On
Maldives,
State Dept
Tells ICP
Concerned at
Conviction,
Press Freedom
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
27 -- Amid
crackdowns in
the Maldives,
on March 27
Inner City
Press went to
the US State
Department's
daily briefing
and asked
spokesman Jeff
Rathke about
the conviction
of the
country's
former defense
minister
Nazim, and
threats to
deport migrant
workers if
they protest,
amid attacks
on free press.
From the State
Department's
transcript:
Inner
City Press: I
wanted to ask
you about in
Maldives the
former defense
minister has
just been
sentenced to
11 years. And
I know the
State
Department has
expressed some
concern about
former
President
Nasheed’s
trial. There’s
also a
situation in
which migrant
workers there
are being told
if they
demonstrate
about their
rights they’ll
be deported.
So I’m
wondering, is
the State
Department
monitoring
this? Do you
have any
comment on
developments
in the
Maldives?
MR. RATHKE:
Certainly, we
are. I don’t
have a comment
in front of
me. We’re
happy to look
into that and
come back to
you.
While this is
often said at
the UN - and
this week in
Washington at
the IMF on
Inner City
Press'
question about
Haiti -- in
this case the
US State
Department DID
come back with
a comment, issued as a
“Question
Taken”
later on March
27:
For
Immediate
Release
TAKEN QUESTION
March 27, 2015
Concerns
on Recent
Developments
in Maldives
Question:
Does the
United States
have any
comment on the
arrest of the
former
Maldivian
Defense
Minister?
Answer:
The United
States is
deeply
troubled by
recent
developments
in Maldives
that call into
question that
nation’s
commitment to
democracy and
individual
human
rights.
These
developments
include the
conviction of
former Defense
Minister
Mohamed Nazim,
who was
sentenced to
11 years in
prison on
weapons
charges March
26, and the
March 25
arrest of
Maldivian
journalists
under
allegations of
obstructing
police duties.
Nazim’s
trial was
particularly
concerning, as
it was marred
by the same
apparent lack
of appropriate
criminal
procedures as
the recent
trial of
former
President
Mohamed
Nasheed,
including the
inability to
call the
requested
number of
defense
witnesses and
concerns
regarding the
lack of
impartiality
and
independence
of the judges.
Freedom
of the press
is a
fundamental
democratic
right, and we
are in touch
with Maldivian
authorities to
clarify why
the
journalists
have been
detained
without
charges.
We
call on the
Government of
Maldives to
take steps to
restore
confidence in
its
hard-fought
democracy and
the rule of
law, including
judicial
independence
and freedom of
the press.
We'll have
more on this
-- including,
from the new
Free UN
Coalition for
Access, on the
situation of
the press in
the Malvides.
Watch this
site.
, 
