Maldives rebukes India’s ‘unhelpful’ call to release prisoners
India called on the Maldivian authorities to “to implement the Supreme Court’s Full Bench order of 1 February 2018 and to support a genuine political dialogue with all opposition parties.”
23 Mar 2018, 9:00 AM
The Maldives has flatly rejected calls from India to execute a Supreme Court order for the release and retrial of nine prisoners.
Welcoming the revocation of a 45-day state of emergency on Thursday, the Indian external affairs ministry said concerns expressed by the international community “still remain to be addressed” in order to restore the independence and proper functioning of the judiciary and legislature.
India called on the authorities to “to implement the Supreme Court’s Full Bench order of 1 February 2018 and to support a genuine political dialogue with all opposition parties,” stressing the importance of “credible restoration of the political process, as well as the rule of law, before the elections are announced this year.”
The EU delegation to the Maldives echoed the call to release political prisoners and urged the government to “stop interfering in the work of the Majlis and the judiciary.” Despite the end of emergency rule, “politically motivated prosecutions continue, and many citizens remain in jail for exercising their fundamental rights,” tweeted the US ambassador.
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