Mohamed Nasheed
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Mohamed Nasheed Keneryge Male (Dhivehi: މުހައްމަދު ނަޝީދު) (b. May 17, 1967), commonly referred to in the Maldives as Anni, former Parliament member for Malé, is the chairman of the Maldivian Democratic Party and an outspoken critic of the Maldivian PresidentMaumoon Abdul Gayoom and his policies. Due to his criticism of the dictator, over the years he was arrested and sentenced several times. He was made an Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience in 1991 when he was being held in prison for writing for the popular political magazine known as "Sangu". On April 8, 1992 he was sentenced to three years in prison for "withholding information". He was released in June 1993 and was re-arrested in 1994 and 1995. In 1996 he was sentenced to two years imprisonment for an article he had written.
In 2000, he was elected as a member of the parliament representing the people of Malé. Six months later, in 2001 he was tried and sentenced to two and half years banishment for the theft of unspecified "government property" from H. Velaanaage - the former residence of former president Ibrahim Nasir. Supporters of Nasheed believe that it was a fabricated charge against him motivated by political desires. This was later proved to be so, when Dhivehiobserver (of Ahmed Shafeeq Ibrahim Moosa) published a leaked letter, sent by then Minister of Construction and Public Works Umar Zahir to the former Minister of Defence (and now High Commissioner to Delhi) Anbaree Abdul Sattar. The letter, dated on October 31, 2001, was published on the website on October 10, 2005. According to this letter, Nasheed did take some files from the residence which were about to be destroyed as they were of no value to the government. According to Umar Zahir there was no restricted area for the public in the residence. In his letter Umar Zahir stated "Later that day I did check the storage place from which Mohamed Nasheed apparently took that material. There was nothing there that could be of use. There remained only old written materials and books. Those things have now been burned."
In November 2003, Nasheed left the Maldives and joined Mohamed Latheef to help establish the Maldivian Democratic Party, in exile, in Sri Lanka and the UK. He was recognized as a political refugee by the British government in 2004. After about 18 months in self-proclaimed exile, Nasheed returned to Malé on April 30, 2005.
After returning to the Maldives he began promoting MDP before it was officially recognized by the Government. With the decision to allow political parties in the Maldives, on June 2, 2005 and the official recognition of the MDP's existence, Nasheed accelerated his support campaigns for the party. He made several trips to the Atolls, and neighbouring countries on behalf of the party.
On August 12, 2005, Nasheed was arrested again when he was sitting in the center of the Republican Square, with supporters of MDP, to mark the second anniversary of the Black Friday. His arrest provoked a civil unrest in Malé and some other Atolls. After his arrest acting Government Spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef told reporters Nasheed had been detained for "his own safety." Contradictorily, on August 22, 2005, the state announced Nasheed is to be charged for terrorism under the Terrorism Act.
[edit] Nasheed charged with terrorism
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The first hearings were held on the morning of August 28, 2005 at the Criminal Court, Malé. Reportedly he was taken to the court from a back door and was taken to trial unannounced . Nasheed had rendered resistance and was taken to the court by force. Mohamed Saleem, the state prosecutor, charged Nasheed under Article 6(b) with reference to 2(g) of the Penal Code for terrorism and Article 29 of the Penal Code "Whoever attempts to commit or participates in or facilitates the commission of an act against the State shall be punished with imprisonment for life or exile for life or imprisonment or exile for a period between 10 years and 15 years". The state prosecutor stated that on July 30, 2005, at Thoddo island, Nasheed had spoken of overthrowing the legal government by violent means. In his defence Nasheed stated that he was arrested and detained under Article 46 of the Code and any investigation conducted was done or should be done under Article 46 and not under the Article 29.
The International Commission of Jurists was observing Nasheed's trial. The ICJ’s trial observer, Faisz Musthapha, former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and former Chairman of the Sri Lankan National Human Rights Commission was observing the trial on behalf of ICJ. On the first day of trial his interpreter was not allowed to interpret for him, instead a Justice Ministry Staff was assigned to interpret for him.
After the first hearing, the trial was postponed several times. On October 23, 2005, his defence attorneys were officially informed that the trial is being scheduled for October 27, 2005. [1] On December 20, 2005, Nasheed was temporarily released from house arrest to attend part of the National Congress of the Maldivian Democratic Party.
On September 21, 2006, Nasheed was released from house arrest, but the charges against him have not been dropped.[1]
