Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of political prisoners in the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Swire
The Maldives Police Service reports that in the past two years there have been 140 cases brought against those arrested at political rallies for disobeying police orders, obstructing police duties or committing or encouraging acts defined by the Maldivian authorities as terrorism. The opposition claims the total number facing politically motivated charges is much higher.
However, the number of individuals who have been sentenced to prison on charges we assess to be politically motivated is significantly lower. These individuals include former President Mohamed Nasheed, Adhaalath Party leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla and former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim amongst others.
Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on progress of democratic reforms in the Maldives since 2008.
Answered by Lord Swire
In 2008 the Maldives ratified a new constitution which paved the way for the first free and fair, multi-party elections in its history. We welcomed this process, the elections that followed it and the ambitious reform agenda of the new government.
Since 2012 there has been a steady decline in democratic space and respect for human rights in the Maldives. This includes restrictions on the right to protest, the intimidation of civil society, human rights organisations and members of the media and signs that the death penalty is to be reintroduced. Other concerns include the arbitrary detention of political figures and the decreasing independence of institutions and the judiciary. The State of Emergency declared in November 2015 temporarily suspended basic rights.
We continue to work with the Maldivian Government and the international community to encourage and support political and democratic reform.
Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with other Commonwealth leaders about the need to encourage further democratic reform in the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Swire
On 24 February, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) met in London to discuss the situation in the Maldives. Following that, I hosted a meeting for CMAG Ministers and senior officials. I welcomed CMAG’s conclusion that their consideration of the situation in Maldives should continue. I also supported their recommendations, in particular the need for the release of political leaders and a swift implementation of reforms to strengthen separation of powers and independence of the judiciary in Maldives. I encourage the Maldives Government to implement all of CMAG’s recommendations. I also discussed the situation in the Maldives with Foreign Minister McCully during my visit to New Zealand on 21 February and with Foreign Minister Samaraweera when I visited Sri Lanka in January.
Asked by: Julie Cooper (Labour - Burnley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to Bahraini government on the treatment of political prisoners in that country.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
We regularly discuss human rights and reform with the Government of Bahrain. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) most recently raised human rights with his Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on 4 February. Where we have specific concerns around convictions or sentencing, we raise these with the Government of Bahrain as part of our dialogue on human rights and reform.