The Maldivian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all people who have been arbitrarily detained under the state of emergency solely for exercising their human rights and halt attacks on peaceful protestors, Amnesty International said today.
The human rights organization has documented several arbitrary detentions on the island nation under state of emergency laws, mainly of peaceful protestors and journalists. Members of the judiciary and political opponents have also been held arbitrarily since the state of emergency was imposed on 5 February, and the organization has called for their immediate release unless promptly charged with a recognizable criminal offence.
“Those who were peacefully protesting against the state of emergency should never have been detained in the first place and must be released immediately and unconditionally. The Maldivian government is using the state of emergency as a licence for repression, targeting members of civil society, judges and political opponents,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy South Asia Director.