§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the treatment of political prisoners in the Maldives. [188340]
§ Mr. AlexanderWe remain concerned about prisoners detained without charge in the Maldives, and raise this regularly with the Maldivian authorities. Our Acting High Commissioner recently discussed this issue with 1547W the Maldivian Attorney General, and on 6 September was part of an EU delegation which met the Maldivian Minister of Foreign Affairs. The EU delegation called upon the Maldivian government to immediately repeal the state of emergency and restore all fundamental rights to the detainees. We welcome the steps taken by the Maldivian Government to enter into an agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross on prison monitoring, and look forward to the early conclusion of such an agreement.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the human rights situation in the Maldives. [188341]
§ Mr. AlexanderIn December 2003, the Maldives established a Human Rights Commission (HRC) to protect, promote and preserve human rights. However the bill that would give the HRC the necessary legal power has not been passed, and we continue to have concerns, including about freedom of expression and association, and detention without charge. Following the arrests of nearly 200 people, including Special Majlis MPs, during and after the demonstrations of 12 and 13 August, we and EU partners called on the Maldivian authorities to repeal the state of emergency and restore fundamental rights to those detained. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Rammell) reiterated our support for the President's reform proposals, and stressed the importance of ensuring that the Special Majlis, and the people of the Maldives are free to discuss constitutional change, during a meeting on 25 August with the Maldivian Special Envoy.