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MALDIVES
The Republic of Maldives is a multiparty constitutional democracy. In 2008 parliament ratified a new constitution that provided for the first multiparty presidential elections. In relatively free and fair elections in October 2008, Mohamed Nasheed became the country’s first directly elected president. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problems include restrictions on religious rights, abuse and unequal treatment of women, and corruption of government officials. The constitution requires all citizens to be Muslim, and the government’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs actively polices and enforces compliance with Islamic practices. There were reports of religion-related self-censorship in the press and among civil society contacts. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) condemned the performance of the judiciary and executive branch for their inadequate treatment of criminal cases, especially rape. Corruption existed within the judiciary, members of parliament, and among officials of the executive and state institutions.
Other human rights problems reported included flogging, arbitrary arrests, harassment of journalists, and discrimination against expatriate laborers. Migrant laborers were subjected to labor abuses and were the primary victims of human trafficking. Many laborers migrated illegally into the country, making them particularly vulnerable to forced labor and debt bondage.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish some police and military officials who committed abuses, but several judges allegedly enjoyed impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
On January 14, Abdulla Basith Zubair died while in police custody. Zubair was arrested along with another man on charges of drug possession. The police claimed that Zubair died of an overdose, but Zubair’s friends accused the police of beating him to death, claiming that one of Zubair’s friends witnessed the incident.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
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The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) investigated the case and concluded that the police were not responsible for Zubair’s death, although the PIC called for revised safety procedures when holding suspects. According to Zubair’s autopsy report, there were no signs of injury on Zubair’s body and he died of cardiorespiratory arrest.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The law prohibits such practices, although there were reports of mistreatment of individuals by security forces, including beatings by the police, and unconfirmed reports of torture in custody.
On January 22, a 17-year-old boy told the media that he was arbitrarily arrested and beaten by a squad of policemen in Male. According to the boy, a policeman approached him earlier that day while he was on the telephone, and he declined to respond. The police allegedly beat the boy and claimed the boy attempted to attack a policeman. The police acknowledged that the boy had submitted a complaint that he was tortured and were investigating the matter.
During the year the PIC reported the incident of a woman who was physically and sexually abused inside a police car by four police officers, taken around the city for an indeterminate period, made to strip her clothes, and thrown out of the car onto the street. The police discharged the four officers, but at year’s end there were no criminal charges. The PIC was investigating the case.
In July two men arrested in relation to an abortion case in Thinadhoo lodged a complaint with the PIC that police tortured them while in detention. The case was under investigation.
The law permits flogging as a form of punishment. According to 2010 statistics from the Judicial Services Administration, the courts sentenced 96 individuals to flogging; more than 80 percent of those convicted were women. Three of these sentences were from the juvenile court and 52 from atoll courts. Most flogging sentences were given for birth out of wedlock and fornication, resulting in a disproportionate number of women flogged. At the end of August, 71 cases of
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
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birth out of wedlock were lodged with the police, of which 61 cases were investigated and forwarded to the prosecutor general. While pregnancies incriminate women, men can deny the charges and escape punishment because of the difficulty of proving fornication or adultery under sharia (Islamic law). The higher conviction rate for women allegedly was due to gender insensitive judges and the dismissal of forensic evidence by the courts. In the absence of an evidence act, judges used forensic evidence at their discretion.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prison conditions generally met international standards, and the government permitted visits by independent human rights observers. The Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) oversees the operation of three prison facilities and one remand center: Maafushi Prison, Asseryi Prison, Male Prison, and Male Remand. Male Prison and Male Remand are located in the capital city, and the other prisons are located on separate islands within a one-hour boat ride from the capital city. The DPRS incarcerates only convicted prisoners. After the ratification of the constitution, pretrial detainees were held separately from convicted prisoners. Detention facilities were located on Dhoonidhoo Island and Maafushi Island. Women are held separately from men in Maafushi Prison and guarded by female prison officers. Conditions in the women’s area of the prison were similar to those in the men’s area, although there were fewer female inmates per cell.
Juveniles awaiting sentencing are held in a juvenile correctional facility on Feydhoofinolhu Island until their cases are heard. Most convicted juveniles are held under house arrest because there are no juvenile pretrial detention centers in the country.
The DPRS prison system has an estimated capacity of 765 prisoners, and the total prison population was 822. Of this population, 787 were men and 35 were women. Drug offenders accounted for 66 percent of the prison population, of which approximately 70 percent were incarcerated for drug use and 1 percent for drug possession.
The government generally permitted regular prison visits by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and other international assessment teams. The UN Development Program (UNDP) published a prison assessment in September, for which they interviewed 60 percent of the prison population. Major complaints included a lack of
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
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structured programs, use of torture and inhumane treatment, discrimination towards foreign prisoners, politicians providing false hope in return for participation in riots and protests, a lack of segregation according to crime or discipline, and the availability of drugs inside prison. The UNDP report noted that prisons lacked qualified personnel, adequate educational facilities, vocational guidance, and drug rehabilitation programs. The report noted the need to pass the penal code, criminal procedure code, evidence bill, drugs bill, and prison and parole bill as a matter of urgency, noting that in the absence of these bills, the existing legislative framework would not support the human rights guaranteed under the constitution.
In its 2010 annual report, the ICRC stated that it visited detainees at six detention facilities and shared its findings and recommendations confidentially with authorities. The ICRC reported that the organization would phase out prison visits because there were no longer security-related prisoners.
The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) established by the HRCM monitors any death or other allegations related to prisons or prison authorities. The HRCM maintains a Web site in which reports on occasional jail visits, other human rights investigations, and annual reports were available.
During the year the NPM visited nine police custodial centers: Male Police Custodial, three island police stations, Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial immigration detention centers in Male and Hulhumale, Male Prison, and a Correctional Training Center for Children in Feydhoofinolhu. After a visit to Dhoonidhoo Police Custodial in February, the NPM observed that conditions had improved from 2010. Prisoners had access to potable water. Nonetheless, it reported complaints of harsh disciplinary punishment and humiliating security checks. It also noted that the sanitary conditions in the cells were unsatisfactory. The NPM recommended that police conduct human rights training or refresher courses for officers, allow detainees in solitary confinement out of the cell for a walk every few days, establish a mechanism to expedite investigation and trial, and build a separate unit for juvenile detainees. The NPM also visited a home for people with special needs, a drug rehabilitation center in Himmafushi, an education and training center for children, and the orphanage in Villingili.
The NPM makes a visit plan a year ahead, conducts visits throughout the year according to this plan, and publishes an annual report of its findings. During the year, however, the NPM decided not to make full detention reports available to the
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011
United States Department of State •
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