Maldives: Jennifer Latheef thanks Amnesty members after release from prison
Posted: December 1, 2006
After protesting against human rights abuses in the Maldives, Jennifer Latheef was sentenced to ten years in prison. Amnesty International
“I believe that Amnesty and friends from Maldives and all over the world have put tremendous effort into securing my freedom,” said Jennifer Latheef in a message sent to Amnesty International after her release from prison on August 16, 2006. “I would like to thank each and every person who has believed in my innocence and given their emotions, time and energy to not just my cause, but the cause of each and every Maldivian.”
In September 2003, Jennifer Latheef was one of thousands of people who peacefully took to the streets of Malé, the capital of the Malidives, to protest human rights abuses in the country. Although some acts of violence occurred during the protest, there was no strong evidence to suggest that Jennifer Latheef was amongst those responsible.
However, in October 2005, she was sentenced to 10 years' in prison for encouraging others to commit acts of terrorism. Immediately after sentencing, she was taken away in a speedboat, and her whereabouts were not immediately known.
Amnesty International considered her to be a prisoner of conscience, jailed solely for exercising her right to peaceful protest. Amnesty members began campaigning for her release, and during Amnesty's Writeathon 2005, members around the world wrote letters on her behalf.
In her message to Amnesty, Jennifer Latheef said, “It is my fervent wish that the international community will continue to bear witness to the human rights violations and the miscarriages of justice that are orchestrated on a daily basis in Maldives. It is also my belief that the sweeping reforms that I would like to see in my country can only come about if there is strong international pressure for reform.”