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26th JUNE 2006

Maldives marks World Torture day with a new victim

On the 26th June 2006, Maldives marks World Torture day with a new victim beaten by his prison guards and the police.

Mohamed Shameen who was first taken into custody following the demonstration in Republic Square on 13th August 2005, was later sentenced for drug offences in September 2005. On the 24th June 2006, the prisoner was taken to hospital after his cellmates reported his severe bleeding from the mouth and the anus. He had been beaten on three separate occasions by his prison guards and the police last week. His mother reported he is unable to walk and his body sustains bruises and injuries.

 (Maldivian Detainees Network report)

Despite having signed the "United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman Degrading Treatment or Punishment" in 2004, and launched a roadmap for reforms in March 2006, the Maldivian Government has failed once more to put into practice their reformist rhetoric.  Over a hundred pro-democracy campaigners are still languishing in prison, 85 Dhoonidhoo and 12 in Maaffushi, some the victims of Summary Justice. Contrary to the spirit of President’s Gayoom’s roadmap for reform the human rights situation in the Maldives remains bleak.

Friends of Maldives calls on the Maldives Government to bring to justice those responsible for Mohamed Shameen's treatment, and to refrain from concealing the evidence in the manner of Muaviath Mahmoud, another victim of torture who died in custody in March 2005.

Friends of Maldives calls on the International Community to:

- Issue a travel ban on the Maldivian Government if they fail to address the deteriorating human rights situation in the Maldives immediately.

- Pressure the Maldives Government to remove the presidential decree on Freedom of Assembly which fails to reach international standards.

More Information on World Torture Day 2006:

Statement from the UN on World Torture Day

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Friends of Maldives

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 the UK and established in 2003. FOM focuses its activities on providing support and publicity to prisoners of conscience and good governance in the Maldives.