MALDIVES: SOME DEMOCRATIC REFORMS DESPITE TRIAL OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001530

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2015
TAGS: PGOV PHUM MV
SUBJECT: MALDIVES: SOME DEMOCRATIC REFORMS DESPITE TRIAL OF
OPPOSITION LEADER

REF: A. COLOMBO 997

B. COLOMBO 1295

C. COLOMBO 1420

D. COLOMBO 1449

E. COLOMBO 1469

Classified By: CDA JAMES F. ENTWISTLE FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Following the August 12-14 pro-reform
demonstrations in Male' (Reftels C and D),as of August 28,
76 persons remained in detention, including opposition leader
Mohamed Nasheed. Nasheed, the chairman of the Maldives
Democratic Party (MDP),has been charged with one count of
terrorism and one count of committing a crime against the
State, raising concerns among human rights advocates and MDP
members that his arrest and trial are politically motivated.
Despite the current proceeding against Nasheed, the Maldives
has made significant progress in protecting human rights and
instituting reforms. The Embassy will seek opportunities,
including the upcoming US-Maldives Friendship Week scheduled
to take place in Male' September 25-28, to stress to the
Government of the Republic of Maldives (GORM) that they must
administer fair and transparent justice and respect the rule
of law and human rights. End summary.

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FALLOUT FROM AUGUST 12-14 DEMONSTRATIONS
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2. (C) In an August 28 phone conversation with poloff,
Attorney General (AG) Hassan Saeed said that 76 people
remained in jail following the August 12-14 demonstrations in
Male', but that he expected half of them to be released
without charge by week's end. Saeed added that those who
would remain in custody all have previous criminal records,
many for drug offenses, and that they will likely be charged
with unlawful assembly. According to a number of sources,
the detainees have access to their families and the right to
counsel, a marked improvement over the detentions that took
place in Male' a year ago.


3. (C) MDP members claimed that following the demonstrations,
they were the victims of politically motivated harassment and
detention in Maldives. Some MDP members were reportedly
arrested from their homes August 14-15, long after the
demonstrations had ended, while others were arrested even
though they did not participate in the demonstrations.
Nevertheless, the AG maintained that the arrests resulting
from the demonstrations were apolitical in nature. In an
August 24 phone conversation with poloff, he said he did not
know how many remaining detainees were MDP members because
the GORM is "not specifically targeting the MDP."


4. (SBU) On August 18, members of the International Committee
of the Red Cross were permitted to conduct prison visits in
Maldives. They reported that they were granted unfettered
access to the (then remaining) 118 detainees imprisoned after
the August 12-14 demonstrations. The ICRC representatives
said that the prisons generally met international standards,
and they had no reports of abuse in custody. Furthermore,
the ICRC reported detainees were informed of their right to
counsel and permitted access to lawyers and family members.

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CHARGES LEVELED AGAINST OPPOSITION LEADER
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5. (C) August 18-19, representatives from the British,
Canadian, and European Union High Commissions in Colombo went
to Maldives and were given access to four prisoners jailed
after the August 12-14 events, including Nasheed. (Note: The
GORM initially claimed that Nasheed had been arrested for his
own protection following a peaceful sit-in on August 12, but
later drew up charges of terrorism and crimes against the
State. According to MDP sources, Nasheed's current charges
are not based on the events of August 12-14, but rather, on
his alleged earlier anti-GORM activities and statements. End
note.) In an August 13 phone call, Foreign Minister Ahmed
Shaheed had told poloff that with respect to Nasheed, "We've
been very tolerant and patient with him, but we've let him
carry on too far." Similarly, UK poloff Colin Hicks told us
that during his recent trip to Maldives, GORM officials said
Nasheed had been instigating anti-GORM activity for some
time, but in the spirit of openness to opposition, the GORM
had permitted him to carry out his agenda. However, the GORM
representatives told Hicks, when the August 12-14
demonstrations ended in violence, many felt it was time to
limit extremist elements within the MDP while permitting
moderates to carry on. Our MDP interlocutors, however, told
us that for the President, any opposition is tantamount to
sedition because he sees himself as the embodiment of the
State.


6. (C) Nasheed's initial hearing took place on August 24. AG
Saeed told poloff that the judge in the case is conferring
with both the prosecution and defense attorneys before
setting a trial date in order to give both sides adequate
time to prepare arguments. Jude Laing, an MDP lawyer based
in Colombo, told poloff that the International Committee of
Jurists (ICJ) sent an observer, Sri Lankan lawyer Faisz
Mustapha, to Nasheed's pre-trial hearing. The GORM provided
Mustapha with a court-appointed translator. In response to
Mustapha's complaint that Nasheed had only learned of his
hearing on the morning of the hearing itself, the AG told
poloff that Nasheed had refused to listen to police officers
attempting to inform him of the court proceeding against him.
According to the AG, "no harm was done" because Nasheed was
able to have his lawyer represent him at the hearing, and he
will have time to prepare his case. The AG also mentioned
Mustapha's concern that Nasheed had not been given access to
reading and writing materials. The AG said he asked the
police chief to remedy the situation, and added that his
directive had been followed.


7. (C) Rory Mungoven, the Senior Human Rights Advisor to the
UN Country team in Sri Lanka, told poloff that the UN Special
Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, the Chairperson of the
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the UN Special
Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders all drafted a single
letter to the GORM expressing concern about Mr. Nasheed's
case and human rights issues in Maldives. Mungoven said that
the GORM had responded with a general statement on a minority
within the opposition fomenting violence and undermining
reform efforts.

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COMMENT: THE ZIG-ZAG PATH TO PROGRESS
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8. (SBU) Comment: While international focus at present is on
the detentions that have occurred over the past several weeks
and the seemingly harsh charges against Nasheed, it is
important to remember that the GORM has in fact instituted a
number of judicial and police reforms over the past year.
According to a number of accounts, although police and
security forces used excessive force during the August 12-14
demonstrations, once detainees were taken to jail, they were
treated in accordance with international prison standards
(Reftel C). The ICRC reports on treatment of prisoners marks
a major improvement from last year. In addition, unlike last
year, after this year's August 12-14 demonstrations, the GORM
did not declare a state of emergency or cut off mobile phone
or internet access in the days following the events. Other
hopeful signs include the legal recognition of political
parties in June (Reftel A),the appointment of a number of
young, reform-minded technocrats as Cabinet Ministers (Reftel
B),the openness to non-governmental organizations sending in
prison and trial observers, and the revisions of the penal
code that resulted in the improvements noted by the ICRC.


9. (C) As always in Maldives, however, for each of these
steps forward, the GORM consistently takes another step back.
A major part of the problem is the GORM's political
immaturity and refusal to accept that having an opposition
party means permitting meaningful opposition. Moreover,
there is frustration over the slow pace of Constitutional
reform. We will keep urging the GORM to continue movement
towards greater political openness and respect for human
rights with our US-Maldives Friendship Week in late September
a good opportunity for carefully calibrated public statements.
ENTWISTLE