Nasheed

The legal team of the former President Mohamed Nasheed has said that it is compulsory for the Government to obey the decision made by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) saying that the Criminal Court’s decision to sentence the former President to 13 years in prison was unfair.

Speaking at a press conference tonight, lawyer Ibrahim Riffath on the former President’s defense team said that international treaties signed by the Maldives makes it compulsory for the Government to obey the decision.

He said that the Maldives have signed the treaty of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the two treaties state the rights that must be granted to protect the sanctity of humanity.

“What is noteworthy is that the Maldives have signed those two treaties and as per Article 93 of the Constitution, the Parliament has passed it.” Riffath said.

He said that the Maldives is a member of the United Nations since 1965 and so refusing decision made by the institutes of U.N. is saying no to U.N.

While President Nasheed’s defense team has said this, the Foreign Minitry has said that the case of the President Nasheed’s sentence is that since it is an active case in the Maldivian Judiciary System, the Government does not believe that the UNWGAD can preside over it.