Open letter to the UN Secretary General (7th March 2009)

The Secretary General of UN,

Secretary General’s Office of UN,

The Headquarters of the United Nations.

Dear Mr. Ban Ki-moon,

I plead for finding proper justice through an investigation of UN Human Rights instrument and UN Anti-Corruption instrument for what I have been subjected for more than 15 years in a systematic rights abuse of arbitrary detention and inhumane torturing in prison of Republic of Maldives, followed by attempts to change the legal grounds for the international court case against the Maldivian government by attempting to arbitrarily release me since 14^th February 2009 with possible involvement of Chinese government and some corrupted UN officials. The just mentioned parties used their political powers to remove the existence of a pending international court case for my issue of arbitrary detention in Maldives. The true facts can come out with many evidences, without much efforts of an international investigation. But it is beyond the ability of an individual victim without the assistance of an international body such as UN.

I am a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. My name is Richard Wu Mei De. I came to Maldives in February 1993 for a business purpose on behalf of four of my business partners in Shanghai. Our business in Maldives began very successfully and became famous in the middle of 1993. All our staff was from Shanghai. A few months after opening, I ran into a business dispute with our landlord who was an influential Maldivian. This resulted in the deportation of my staff illegally.

Under the written recommendation of Maldivian Trade Minister at that time, I filed a case in the Civil Court of Maldives in September 1993 for the business dispute against our landlord. When all my documents for the court case were ready I found myself imprisoned without any legal procedure since 4^th November 1993.

A few days later the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka made an official inquiry about my arrest to the Maldivian government. They were told that I had done something illegal in Maldives and was arrested for the investigation. In April 1994, a Chinese delegation came to meet me in Jail to discover the fact that I was detained arbitrarily. According to the delegation the Maldivian government had agreed to release me.

I was released on 2^nd August 1994 to resume the court case regarding the business dispute but I found no way to go ahead with it, because during my 9-month arbitrary detention, all my belongings including court case documents were stolen. The police launched an investigation regarding my lost belongings but there was no progress.

I wrote a letter to the President of Maldives at that time, Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, requesting him to look into this problem. He did not want to face the consequences of delinquency of his government. He simply ordered to put me back in jail again around the end of August 1994. I was brought back to jail without any legal procedure.

At the time I could never think that a President of a Nation would conduct such injustice and inhumane acts against an innocent foreigner. So I kept on writing letters to inform the President Maumoon that someone in his government has misused the power of the government to imprison me without legality. I had believed that he would stand for justice if he came to know the truth, but I never got any positive response from the government. As time went by, I grew suspicious of the involvement of the President Maumoon in this transgression.

I sent my 72^nd letter to the President Maumoon through official channel of the Chinese Government, which reached him in April 1997, and it ascertained my great suspicion that the President Maumoon was behind such rights abuse in the Maldives. I began my international complain against President Maumoon, especially on the crime of slow poisoning me in prison. My international complains brought action from both the Chinese government and the international community. The Chinese government put many pressures on the government of Maldives to reach a just settlement for my issue. But the President Maumoon never wanted to settle this problem in a proper just way and always tried to use his political power to force me to give up.

At the SAARC summit meeting in Sri Lanka in August 1998, human rights issue was the first agenda of the summit. For Maldivian government’s human rights violations, the case of my arbitrary detention was placed at the top. For the first time Chinese government, Maldivian government and UN together faced my case to find a just solution. In this situation President Maumoon fully admitted his error in my case and expressed his sincerity for a fair settlement of my case. He invited the UN and Chinese government to come to Maldives to observe his fair settlement after the voting day of the presidential elections in October 1998.

After President Maumoon came back to the Maldives he played a very big political trick to cause a riot and fire in Gaamaadhoo Jail of Maldives in order to kill me in a coverable way, but he did not succeed. 

After voting day late in October 1998, UN and Chinese officials came to observe the fair settlement of my issue as had been promised. A few hours before their arrival in the Maldives, the President Maumoon himself left for Singapore under the guise of an emergency health problem. He remained in Singapore and then left for Germany and did not return to Maldives until the UN and Chinese officials left in early November 1998. 

Maldivian government made UN to believe that the President Maumoon was sincere to settle my issue fairly and could not at that time only because of an emergency health problem. The Maldivian Government claimed that they were committed to settle this case fairly. Therefore it was not necessary for UN to come back as it could be settled between the Maldivian and Chinese government. Once UN agreed that the settlement could be done between the two governments, President Maumoon began to play another political trick with the Chinese government to keep the status of my case in the same position as it had been.

President Maumoon gave an indirect message to the Chinese government that if they continued to put pressure on him to settle my issue in meeting with my demands, Maldivian government would abandon relations with China and join with Taiwan. From January 1999 Maldives began a cooperation of long line fishing with Taiwan to pressure the Chinese government.

In China, no one would equalize an issue of personal interest with the National interest of Taiwan issue. For the National Interest of Taiwan issue, Chinese government was forced to soften the policy of my issue towards Maldives. Chinese government changed the policy from high pressure of cutting off every help from Chinese government to high diplomacy with top officials making special visits to Maldives regarding my issue.

In February 1999, the Chinese government gave an invitation to President Maumoon to visit China. President Maumoon visited China in June 1999. During his visit, Chinese government was unable to make President Maumoon to settle my case in meeting with my reasonable demands. Instead Chinese government began to provide help to Maldives again. Two countries relationship was softened. 

With the understanding and corporation of both the governments, and in order to satisfy the interest of both governments, they deceived the rest of the world into thinking that my issue of arbitrary detention in Maldives had been settled in 1998. But in reality, it was kept in the same position as it was, even worsening in torture and ill-treatment due to the softened Chinese policy. Maldivian government felt that China was no longer in a position to protect me from torture and ill-treatment.

In July 1999, the Chinese new Ambassador had three rounds of official discussion with Maldivian Foreign Minister regarding my issue, but could not reach a settlement in meeting with my reasonable demands. In September 1999, the Chairman of the Chinese National Congress (Parliament), made a special visit to Maldives for my issue. In December 1999, the President of China made a special visit to Maldives for my issue. But neither of them could convince Mr. Maumoon, the President of Maldives, to settle my issue in meeting with my reasonable demands. The high diplomacy of the Chinese government brought much increased hard pressure from Maldivian government on me through torturing and ill-treatment to force me to give-up. 

The softened policy of Chinese government on my issue caused my wife, a lawyer who had waited for me for 10 years before marriage, to lose her hope of getting justice. After more than six years of trying hard to fight on my behalf, she began to convince me to leave the issue, but I could not make myself to give-up. With her broken heart she filed a case in Chinese court for divorce. I accepted her painful choice and divorced in the beginning 2000. 

The divorce not only caused to lose the support of my wife, but I also lost the contacts for all my friends in China and in other countries. I was left standing alone.

I never had the chance to read any religious books before coming to the Jail of Maldives. However, I used to read the translation of Holy-Qur’an often in jail, even though I was not a believer of Islam. I loved to read the teaching in Holy-Qur’an because I felt that it is very close to our moral teachings in Chinese society on how a human being should be in life such as Honesty, Integrity, Patience, Constancy, Discipline, Gratitude, Persistence, and Faithfulness…  

In March 2000, while I was reading the translation of the Holy-Qur’an, I felt something touch my heart to realize the truth in Holy-Qur’an. After a month of very careful reading, I had no doubt on the absolute truth in Holy-Qur’an. I decided to officially accept Islam and become a Muslim. I marked the day of 20th April 2000 as the day I surrendered myself fully to Almighty-Allah as a Muslim. This changed my perspective on life and everything that existed. 

My practices of Islam became a new aspect for the previous government of Maldives to put pressure on me. As a 100 percent Muslim government, they never provided me any Islamic books and other assistance on my path to Islam. Instead they insisted taking away my Islamic books and created obstacles of all kinds on my way to Islam. Even to get a timetable for prayers was a hard work. I had to struggle for each and every month to get it. After repeated requests they would just pass a photocopy of the timetable section from the calendar. They would not allow me to have an Islamic calendar. Also they denied me to register as a Muslim in the Maldives until January 2009.The change of government not only allowed me to register but I was also provided an Islamic calendar with prayer timetable on it.  

In the middle of 2002, I came to know that even though the information of my true arbitrary detention in Maldives had reached the international community and international media, the reason that it did not work out was because I have to continue complaining until my issue was fully settled. Otherwise, the government played some political games to show to the outside world some false actions. Like what had happened in 1998 SAARC summit, when UN, Chinese Government and Maldivian Government faced together to settle my issue and committed to bring a fair settlement after voting day of Presidential Election in October 1998. But the issue remains unresolved.

This new understanding brought an essential change to my approach. I prepared action in the new way to complain about my issue internationally. But before my written complain could be sent out, a sudden raid took place in jail. My written complains to the international community were caught, and I was put into isolation cell for this in September 2002, with very strict rules to restrict any writing material. This was to ensure my complains would not be made before the presidential election of 2003. 

A month after I was isolated, I realized that the divine purpose of keeping me in jail of the Maldives for such a long period despite my innocence, was to cause some good changes to the country. So I decided to carry out this divine purpose through offering a proposal to the President Maumoon to reform the unjust governing system in the country and to improve inhumane jail conditions, if he accepts and commits to bring the changes himself I would be willing to make peace settlement of my issue with him. I offered this proposal on two occasions, one in November 2002 and one in March 2003 through the Director and the Director General of DPRS. But these two offers were rejected. 

I decided to inform President Maumoon about this proposal for the third time in writing through Chinese government official channel to ensure that he gets this information of peace settlement for my issue in the course of safe reforming, before I would take serious international action of continuously complaining. The fact of my long arbitrary detention in Maldives and inhumane jail conditions and his unwillingness to reform brings the necessity of international forced change.

Because of the specific letter sent to President Maumoon was through Chinese government official channel, the Chinese government was fully aware of the position and effects of my complain and as a result, that would cause Chinese government to face international human-rights problem for helping Maldivian government to hide the crime of my arbitrary detention from international community. The reason for UN to have left the matter to the Maldivian and Chinese governments was with the understanding that they would have settled it fairly without delays back in 1998. 

As soon as my complains were launched the Chinese government immediately filed a case in international court in May 2003 against the Maldivian government, for my long arbitrary detention in Maldives to find a just solution through international legal system. This action saved Chinese government from being accused by the international community for disregarding the dignity and rights of an ordinary Chinese citizen and placing the interest of two countries relationship above an individual’s right to freedom. The investigation of international court began on 13^th June 2003 and a team of seven members arrived in Maldives on a UN special flight. 

I was informed by a reliable source that seven members of UN investigation team including one Chinese who was a Director of UNHRC, working for UN for about 25 years. One was a Dutch from International Court of Justice to ensure the investigation would be conducted in meeting with the legal standard of International Court. One was Turkish, on behalf of International Islamic Community to check on my religious complains and one Pilipino who was from UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

The investigation team of UN court was co-operating with Maldivian Law Committee.

The investigation was going on progressively up to 21^st July 2003. The first stage of investigation was completed with a report. It ascertained that I was arbitrarily detained in Prison of Maldives for more than 10 years. When the second stage of investigation began, the International Court reinforced 25 more new members in to the investigation team. The investigating team was divided in to several working groups investigating on 22 related subjects to be completed with an investigation report for each subject. The reports from each subject of the second stage together with the report from the first stage are supposed to be submitted to international court before the process of the trial.

 President Maumoon tried hard to stop the UN team from meeting me by spreading misleading information within the prison in order to confuse me. He put hard pressure on me to try to break me down but failed to succeed. Then he turned to other sources for his target.

On 15^th August 2003, President Maumoon sent his special envoy Ahmed Abdullah, the Heath Minister at that time, accompanied by the Director General of DPRS at that time, Mr. Adnan Muiz, to deliver his letter to the Chinese Leader. The President’s intention was to try to find a way of peace settlement with me through the Chinese government as the middle-person. But the Chinese Leader rejected the proposal of President Maumoon. They wanted UN court to go ahead with my case because they had experienced what would happen when UN left from the settlement of my issue. The decision of the Chinese government caused President Maumoon to resort to shooting of prisoners in order to stop the investigation team from getting evidences for slow poisoning me inside the jail. This stopped the UN investigation from being completed.

The shooting took place in prison on 20^th September 2003 under a well organized plan that was conspired a month ahead. This plan was executed step by step, first by creating conflicting conditions in the prison, then by punishing the prisoners involved in the conflict with torture. They tortured one of the prisoners to death in order to provoke a riot among prisoners resulting in a bleeding tragedy by means of shooting in the premises of the prison.

After the tragedy took place in jail, UN investigation team was unable to come inside the jail to complete the investigation. In the beginning, the UN gave only a one-year pending period for the investigation. Later the President Maumoon used detailed political tricks to prolong the pending period, including introducing and dragging on the process of the Democratic Reform in Maldives. 

On 4^th May 2006, an agreement for the deadline of the pending period of UN Court investigation was signed between Chinese and Maldivian Government and the UN, which stated that the last one-year period was up to 3^rd May 2007. Therefore on 4^th May 2007, a UN Court investigation team came back to Maldives on a UN special flight. But the government still used their political power to stop the investigation from resuming.

I was informed by 12 reliable sources about UN court investigation. Under the basis of my issue was under pending of an official international investigation and settlement from UN, I was dealing with both Maldivian and Chinese government over many related matters. On the same base, international human rights people visited me on four occasions during the pending period of UN investigation. A few examples I would like to give here:

Maldivian government had agreed in October 2003 to provide me a proper safety condition for my legal evidences during the pending period of UN investigation with a specially made wooden box, sized one foot by one foot by 2 feet which had a lock on it. I was given an extra cupboard, which also could be locked. I only agreed to come out from isolation cell during the pending period of UN court investigation when they provided me with this double locked safety condition for my legal evidences of international court investigation. In fact, it was one of the conditions that Maldivian government had to agree in order to obtain the pending period for the investigation from UN. 

Earlier in November 2003 a UN official came in person to check to see if I was living in a better condition area of A-1 before UN could officially grant the pending of the UN Court Investigation to Maldivian government. 

I was having this safety condition of special wooden box and an extra cupboard in the prison of A-6 area (no longer existing), A-1 area (now renamed Unit-3), “H-Area” (no longer existing), A-8 area (now renamed Unit-8), until the government used Police Star Force to break the locked cupboard and locked special wooden box and later took it away from me in September 2004. This can be proven by large number of witnesses. 

The Army Captain Shamaa, who was the son of a sister of President Maumoon, introduced me to two other new captains in November 2003 and told them that my innocence had been proven by the International Court, therefore I should be provided with …

In August 2004, I was specially taken to DPRS (Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services)  head office in Male’ to meet the Director General of DPRS at that time - Mr. Ali Didi, who offered me a job as a supervisor in a government department in Male’ and in addition he offered to provide me with everything for my living needs. He also said that he has no right to keep me in the prison since I was not a convict. I explained to Mr. Ali Didi that my reason for not accepting his offer was that the my legal evidences for the pending investigation of the UN Court case can be considered legally valued only if the evidence was collected from me while I was inside of jail. Therefore, I have to wait in jail during the pending period of UN Investigation for the legal value of my evidences.  The Director General of DPRS, Mr. Ali Didi, has justified my reason and agreed to provide me with some extra facilities as an innocent man in the jail. I was having those extra facilities until Mr. Ali Didi was transferred to another department.

But now the government has taken those evidences for the UN court case by force from me. How could this issue be settled justly without an international investigation into what the government has done by taking away those evidences from me?

In May 2005 President Maumoon proposed to UN to form a special committee including members from Maldivian government, Chinese government and UN to work out a settlement of my issue without waiting for completion of the long process of the Democratic reform in Maldives. He proposed this on the condition that I would be willing to settle the issue of my long arbitrary detention in Maldives without resuming UN Court investigation and Court settlement otherwise.

UN has agreed to try this proposal of President Maumoon. The Delegation of Chinese government was headed by a minister level official who was the Ambassador of the Chinese government in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The special committee began to work at the beginning of June 2005. They first checked all official records of Maldivian government before they went to the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka to check the official records of the Chinese government, then the special committee went to Europe to check the information of the first stage of the International Investigation on my issue. Finally, they went to the International court with all these related information. International Court decided that the Maldivian government should compensate me Three Hundred Thousand US Dollars without information for consideration on:

I came to Maldives not for Employment but for Investment of Business.

The loss of my dignity and rights of all kinds recognized by the international standards.

The torturing and ill-treatment I have suffered Physically, Mentally and emotionally throughout the 15 years of my arbitrary detention in Maldivian Jail.

The damages to my health from slow poisoning me and poor Jail conditions and the future health problems caused by that.

The suffering and the damages of the lives of my family in China. 

The loss and the damages to my business in China and in other countries directly and indirectly.

The suffering and loss caused by my defamation in China and in Maldives.

The suffering and loss of my family back in China due to the defamation caused by my imprisonment.

The loss of taking away a large number of my personal documents while I was in Maldivian Jail.

The loss of my right to privacy and confidentiality of the information in my personal documents which were forcefully accessed by the government.

The loss of a large number of my legal evidences and legal documents in Maldivian Jail which were taken away.

The suffering of being stripped off a large number of my belongings of all kinds, even basic necessities, in the Jail from time to time. The value of usage of my belongings in Jail should be considered in meeting with international human rights standards and legal standards.

The loss of experiencing a great gap from the modern world in every aspect of my life.

The loss of struggling to fill up this great gap from the modern world in every aspect of my life.

There are many more other facts needed be taken into consideration before proper justice could be done. How could such information be submitted for an international court decision without a proper investigation and without interviewing me on what I had gone through? I was never provided with any legal assistance for redressing the consequences of the imprisonment.

On 17^th July 2005, the Chinese delegation Mr. Wang Zhi Bin came to inquire me my stance regarding in which way I would like to end my issue. I expressed my stance of resuming my case from where it stopped. On 20^th July 2005, Chinese Central government in Beijing officially informed Maldivian government that my issue has to be settled by resuming UN Court investigation and a verdict to be reached by the UN Court as the victim wished.

On 15^th April 2007, Chinese delegation Mr. Huang Guo Bin visited me to see my inner confidence and strength to go forward with UN Court investigation and settlement. After that, a UN investigation team was again sent to Maldives on 4^th May 2007 on a UN special Flight.
I called Mr. Huang Guo Bin in Chinese Embassy on 7^th May 2007 after I had fully confirmed that a UN Investigation team for my issue had come back to Maldives on 4^th May 2007.     Mr. Huang Guo Bin asked me how I came to know of this. I explained to him from which three sources I came to know about this. After Mr. Huang Guo Bin rechecked with me for what information he had written down, he asked me which branch of UN had come this time. I said that I did not check which branch of UN was here. I thought it must be the same branch as the last time in 2003. Mr. Huang Guo Bin said to me that I should check out this point since UN was such a large organization with so many branches …

I was visited by three persons from the International Committee of Red Cross in July 2005. They said that I was the exceptional person in the Jail. They did not come to me for my issue of arbitrary detention but from me to find out some information of human rights conditions in the jail. They did not show any feeling that it was a very serious human rights issue to keep an innocent man for such a long period sentenced in a Jail. I believed that they were not so alarmed only because they were informed by Maldivian authority that my issue of illegal imprisonment was a pending case in international court and was in process. Therefore, they never questioned anything about my issue during a long talk with me and they expressed their wish that I would win my case soon before they left.

On 8^th August 2006, I was visited by the UNHRC special Rapporteur for religious rights Ms. Asma Jahangeer who was the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission in Pakistan. She was asking me why the Maldivian President did not allow me to register as a Muslim in Maldives and in which way the government was able to imprison me if there was no suspicion of any crime against me. She did not ask me anything about my arbitrary detention in Maldives. I believed that she did not ask only because she was informed by the government of Maldives or UNHRC that my issue was a pending case in International court and was in process. Otherwise, she would ask me about information of my arbitrary detention rather than my right to religion. She advised me to be patient and that my right to religion as well as the other rights would be redressed when the time comes. She expressed her wish that I would win the case before the end of the meeting.

I was visited by a member of SPT (Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture) of UNHRC on 12^th December 2007 who was a Czech Republic National. He conveyed me a message that my issue has “no other option except the way of” (resuming UN investigation, and being finalized in UN Court) “soon or later, even later, but would go that way.                                   Be patient.”  He did not come to me for investigating my issue, but through me to find                               out some information of torturing and ill-treatment in the Jail.    When I went on to talk about the torturing I have suffered, He asked me not to talk about my torturing.                              The issue of my torturing would be done separately.   Later when I started                                                                                          
talking about some ill-treatment I was facing at that time, again he asked me not to talk about my ill-treatment. He explained to me that now they wanted to produce an examining report of torturing and ill-treatment to recommend to the government for improving the condition on certain problems. Six months later they would come back to check the situation of those conditions recommended for improvement. The issue of my torturing and ill-treatment would be separately investigated and produced as a separate report. He asked me not to worry about my torturing problem and ensured me that it would be done by their (SPT) experts.

I was visited by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Deputy Head of the Regional Delegation for South Asia Mr. Jan Nicolas Schuett on 18^th and 19^th February 2008.                                                                                                              He offered me their help without getting involved with investigation and settlement of my issue. He offered help in three aspects:

Keeping me as a specially registered person in the jail who is supposed to be visited once in every six months for checking my treatment in jail. My register number was ICRC NR000179.

Reestablishing communication with my family.

Asking the government to return my written documents (reports).

He was very upset with the government for taking away my reports titled The Crimes of ESG and The Route of Escape. He said that it was a very serious issue and that the government had no right to take away my documents. The government knew that they were coming for the visit but took away the documents a few hours before they met me. What was the meaning of doing so…?

He was fully aware that there was a UN investigating team in Male’ for some problem, but did not know it was for my issue. Therefore he offered me help from their side without getting into the investigation and settlement of my issue.

When he asked me about ESG problem I said that I had written a report on this problem but was taken away. He said that he had the right to read this report from the jail office.

The next day, 19^th February, he came back to ask me many questions related to the information in my report and wrote down the information in his notebook. He mostly questioned on when I had begun my campaign against President Maumoon and what the Chinese government had done in order to help me. He never asked me anything about my arbitrary detention after he spoke to the jail office. He must know that my arbitrary detention was an issue in international court; otherwise he would ask me for information on my arbitrary detention rather than the role of the Chinese government on my issue and how to get contact with my family in China.

I would like to give in two examples here to show how the political power of Maldivian government could influence on UN bodies to let my issue go on the way what the Maldivian government wants:

1.   On first May 2008, I was visited by a Director of UNHRC Mr. Laurent Meillan. In writing he explained to me about UN system and its main organs. He wrote only five main organs without the International Court of Justice and also UNHRC directly under the supervision of UN Secretary General which works under supervision of the Economic and Social Council. Mr. Laurent tried to indicate to me that UN has no legal system to settle any international disagreement and my issue could not go on right in UN was due to the close relationship between President Maumoon and the Secretary General of UN.

Mr. Laurent informed me that Chinese government has agreed with Maldivian government to stop me seeking justice through resuming the investigation of UN court and finalizing in the UN court by using Chinese police to bring me back to Shanghai. 

Mr. Laurent gave no answer for my question of that if there was no international investigation for my issue as what he said, why he himself did not try to make UN investigate into this serious issue of systematic rights abuse while he was fully aware of that I have been helplessly subjected to arbitrary detention and detailed inhumanely torturing in jail of Maldives for 15 years, and as he was an official from UN Human Rights Commission. Why did he try to push me to leave from my legal position for proving how many serious crimes have been done against me in jail, especially during the pending period of UN investigation? Or whether I have to wait for another 15 more years to increase the seriousness of rights abuse on me before reaching international standard of serious rights abuse in which UN only would consider launching an international investigation into such an issue?

For my needs of legal assistance and concerned international Human Rights documents, Mr. Laurent has denied me through promising he would visit me again in July 2008, but was never materialized.

2.  I wrote a letter to UN Resident Coordinator in Maldives, Mr. Patrice Coeur-Bizot, on 28^th December 2008 requesting his help in quest of justice and also to request to uncover my issue to UN Human Rights Commissioner and Secretary General of UN since my issue has gone too far and the possible involvement of political powers and some corrupted UN officials.

      I did not get any positive response from UN Resident Coordinator in Maldives. Someone in jail told me that the UN Resident Coordinator in Maldives might have been changed in January 2009. When I was subjected to an arbitrary releasing in February 2009, I wrote a letter to the UN Resident Coordinator in Maldives on 22^nd February 2009 on the basis of the UN Coordinator in Maldives might have been changed. In my letter I was requesting urgent help to secure my endangered position. I myself, submitted a letter to UN office in Maldives on 22^nd February 2009, but no reply was given even though they promised to get back to me and collected my contact number (which was the number for the Director General of DPRS). When I inquired on the 1^st of March about my letter to the UN Resident Coordinator I realized that the UN office in Maldives was not willing to help me to seek justice because they were not giving me a chance to talk to them, then I found out that the same Coordinator of UN was here in Maldives. I found a way to send my letters to UN special Rapporteur to uncover my issue to UNHRC on 3^rd March and on 4^th March I inquired about my request for meeting with UN Special Rapporteur of UNHRC which I made on 28^th February. They only informed me that my letter to the Coordinator was sent to UNHRC on 26^th February but when I enquired on 1^st March they did not give me this information.

From this we can see how the political power of the Maldivian government could influence on UN Human Rights Commission to work against its position as the main organ of the UN Human Rights Protection of whole world. And we can also see how the UN branch in Maldives cooperated to cover-up wrong doing of the Maldivian government.

After present Maldivian government took over the power on 11^th November 2008, I met with Mr. Ahmed Shafy, the special envoy of the president on 12^th November 2008. Later I met with the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ahmed Naseem on 5^th December 2008. I met with the Minister of Defense who was also the Acting Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Ameen Faisal on 3^rd January 2009. I met with Deputy Director of Home Affairs Ms. Mariyam Shafy on 4^th January 2009. I met with the Deputy Home Minister MR. Abdullah Waheed on 18^th February 2009. All of them have showed me clearly the same evil attitude as the previous government of Maldives did in dealing with my issue.

The special envoy of the president said to me that my imprisonment was due to myself did not want to leave from jail while the government has given me three chances…The Deputy Home Minister said that I was voluntarily staying in jail.

From the statement of the special envoy of the president and the Deputy Home Minister seems that Maldivian government did not know that the prison in Maldives was not an institution where I could check in and check out at my own will, imprisoning an innocent man would cause much greater devastation of one’s life than the time one spending in the jail, would affect the lives of much more people than oneself.

I expressed my viewpoint to them that the government has to be accountable for the consequences of its own misconduct for imprisoning me without legality. If the government did not provide me the condition to redress the consequence of arbitrary imprisoning me, it meant that the government did not provide me the condition to be free from arbitrary imprisonment.

Though some of those officials whom I met have agreed that my issue was an international court case which the legal process have been pending  since September 2003, but all of them were trying to reach to close the court case through trapping me to leave from the jail without legal procedure.

When such misleading me has failed to succeed, the government of Maldives tried to close the international court case by attempt arbitrary releasing me to change the legal ground of the international court case.

I have been subjected to arbitrary release since 7^th February 2009.

I was brought to Male’ lGMH (lndhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital), for a medical operation on 7^th February. I should be discharged on 9th February, but the government refused to discharge me from the hospital in order to prepare for my arbitrary release. On l2th February, DPRS informed me that the government would not take me back because the Maldivian law did not allow imprisoning me. This would stop me waiting for the restarting of UN court investigation because l was no longer in the prison. But the government disregarded my demands for proper legal procedure for the safety of the international court case and my life if they wanted to release me.

I was discharged from the lGMH from l4th February but l refused to follow the arrangements of DPRS for arbitrary release because l did not want to give them any condition to close the international court case.

My case began to get media coverage from the Jazeera Daily website since 14^th February night. On 15^th February officials from Home Ministry and DPRS came to the hospital to find out my demands. Six of my demands for a proper legal procedure for ensuring the safety of the international court case and my life were put forward to the officials in writing.

I submitted myself to the police in IGM hospital for the endangered position of my international court case and my life on the night of l5th February. But that did not work out that night. 

I approached the police again on the morning of l6th February. They brought me to the DPRS head office in Male’ where I saw my belongings from the cupboards of my cell from the Maafushi jail. They had broken the locks of my cupboards in jail and retrieved my belongings without my consent and knowledge. This would rise up as a serious legal issue for the UN investigation and settlement.

I had a long discussion with the Director General of DPRS from 10:00am to 1:30pm on 16^th February. He acknowledged the position of the international court case as l have stated above. He justified the legal ground of resuming the legal process of the court case should not be changed. He had agreed to send me back to Maafushi prison for my demand to keep the same legal ground for the international court case from where the international court case was pending. Director General of DPRS ordered to find a place in the staff living area for me in the prison but the Home Ministry ordered him to carry out the planned arbitrary release instead. I do not want to follow such an order for releasing me without proper legal procedure. Therefore, since the night of 16^th February l spent my day in DPRS office and the night in the staircase just outside of DPRS office. My belongings, what l brought from IGM hospital and what they had brought from my locked cupboard in Maafushi jail were left at the entrance on the ground floor of the building where DPRS head office is without security.

I made a complaint to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) on 17^th February.  I made five requests including the immediate informing UNHRC, International Court of Justice and the Chinese government to prevent the evil attempting of closing the court case by the government of Maldives. I also requested them to prevent any possibility of deporting me illegally and the arrangement of proper living condition for me without changing the legal ground for my international court process. All my requests were rejected by HRCM on 19^th February. 

I met the Deputy Home Minister on 18^th February to demand the proper legal procedure of releasing me. He stated that I was voluntarily staying in jail and that there was no international court case since I had no proof in my hands. But he gave me no word on my viewpoint that if the government did not provide me the condition to redress the consequences of arbitrary detention it meant that the government did not provide me the condition to be free from the arbitrary detention. 

At first he could not give me an official statement and stated that there was no international court case for my issue. Then he could not give me a statement saying that he was not aware of the existence of the international court case for my issue. Finally he said that he could only give me such a statement under the condition that I would agree to leave the international court case and go back to China.

On 19^th February 2009, Home Ministry gave a press release regarding my issue. It stated that I spend 15 years continuously in prison of Maldives by order of the Labor Ministry and from DPRS I was not to be taken back to prison while I came to Male’ for a medical purpose since 7^th February 2009 and that the government are trying continuously to deport me. This clearly shows that both previous and present government of Maldives did not respect the law, the right and justice at all.

This press release brought to me a clear understanding that though the outlook of the government of Maldives was changed to an attractive democratic form, claimed respect law, rights and justice, but the essential spirit of the government remained the same even worse in openly do whatever they can legally or illegally to get away from accountability of delinquency of the government.

I would like to give the copy of a list of documents to provide more clear information on this systematic rights abuse in Maldives and how this case of flagrant rights abuse has been continued by the present government of Maldives.

The letter I addressed to Excellency President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheedh dated 10^th December 2008

The reply letter to me from The Presidential Office dated 15^th January 2009

The letter I addressed to UN Resident Coordinator of Maldives dated 28^th December 2008

My six demands for proper legal procedure of releasing me from prison dated 15^th February 2009.

The letter DPRS addressed to me dated 12^th February 2009

My letter addressed to the Acting Home Minister Mr. Ameen Faisal dated 19^th January 2009

My letter addressed to the UN Resident Coordinator dated 22^nd February 2009

English translation of the press release of Ministry of Home Affairs in Maldives regarding my issue  dated 19^th February 2009

The following eight numbered points of understanding were corresponding to same number from afore mentioned documents that:

The State Minister of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the existence of the international court case of my issue and trying to convince me that even if I go out from prison the court case would not be closed.

The president did not deny the existence of international court case but prepared to close the court case by sending me to another direction – The Home Ministry. The President wanted to close the court case through the misconduct of Home Ministry by attempting to arbitrarily release me.

The kinds of hardships I was subjected from both present and previous government before the attempted arbitrary releasing, all this but for getting away from accountability of the government.

UN coordinator in Maldives cooperated to cover-up wrong doing of Maldivian government by the fact that he was hiding the information of wrong doing of Maldivian government from reaching the Commissioner of UNHRC and The Secretary General of UN as I requested as well as the responsibility of UN’s branch in Maldives.

My stance was informed officially in writing on the issue of the government attempting arbitrary release.

How unlawfully and unreasonably the present government of Maldives dealt with the serious issue of long arbitrary detention and how it dealt with the person who was part of ongoing an international court case for arbitrary detention with the evil intention behind it.

I was still facing hardships in the present government of Maldives and the large numbers of my belongings that were taken away while I was in jail are still in the hands of the government.

The information of attempting arbitrary release and how the government was trying to get away from accountability through their political powers.

The spirit and the attitude of the present government was the same as the previous government. The relation between the president’s advice to me by the letter from his office to proceed further with my issue through Home Ministry and the follow up with attempts by the Home Ministry to arbitrarily release me became clear.

Above information gives a strong suggestion that further enhancement of safeguarding human rights in Maldives still requires serious consideration internationally. Because the present government of Maldives has the same attitude and same spirit as the previous government of Maldives in the area of accountability and on respecting law, rights and justice in the country

I call for strong condemnation and proper legal action against the Maldivian government for attempting to change the legal ground of a pending international court case through trying to arbitrarily release me and trying to deport me.

I call for a thorough international investigation on much more serious crimes done against me during the pending period investigation of the UN court and explain to the world why UN failed to prevent irreparable damages and suffering which I had gone through during the pending period of UN court investigation.

If the political power of Maldivian government was able to remove existing international court case for my long arbitrary detention in Maldives, please thoroughly investigate and give a proper explanation for those examples I gave above and explain to the world why UN and other international human rights organizations failed to take action to find a just solution for such obvious systematic rights abuse which has reached to the knowledge of UNHRC and other International Human Rights Organizations and begin to consider what are the efforts needed to be put to enhance more efficient safeguarding of human rights in Maldives and in the world at large.

I expect that swift action will be taken for the despoiled rights, not only for me but for all those who suffered such systematic rights abuse all over the world.

I also ask swift action to be taken to provide me with proper living conditions, personal safety and safeguarding of the legal grounds of my case in the international court.

I call for international media to highlight importance of preventing such systematic rights abuse and to bring more efficient safeguarding of human rights to the world.

Thank you

Yours sincerely

Richard Wu Mei De