End witch hunt of opposition, says Nasheed

The witch hunt of opposition members must end, ex-president Mohamed Nasheed said Thursday, as he urged the immediate release of all political prisoners.

Dozens of people have been arrested since a state of emergency was declared last month, including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and two Supreme Court judges, with authorities alleging there was a plot to overthrow the government.

On Wednesday the human rights NGO Maldivian Democracy Network listed individuals it said had been arbitrarily arrested and detained since the state of emergency for exercising their civil and political rights.

It told the Maldives Independent that 29 opposition figures were currently in detention including four MPs: Ahmed Mahloof, Faris Maumoon, Ilham Ahmed and Abdulla Sinan.

The majority of those swept up in the crackdown are accused of being involved with the alleged coup attempt.

Some have been in detention for a few days, while others have been behind bars for more than a month. Faris has been in detention the longest.

MP @afarismaumoon has spent a total of 223 days in detention out of which he spent 74 hours out of detention (two releases combined). #MaldivesInCrisis

— Mv Democracy Network (@MDN_mv) March 13, 2018

On Tuesday the former foreign minister Ahmed Naseem met the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, to discuss the way forward for the Maldives.

Ben Emmerson QC, who was accompanying the joint opposition delegation, described the meeting as “very constructive.”

Photo: @yumna_maumoon