President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
The President’s Office
Boduthakurufaanu Magu,
Male 20113
Republic of the Maldives
By email: info@po.gov.mv
8 August 2019
RE: Ongoing threats against human rights defenders in the Maldives
Dear Mr. President,
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), is writing to you to express its deepest concern over the ongoing threats and harassment against human rights defenders in the Maldives.
The Observatory has received information that at least 15 human rights defenders, including journalists, lawyers, and non-governmental organisation (NGO) workers, have been subjected to repeated acts of harassment and intimidation online since you took office in November 2018. In many cases, such acts have amounted to hate speech and death threats, which foster a dangerous environment for human rights defenders and impede them from doing their work.
Human rights defenders who have advocated for the respect of human rights, gender equality, and accountability for violations, as well as those who have expressed their support for religious tolerance, have been especially targeted. Online news outlet Vaguthu Online, Facebook page Siru Arts, and the now defunct Telegram channel Murtad Watch [‘Apostate Watch’] Mv have been the preferred platforms for religious extremists to attacks human rights defenders and label them as “un-Islamic”, “anti-religious” or “apostates.” Such platforms have also encouraged users to directly threaten human rights defenders with violence, often hiding behind anonymous Twitter or Facebook accounts.
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http://www.omct.org/human-rights-defenders/statements/maldives/2019/08/d25469/
IAPL Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers 