Self-exiled blogger Hilath speaks at UN Human Rights Council
16 Sep 2012, 9:48 PM
Daniel Bosley
Maldivian journalist and blogger Ismail ‘Hilath’ Rasheed last week spoke at the United Nation’s Palace of Nations during the 21st session of the Human Rights Council (HRC).
In a side event dedicated to the Maldives, Hilath spoke of his fears of rising fundamentalism in his home country and called for the international community to keep a close watch on the Maldives to ensure the protection of human rights and democratic freedoms.
“Maldives may be a small country but it is not insignificant. It lies at a strategic crossroads and the cultural and political invasion of Maldives by Saudi-funded Wahhabi extremism will definitely have regional and global repercussions,” said Hilath.
Hilath was forced to flee the Maldives earlier this year after an assassination attempt left him within millimetres of death when a group of men slashed his throat just yards from his home in Male’.
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