolishing the practice altogether," Shamdasani said.

"According to the new regulation, minors convicted of intentional murder shall be executed once they turn 18," she added.

Facilities are currently being built to carry out the executions, which will be implemented by lethal injection.

Freedom of Thought Report

From sky level to sea level, looking through the thickly paned and weathered openings of a rumbling fuselage, vivid colors zoom into focus around tiny islands loosely connected by a vibrant underworld of coral reef. An awe-inspiring sight. Yet lately, not even the mesmerizing beauty of this far-away island chain can mask the recent and unsightly chain of events that has left democracy stranded in the rising waters of political turmoil. Despite its small size, the Maldives is one of those places that have huge significance in terms of social justice (think Iceland, Cuba, Denmark, Bolivia). The 2012 coup there, now eighteen months long, gives us reason to reflect. Here’s what happened in the Maldives and why we think it needs attention.

February 6-8, 2012: Democratically-elected President Mohamed Nasheed delivers a sudden and unexpected resignation on live television.

August 30, 2012: The British Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry (CONI) investigation surprises the world by finding the transfer of power from Nasheed to his vice president Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik to have been legal.

September 7, 2013: Presidential elections will take place, with both Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Waheed, running as an independent, on the ballot.

Coups are among the ugliest of political phenomena, perhaps surpassed only by war, genocide, and famine. They closely parallel fraudulent elections in that both witness an assault on the rights of voters and well-being of a nation by the powerful few. The upcoming elections in the Maldives have global significance, not just because of their contrast with the bloody aftermath of the July 3 deposing of Egypt’s president Mohamed Morsi in another Muslim society, but because, until his ouster, Nasheed and his administration were inspirational leaders in the global fight against climate change, lionized by young climate activists at a 2009 rally in Copenhagen with a banner addressed to Nasheed himself reading “You Are Our Global President.”

A 15-year-old girl who was sentenced to 100 lashes for engaging in premarital sex has had her punishment overturned by a Maldives court.

The High Court ruled on Wednesday that the girl, whose stepfather is on trial for raping her, had been wrongly convicted by a juvenile court of having premarital sex with another man.

Premarital sex is illegal in the Maldives, a popular tourist venue.

The case caused outrage among rights groups who welcomed the latest ruling.

"We are relieved that the girl will be spared this inhumane 'punishment' based on an outrageous conviction, which we hope has also been quashed," said Polly Truscott, Amnesty International's deputy Asia-Pacific director.

"No-one should ever be prosecuted for sex outside marriage in the first place."

Ms Truscott said that flogging amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. She called on the Maldives government to annul all outstanding flogging sentences.

In its ruling the court said the sentence of the lower court was based on a confession that the girl made while she was suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. It said that she had been "unfit for trial" after the alleged rape.

The Maldivian government appealed on behalf of the teenager following international outrage in February to punish her with 100 lashes when she reached the age of 18.

The girl - who cannot be named for legal reasons - was only charged after police investigating the rape allegations discovered that she had been having consensual sex with another man.

Religious conservative Adhaalath Party leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla has accused Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed of using black magic to garner support for the party.

“As a result of bringing in people from India, Sri Lanka, and various parts of the Maldives to perform black magic for [Nasheed], and then casting spells on food and feeding them to the masses, Nasheed has caused large numbers of people to become blind towards all his wrongdoings, and to imagine characteristics of being democratic and pro-development in him, and to be deluded into thinking they are in absolute support of him while in reality they are in a crazed state of enchantment and therefore run behind him,” Imran said, addressing the Jumhoree Coalition’s first major rally in the capital.

“Nasheed’s followers are anti-Islamic people like him and huge criminals. The rest are people under the influence of his black magic. Most people are bewitched and under black magic spells. This is the state of this country,” he said.

“Nasheed is doubtless an agent – one who has been rather well trained – sent in by enemies of Islam and our nationalism,” Imran continued. “A vote cast for Nasheed is an act which will facilitate the eradication of Islam from this country and will hurl us into a state of slavery.”

The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers conducted an official visit to the Republic of Maldives at the Government’s invitation from 17 to 24 February 2013. She met with Governmental, legislative and judicial authorities, as well as with lawyers, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders. She visited Malé and Addu City.

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur examines the steps taken by the Maldives to ensure the independence of judges, prosecutors and lawyers. She analyses the challenges and obstacles that impede justice from being adequately and efficiently administered, and actors of the judicial system from discharging their functions independently, impartially and effectively since the adoption of a democratic Constitution in 2008 and her predecessor’s visit in 2007.

The Special Rapporteur starts her report by placing her visit in the recent political context where tensions with and within the judiciary have led to unrest and negative consequences on the consolidation of democracy. Reference is then made to (a) serious gaps in the legal system; (b) the misinterpretation of the concepts of independence of the judiciary and accountability; (c) the selection and appointment procedures of judges and the lack of transparency and adequacy of the Judicial Service Commission; (d) the lack of protection for judicial actors; (e) the precarious situation of women in the justice system; (f) the effects of impunity for past human rights violations on the justice system; and (g) the concerning lack of public trust in the judicial system.

International press freedom NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has included ‘extremist religious groups’ in the Maldives in its ‘Predators of Freedom of Information’ report for 2013

http://en.rsf.org/spip.php?page=predateur&id_article=44484

Widespread ‘secret’ slaughter of endangered sea turtles despite ban; “very tasty” say killers

In the Maldives with no action taken by authorities to uphold local conservation laws or adhere to international agreements to protect the endangered species.

A photo of one such slaughter taken earlier this year and obtained by Minivan News shows dozens of dead sea turtles on a dhoni (local boat).

The Maldives is home to five species of sea turtles. Protecting the endangered species is crucial for maintaining environmental health and functioning – and by extension human health – in the Maldives. Without this keystone species the unique Maldivian ecosystems – ocean, reef, sea grass, and coasts – would cease to exist altogether.

The Islamic Ministry’s Fiqh Academy has requested parliament lower the age of prosecution for minors stipulated in the the Penal Code bill from 14 to 10 years-old, reports local media.

MP Ahmed Hamza, chairperson of the parliamentary committee reviewing the Penal Code Bill, has said that international conventions state the age of prosecution for minors is 15 years-old.

“The age for a minor to be advised to mend his ways for forgoing compulsory deeds is 10 years-old,” according to the Fiqh Academy. Their commentary submitted to the parliamentary committee also claims that minors who commit offenses in the Maldives are 11 years-old or above.

17 y/old teenager flogged in public outside Justice Building in the Maldives

A few days ago a 15-year-old rape survivor has been sentenced to be whipped 100 times in public just like in this video! Let's put an end to this lunacy by hitting the Maldives government where it hurts: the tourism industry.

Attack on the the Maldives National Museum (After the Island President)

It's hard to believe, but a 15-year-old rape survivor has been sentenced to be whipped 100 times in public! Let's put an end to this lunacy by hitting the Maldives government where it hurts: the tourism industry.

The girl's stepfather is accused of raping her for years and murdering the baby she bore. Now the court says she must be flogged for “sex outside marriage”! President Waheed of the Maldives is already feeling global pressure on this, and we can force him to save this girl and change the law to spare other victims this cruel fate. This is how we can end the War on Women – by standing up every time an outrage like this happens.

Tourism is the big earner for the Maldives elite, including government ministers. Let's build a million-strong petition to President Waheed this week, then threaten the islands' reputation through hard-hitting ads in travel magazines and online until he steps in to save her and abolish this outrageous law. Sign now and share this with everyone to get us to a million!

“Amnesty International is biased; sometimes excessive force is absolutely necessary” ~Human Rights Ambassador

The Human Rights Ambassador, while dismissing allegations of police brutality, also offered justification for the police actions of February 8, 2012:

“We vehemently deny any accusation of police brutality during President Mohamed Waheed’s period (since February 2012) but on 8th February the police had to use force to disperse an aggressive Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters who were armed with long sticks and bricks in their hands to batter the police force. And we would also like to note that the police personnel and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) personnel were extremely exhausted on that day while there was no proper command and control formed after Nasheed’s resignation on 7th February sparking chaos in the whole country.”

In conclusion, Ibrahim Didi wrote that Amnesty International seemed to be highly concerned of human rights violations during Gayyoom’s regime, adding “it appears Amnesty International is indirectly rejecting any process of legality as those allegations against Maumoon not being investigated yet.”

Amnesty International had at the time released a report titled “The Other Side of Paradise: A Human Rights Crisis in the Maldives”, chronicling human rights abuses in the country since the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.

Minister of Home Affairs Mohamed Jameel Ahmed had responded to the report at the time, saying the NGO had failed to seek any comments from the government. He did not, however, appear to dispute the contents of the report.