Maldives Government And The Rule Of Law

EDM number 923 in 2014-15, proposed by Fiona Bruce on 25/03/2015.
Categorised under the topics of Asia and International politics and government.

That this House notes with alarm the series of events that have led to Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed being removed from office, arrested, convicted of terrorism charges and sentenced to 13 years in prison; further notes the widespread shock at images of President Nasheed being dragged along the ground into court, at being informed of his being denied fair legal representation and due right to appeal, and at his witnesses being rejected before they were heard; further notes abuses of legal processes, including judges acting as witnesses for the prosecution, and other witnesses being led by judges or coached by police; further notes that many of President Nasheed's colleagues and supporters have also been arrested; further notes that, since the arrest of President Nasheed, the live broadcast feed from the debating chamber has been cut so the public have little knowledge of what is happening within Parliament; further notes reports from Maldivian parliamentarians, stating that various serious constitutional abuses have taken place very recently, including that committees have been peremptorily set up to pass legislation to restrict political involvement; further notes with alarm reports from Maldivian parliamentarians that the handful of women Maldivian parliamentarians are now being verbally abused and threatened on the floor of the debating chamber; further notes that President Nasheed, the Maldives' first democratically-elected president, is a champion of non-violent, peaceful democracy; believes that any allegations against him should be considered openly, and with due respect for justice and legal process, which has not yet been the case; and calls on the Government to make these demands of the Maldivian government, and to take all reasonable steps to encourage the re-establishment of democracy and the rule of law throughout the Maldives.

This motion has been signed by a total of 3 MPs.