29 SEPTEMBER 2005, SALISBURY, UK |
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Sir Ivan Lawrence QC delegation finds five key flaws in the Maldives Justice system
A delegation of barristers led by Sir Ivan Lawrence QC flew to the Maldives early this week to assess the strength of the Maldivian judicial system as well as the preparation of Mohamed Nasheed’s trial. A press conference was held on Wednesday 28th of September in Male’ to report their findings.
The four barristers met the Attorney General, the Home Minister, the Justice Minister, the High Commissioner of Police, Nasheed’s defence team and the appointed judge.
The verdict of the delegation was that the Maldives does not comply with international standards and that the whole judicial system allows severe human rights violations. They summarised their findings in five key flaws:
1. There is surprisingly little awareness in the authorities of what the internationally approved standards of Human Rights compliance are;
2. There is too little perceived separation of the Executive and the Judiciary;
3. There is too small a body of lawyers equipped to protect the interests of the individual accused of crime;
4. There is too little perceived independence of the legal profession from Government;
5. There is no proper and available body of law and procedure governing criminal trials.
During the press conference, Sir Ivan Lawrence also stated:
"We heard that the trial against Mohamed Nasheed is due to start very soon, next week or so. We’ve also heard that there’s an awful lot of evidence that hasn’t yet been served on the defence. Well, under the internationally accepted standards of human rights for a fair trial every defendant has the right to know what the case is against him... what the witnesses are going to say, and furthermore, to have time to prepare his defence," …
"A man or women must have time to prepare that defence. And to simply say that trial will be held soon and there’s a whole lot of evidence which will be produced at the trial is in our view a very fundamental breach of human rights and the right to a fair trial. [It] Doesn’t matter how much you’re under pressure to bring a man to trial quickly, he’s still entitled to a fair trial.”
He also commented on the terrorism charges pending upon both Mohamed Nasheed and Jennifer Latheef. He stated that Ms Latheef having to wait fourteen months before her sentence “tantamount to cruel punishment”, as for Mohamed Nasheed’s charged, Sir Ivan commented: "It’s fundamental that a person charged with a crime is entitled to have the allegations specifically levied against him in the charge that they have to face. You can’t just say this amounts to terrorism or this amounts to crimes against the state - that’s not in accordance with a fair trial."
Friends of Maldives would like to remind that Mohamed Nasheed was arrested during a peaceful vigil "for his own safety" and then 2 weeks later was charged with terrorism offences. This comes at the time of President Gayoom’s “sweeping democratic reforms”.
According to David Hardingham UK FOM spokesman "Its obvious that this is an attempt by Gayoom to get rid of the leader of the Pro-democracy movement in the Maldives and allow himself to continue with his cosmetic democratic reforms. We urge the international community to play a more active role in calling for the release of Nasheed".
FOM urges the Government of Maldives to: -
- Release Mohamed Nasheed and all Political Prisoners of Conscience immediately.
- Withdraw all fabricated charges against Jennifer Latheef
- Desist from its continuous harassment of journalists and human rights activists in the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Friends of Maldives
UK spokesperson: David Hardingham +44 (0)7812 166453
64 Milford Street
Salisbury
SP1 2BP
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)1722 504330
E: enquiries@friendsofmaldives.org
W: www.friendsofmaldives.org
NOTES TO EDITORS
Friends of Maldives – www.friendsofmaldives.org
Friends of Maldives (FOM) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights in the Maldives. Based in Salisbury, England and established in 2003. FOM focuses its activities on providing support and publicity to prisoners of conscience and good governance in the Maldives.
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