DPRS Letter to me dated 12th February 2009

Chinese Letter (20 Jan 2009)

Reply from president's office (15th Jan 2009)

Letter to UN (28 Dec 2008)

Letter to UN (28 Dec 2008)

Letter to President (10 Dec 2008)

Amnesty International Report 2000 - Maldives

Republic of Maldives

Head of state and government: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
Capital: Male
Population: 0.3 million
Official language: Maldivian Dhivehi
Death penalty: abolitionist in practice

As in previous years, the government failed to provide credible information about the situation of political prisoners. Despite AI's efforts, there was no contact from the government. There were continued reports of torture and of official cover-ups to protect the perpetrators.

Background

Parliamentary elections were held in November amid reports of suspected irregularities. Political parties were not allowed to function.

Lack of government response

The government remained silent about the situation of Richard Wu Mei De, a Chinese national detained without due process of law since November 1993 at the instigation of a Maldivian national whom he tried to sue for irregularities in a business partnership; government connivance in the detention was suspected. His detention was declared arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Political prisoners

Possible prisoners of conscience continued to be held. Among those believed to be held were Hussain Shakir, Ibrahim Nusthafa and Mohamed Rasheed, reportedly detained since early 1996 in connection with a demonstration about electricity price rises on Fubahmulaku Island.

Political prisoners were detained on the prison island of Maafushi, in Dhoonidhoo detention centre and in police stations. They reportedly included a parliamentary candidate detained after an argument with a rival candidate with links to the government.

Ten people from Faafu Magoodhoo were banished, reportedly without being tried or sentenced, for seeking to organize a demonstration against the local Atoll chief.

Health concern

There was continued concern about the health of Ismail Saadiq, a businessman arrested in June 1996 for alleged fraud, who was reportedly denied medical attention. In June, for example, he was transferred to Dhoonidhoo detention centre where he was reportedly held in a small cell, denied appropriate food, and prevented from receiving a scheduled blood transfusion. Three weeks later he was transferred to house arrest, reportedly after he fell ill and after he had signed a declaration that he would not seek contact with the outside world. Ismail Saadiq continued to claim that his prolonged detention was politically motivated. During his trials, he was reportedly not allowed to appoint a lawyer and was denied adequate time or access to documentation to prepare his defence.

Ill-treatment

Information emerged indicating that many inmates in Gamaadhoo prison were subjected to various forms of ill-treatment after a fire which burned down the prison. According to reports, security guards beat some prisoners who were tied to palm trees. A former detainee at Dhoonidhoo stated that prison guards regularly beat prisoners, at times on orders from the senior warden.

Amnesty International Report 1999 - Maldives

Amnesty International Report 1999 - Maldives
MALDIVES

Dozens of prisoners of conscience and possible prisoners of conscience were held. Prisoners and detainees continued to be ill-treated.
A presidential election in October endorsed Maumoon Abdul Gayoom as President for the fifth term. As in previous years, political parties were not allowed to function.

At least 20 prisoners of conscience were detained in June, most of them in Dhoonidhoo detention centre, on suspicion of spreading Christian beliefs. They were held without trial until November when they were released. The government denied that they had been arrested for professing the Christian faith, but gave no other reason for their detention.

Wu Mei De, a Chinese national held since 1993 apparently as a result of official connivance in attempts by his business partner to prevent him from seeking judicial redress for business grievances (see Amnesty International Report 1998), remained in Gaamadhoo Prison without charge or trial.

The government provided no information about possible prisoners of conscience Hussain Shakir, Ibrahim Musthafa and Mohamed Rasheed (see Amnesty International Report 1998). Referring to their arrests in early 1996 in connection with a demonstration about a rise in electricity prices in Fuvahmulaku Island, the government said these “were for criminal offences of destroying and attempting to destroy properties. The offenders were arrested on criminal charges and dealt with in accordance with the law.”
In February Ismail Saadiq (see Amnesty International Report 1998) was transferred from house arrest first to solitary confinement in police custody and then to Dhoonidhoo detention centre. On 15 December he was returned to house arrest. The government stated that he had been sentenced to six months’ banishment on fraud charges and that two other fraud cases against him were pending before the courts. It gave no explanation about the date and the manner in which he had been tried or the reason why he was held in Dhoonidhoo detention centre for 10 months.

Prisoners continued to be ill-treated. Women detainees were reportedly held in small, hot and overcrowded cells without adequate sleeping space. Some prisoners of conscience were held continuously for several months in solitary confinement. A former detainee at Gaamadhoo Prison said that she had seen male and female prisoners handcuffed to coconut palms in front of prison cells trying to sleep. During her five-day detention there, she saw girls aged between 13 and 18 almost permanently handcuffed in their cells. Male soldiers jabbed the ribs of female prisoners with wooden batons to wake them for dawn prayers, pointing the batons in a humiliating way, especially at the girls’ genitals.
It was learned that a girl had died in Gaamadhoo Prison in 1994 after she was gang-raped by guard soldiers. No further details were known.
Throughout the year Amnesty International sought information about prisoners, called for the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, and expressed concern over reports of ill-treatment. The government responded with information on some cases and an assurance that it takes “human rights protection very seriously”.

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