Maldives 2017 human rights report
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Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
U.S. Mission to Maldives
Abstract
Description
The Republic of Maldives is a multiparty constitutional democracy. Abdulla
Yameen Abdul Gayoom won the presidential election in 2013, and most
international observers and the local nongovernmental organization (NGO)
Transparency Maldives (TM) determined it to be a credible and transparent
election. Parliamentary elections held in 2014 were well administered and
transparent according to TM, although there were credible reports of vote buying.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces.
The most significant human rights issues included the deterioration of democratic
governance, as the executive branch increased its interference in legislative and
judicial affairs; a politicized and inefficient judiciary; and political prisoners. The
government severely restricted freedom of expression, including freedom of the
press, by using an antidefamation law to silence dissenting voices and targeted
harassment and arbitrary detention of journalists. The government restricted the
freedoms of assembly and association, and freedom of religion. Same-sex sexual
conduct is criminalized.
The government did not take steps to prosecute and punish police and military
officers who committed abuses, and impunity for such abuses remained prevalent.
Keywords
Citation
U.S. Mission to Maldives. (2017). Maldives 2017 human rights report. U.S. Mission to Maldives. 1-33.