No conspiracy in Mohamed Nasheed conviction, Maldives tells India

Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed being taken to criminal court in Male on Monday, a day after he was arrested on terror charges. (file photo)

In its first diplomatic outreach to the Indian political establishment, Maldives has reached out to various political parties and conveyed that its government can “neither interfere nor influence” any decision of the Prosecutor General or the judiciary in Maldives under the Constitution of 2008. This comes days after Mohamed Nasheed, former Maldives President, was sent to jail in Maldives and the Indian government cancelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the island country earlier this month. South Block had dropped Maldives from PM’s itinerary to the Indian Ocean countries, as it felt that the atmosphere was not “conducive.”

Maldives government sources told The Indian Express that the initiative has been taken at the behest of Maldives President Yameen Abdullah, who has just sent a new envoy Ahmed Mohamed to India.

A letter sent by the new Maldives High Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed to all the stakeholders in India, which includes all major political parties including the BJP and the Congress, apart from the Prime Minister’s Office and the External Affairs ministry, says, “The Maldives government assures that there is no conspiracy to unwarrantedly convict former President Nasheed in order to prevent him from participating in the political arena.”

By virtue of the Maldives Constitution, the letter — dated March 23 — said, “Nasheed, like any other citizen of the country, has been entitled to a transparent and impartial trial in accordance with the rule of law. The independence of the judiciary and the fairness of due legal process have been as sacrosanct in the case against former President Nasheed as they would have been for any other Maldivian citizen. The Maldives government will continue to ensure the inviolability of a citizen’s right to a fair trial, insulated from political interference.”

It also said that the Maldives government has invited the UN Secretary General, the Commonwealth, office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the EU to depute experts to observe the appeal process of the former President.

The letter said that the government will remain steadfast in its commitment to ensuring separation of powers, upholding the rule of law, and guaranteeing the Constitutional rights of its citizens.

Source:: Indian Express