IPU slams MP’s conviction, calls for transfer to house arrest
Expressing concern about “the severity of the sentence” handed to the Independent MP, the international organisation of parliaments said it “fails to understand the justification for his conviction and sentence.”
13 Nov 2016, 9:00 AM
The Inter-Parliamentary Union has called on the Maldivian authorities to transfer MP Ahmed Mahloof to house arrest to serve the remainder of a prison sentence on controversial charges of obstructing police officers.
Expressing concern about “the severity of the sentence” handed to the Independent MP, the international organisation of parliaments said it “fails to understand the justification for his conviction and sentence.”
The IPU’s governing council, after considering the findings of a delegation that visited the Maldives in October, has decided to send a trial observer to follow Mahloof’s appeal proceedings, and urged the high court to swiftly address the appeal “with full respect for fair-trial standards.”
Mahloof, an outspoken critic of President Abdulla Yameen and the spokesperson of the united opposition coalition, was jailed for 10 months and 24 days in July on two counts of obstructing police duty.
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