Amnesty chief calls on government to release MP Mahloof

Secretary General of Amnesty International, Salil Shetty, has called on the Maldivian government to release its prisoner of conscience, Member of Parliament (MP) for Galolhu-South Constituency Ahmed Mahloof.

In a tweet posted on Monday, Mr. Shetty urged Maldives to stop all arbitrary detentions and to respect human rights, in addition to which he called the government to release MP Mahloof.

Amnesty International released a statement on Friday highlighting that MP Mahloof is falsely charged of terrorism and obstruction of police duty for taking part in peaceful protests, as well as 'false reporting' for two tweets about the police service, in order to gain political incentives.

In the statement, the organization has included several details of the allegations against MP Mahloof and the possible jail sentences he could receive.

Therefore MP Mahloof could receive a jail sentence of six months if the allegations of obstruction of police duty for distributing masks to protestors is proven and accusations of 'false reporting' for posting two tweets about the police service could add another year to his jail sentence.

Additionally, there is a high possibility that MP Mahloof receives a jail sentence of 17 years regarding terrorism allegations accusing him of forcefully entering Maafushi jail during a protest held outside the facility on 3rd February.

'The rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly have been under attack in the Maldives over the recent years, and increasing so following the government's decision to impose a state of emergency in February 2018', said Amnesty International in the statement. Furthermore, the organization called upon the Maldivian government to immediately release the political prisoner.

Amnesty International has also urged to share their statement with relevant diplomats.