Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of political prisoners in the Maldives.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Maldives Police Service reports that in the past two years there have been 140 cases brought against those arrested at political rallies for disobeying police orders, obstructing police duties or committing or encouraging acts defined by the Maldivian authorities as terrorism. The opposition claims the total number facing politically motivated charges is much higher.

However, the number of individuals who have been sentenced to prison on charges we assess to be politically motivated is significantly lower. These individuals include former President Mohamed Nasheed, Adhaalath Party leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla and former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim amongst others.