18 OCTOBER 2005, UK                                                            Back to list

10 Years for “throwing a stone”!

Jennifer Latheef was sentenced today for 10 years for terrorism.  Jennifer Latheef, journalist, film maker, human rights activist, pro-democracy campaigner, and role model for many Maldivian Women will spend the next 10 years in prison for a crime she has not committed.  Jennifer is also the daughter of one of the Founders of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, Mohamed Latheef.

Following the beating to death of a young drug offender by the National Security Service prison guards in September 2003 and the ensuing prison disturbances where 19 prisoners were shot and 4 killed there were major civil disturbances in Male’, Jennifer photographed and reported on events as they were occurring in the city. She has been charged with terrorism pertaining to an alleged assault on a policeman.  The only witnesses are police officers.  Jennifer strongly denies these charges.

According to British QC Sir Ivan Lawrence stated that Jennifer having to wait for fourteen months before her sentence was “tantamount to cruel punishment”.

“Amnesty International opposes the continued harassment of Jennifer Latheef, believes the charges against her are politically motivated and considers her not to have received a fair trial.”

According to FOM –“This action appears as another attempt to remove one of the most outspoken critics of Gayooms regime, further intimidate the pro-democracy opposition movement and take revenge on her father Mohamed Latheef the founder and spokesman of the MDP.”

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FOM urges the Government of Maldives to: -

1. Release Jennifer Latheef immediately and conduct an independant inquiry into the fabrication of the charges against her and bring those responsible to justice.
2. Release all Political Prisoners of Conscience immediately.
3. Desist from its continuous harassment of journalists and human rights activists in the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

FOM calls on the International Community to:

• Place an immediate travel ban on members of the Government and other officials of the Maldives from travelling abroad into concerned countries

• Determine where Maldivian government funds are banked overseas and to seize those funds and assets
• Cease the supply of arms and other weaponry used by the security forces against the pro-democracy opposition
• Issue travel advisories giving thorough warnings to all tourists planning to go the Maldives of the appalling human rights record of this country

• Commence investigations against individuals in the government who are accused of murder, torture and other human rights abuses by the opposition groups with a view to bringing these individuals to trial.
• Immediately cease all aid to the Maldivian government.  Ensure aid that has been given to the government is spent with full transparency and accountability.  Aid should be given to non-governmental Aid organisations working in the Maldives

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 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.