19th September 2003: Custodial death of Evan Naseem sparks riots in prison the following day. 19 inmates are shot by prison guards. Protests are taken to the streets of Male’ where official buildings are burnt.

November 2003: Leaflets about Human Rights abuses in the Maldives are distributed at the World Travel Market in London

10th December 2003: the first FOM website is launched, coinciding with the world celebration of Human Rights Day.

10th April 2004: Maldives accedes to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).

May 2004: FOM opens an office at 64 Milford Street with a bank account allowing private donors to give funds towards human rights campaigns.  FOM focuses on raising awareness of the Human Rights issues in the Maldives with Media, MP’s and MEP’s.

12th/13th August 2004: 200 peaceful protestors are arrested in Male’. President Gayoom declares an emergency of state. This date becomes known as “Black Friday”. FOM assumes an active role in informing the international community.

26th October 2004: FOM participates at the Maldives All Party Group chaired by Lord Naseby. In the following weeks FOM produces DVD documentary on the political repression in the Maldives: Maldives-Islands of Paradise and Hell.

8th November 2004: FOM holds a demonstration in front of the Maldivian High Commission in London and distributes leaflets at the World Travel Market to call for the release of the political prisoners. The Maldivian Government starts transferring prisoners to House arrest during the following weeks.

18th December 2004: FOM holds a demonstration in Salisbury to support free and fair parliamentary elections in the Maldives that are to take place the 31st of December 2004.

26th December 2004: Tsunami hits South/ East Asia. Maldives is one of the most affected countries.

27th December 2004: FOM makes its first Tsunami appeal on local media. Emergency Aid starts pouring in and collection points are organised throughout South England. Within a week, the first Aid plane arrives in Male’. FOM applies for charity status.

January 2005: Parliamentary Elections in the Maldives.

March 2005: Custodial death of Muviath Mahmood. Body of the 28 year old prisoner is buried without autopsy. His family claims he was murdered by his interrogators. Government refuses an autopsy to the family and the human rights Commission of Maldives.

15th March 2005: Maldives Aid is registered as a charity and will work in partnership with Friends of Maldives. To this date Maldives Aid has sent over 120 tons of aid to the Maldives. www.maldivesaid.org

Pro-government websites in the Maldives regularly accuse Maldives Aid/ FOM Aid of Christian missionary’s activities. A forgery leaflet is being distributed in Male’ in the name of the Salisbury Cathedral from David Hardingham to Mohamed Nasheed.

26th April 2005: Presidential decree is released stipulating all aid must be given to the National Disaster Management Centre in Maldives and will be distributed by them.

30th April 2005: Mohamed Nasheed, chairman of the Maldivian Democratic Party, relinquishes his British Asylum and returns to the Maldives to establish his party. Thousands of people welcome him and follow him in the streets of Male’. Maldivian Government Blacklists journalist, charity head and human rights lawyer from entering the Maldives on suspicion of terrorism.

May 2005: Fathimath Nisreen, Amnesty International prisoner of conscience is released. She was serving a sentence for her involvement with the dissident newspaper Sandhanu.

16th May 2005: FOM holds a demonstration in the Palais des Nations in Geneva prior to WHO conference where president Gayoom was guest speaker. David Hardingham confronts President Gayoom and asks for the reasons for his blacklisting.  Further questions about human rights violations, arbitrary arrests, political repression and continued torture remained unanswered by the president.

June 2005: Political parties are allowed in the Maldives for the first time.

12th August 2005: Mohamed Nasheed starts a peaceful demonstration in Male’ in remembrance of “Black Friday 2004”. He is arrested by riot police “for his own safety”. He is later accused of terrorism and sedition. Riots spark the country in protest against the arbitrary detention of Mohamed Nasheed and other members of the opposition.

August 2005:  Mohamed Zaki is released. He was serving a sentence for his involvement with the dissident newspaper Sandhaanu. Mohamed Didi, the remaining prisoner of Sandhaanu is still serving a sentence and awaits medical treatment for his heart.

September 2005: FOM demonstrates outside the Maldives High Commission in London calling for the release of all political prisoners while President Gayoom makes his entrance in the High Commission.

10th October 2005: Jennifer Latheef, journalist and human rights activist is sentenced to 10 years for terrorism. Her trial is declared politically motivated by human rights NGOs as she is the daughter of MDP spokesperson Mohamed Latheef.  

November 2005: FOM distributes leaflets on Jennifer Latheef and Mohamed Nasheed at the World Travel Market in London.

December 2005: MDP holds its first congress to elect the leadership of the party as well as a shadow cabinet. Ibrahim Ismail is elected president of the party, and Mohamed Nasheed is elected chairman.

10th December 2005: on World Human Rights Day, FOM launches its Selected Resorts Boycott Campaign. Find out here ....

28th December 2005: Sri Lankan Police raid Minivan Offices in Colombo with a mandate sent by the Maldives Authorities through Interpol, accusing the journalists of gun running. No weapons were found. Interpol headquarters deny being involved in the act of intimidation.

January 2006: Government of Maldives sends police forces to the island of Fares Mathooda, and the Maldives witnesses some of the worst police violence in the History of the Maldives. Women and children are beaten. See press coverage here

24th January 2006: MDP holds a peaceful vigil in protest against the police brutality, and calling for the release of the political prisoners. Thousands attend the demonstration which ends peacefully.

 22nd February 2006: Naushad Waheed and Ahmed Didi are released. Naushad Waheed, a prominent Maldivian artist, was condemned for corresponding with Amnesty International, and Ahmed Didi was sentenced for his involvement with the dissident newsletter Sandhaanu.

27th March 2006: President Gayoom launches a roadmap for reforms. Institutional changes are to be complete in 2008, ending with presidential elections in 2008. http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/publications/Roadmap_for_the_Democratic_Reform_Agenda.pdf

31st March 2006: in protest against police abuse of young women during night time arrests, Mariya Didi opposition MP organises a demonstration calling for a greater respect of women.

April 2006: The European Union gives a 50 million euros loan to the Maldives finance minister for Tsunami recovery for the private sector and the tourism industry.

30th April 2006: Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) resigns from the presidency of the MDP. He was the first elected president of the MDP during the Party’s congress held in December 2005.

May Day: MDP organises protest for worker’s rights. Thousands take the streets of Male’ making it the most successful demonstration in 2006.

3rd May 2006: World Press Freedom Day: International Freedom of Press delegation manhandled by Maldives Police during celebration gathering in Male’.

9th May 2006: Article 19 produces legal analysis of new Maldives Press Freedom Bill and expresses deep concerns over the lack of protection for journalists the bill will provide. http://www.article19.org/pdfs/press/maldives-press-law-analysed.pdf

14th of May: Ongoing demonstrations for a week to remove the 29 unelected presidential appointees from Parliament. Hundreds of protestors jailed, some the victims of summary justices. 85 pro-democracy activists are detained in Dhoonidhoo and 12 in Maafushi jail.

15th May 2006: Presidential decree on Freedom of Assembly is launched: http://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/pages/eng_news.php?news:3565:1

The UN declares in a press statement that the decree contains “some excessive restrictions”: http://www.un.org.mv/unrc/198

26th May 2006: EU releases press statement questioning the Maldives Government’s commitment to reforms following the arrests. http://www.eu2006.at/en/News/CFSP_Statements/May/2605malediven.html

28th May 2006: BBC crew sprayed with pepper gas by Maldives police while covering demonstration outside the court for Mohamed Nasheed’s trial. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5024680.stm

June 2006: The Majlis decides to put to a national Referendum to choose whether to adopt presidential system or parliamentary system for the country.

June to August 2006: Secret-talks between The Government of Maldives and the opposition MDP become public and known as Westminster House Agreement. The British Government is a mediator and negotiations to release the political prisoners take place.

8th August 2006: The Human Rights Commission Act is passed unanimously by the Majlis, increasing the power of the Maldives Human Rights Commission.

16th August 2006: Jennifer Latheef is pardoned by the President. She is free from house arrest but her criminal record remains. She is now fighting to clear her name.

September 2006: Maldives accedes to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

19th September 2006: "Gaumataka" is launched as a non-violent movement. Their first action campaign "919" is a memorial to Evan Naseem's death in custody. Gaumataka activists lay flowers at the entrance of the Male' police station asking the armed forces to end police brutality.

21st September 2006: Mohamed Nasheed is released from house arrest.

November 2006: Lonely Planet recommends FOM selected resorts boycott in its new edition of the Maldives guidebook.

6th November 2006: MDP demonstrates in Male' for constitutional reforms. The Police does not allow demonstration to take place. Over a hundred people are arrested. A boat of protestors coming from Addu is almost sunk by the coastguards.

10th December 2006: Human Rights Day celebrated by the NGO network representing 12 Maldivian Civil Societies. The Main organisers are questioned by the police despite having conducted the march peacefully and in accordance to the law.

13th February 2007: FOM protests in front of Hill & Knowlton following a series of politically motivated arrests and the continuous dubious role of the international PR firm contracted by the Maldives Government.

3rd March 2007: Mariya Didi MP for the opposition party MDP wins International Women of Courage Award presented by the US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, on World Women’s Day....Full article.

15th April 2007: Hussein Salah is found dead in the sea in Male’ harbour. The victim was allegedly  murdered in custody, but the Maldivian Government prevents a fair investigation to take place. In a statement released in June 07, the EU will call for a “proper investigation” into his death and will further state: “the use of force cannot solve political problems”

June 2007: The death of inmate Muslih Abbas due to a drugs overdose sparks turmoil in Maafushi jail. Prisoners convicted for drugs begin a hunger strike to bring attention to prison conditions and their plea to be treated as patients rather than prisoners.  These events highlighted failings in the running of the prison system and the failure of the Government to address endemic drug use in the Maldives.

June 2007: The death of inmate Muslih Abbas of an overdose of medicine sparks turnmoil in Maafushi jail. Prisoners convicted for drugs begin a hunger strike to bring attention to their plea, highlighting the failure of the Government to address the drug issue in the Maldives.

August 2007: Attorney general Hassan Saeed, justice minister Mohamed Jameel, and foreign minister Dr Shaheed resign from the government due to the lack of progress in the reform process.

29 September 2007: A bomb explodes in Male’ injuring 12 people, mainly tourists, and sparks fear over the rise of religious extremists in the Maldives.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2180218,00.html   

Novermber 2007: the new deadline to complete the constitution has passed with still a backlog of bills to be debated in the Special Majlis.  Opposition groups accuse the Presidential appointees of being obstructive.

December 2007: Most opposition parties form an Alliance campaigning for an interim government: Adhaalath Party, Islamic Democratic Party, Maldivian Democratic Party, New Maldives Movement, Social Liberal Party.

February 2008: Transparency International opens a local branch in the Maldives.

March 2008: US State Department Human Rights report 2007: “Although the government's human rights record continued to improve from the previous year, serious issues remained. The government made little progress in implementing its "Roadmap for the Reform Agenda." [..]The government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, security forces were implicated in custodial deaths.”