[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 8, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S1347]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 392--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
PROSECUTION AND CONVICTION OF FORMER PRESIDENT MOHAMED NASHEED WITHOUT 
   DUE PROCESS AND URGING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE MALDIVES TO TAKE ALL 
  NECESSARY STEPS TO REDRESS THIS INJUSTICE, TO RELEASE ALL POLITICAL 
    PRISONERS, AND TO ENSURE DUE PROCESS AND FREEDOM FROM POLITICAL 
             PROSECUTION FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE MALDIVES

  Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Murphy, Mr. McCain, Mr. Reed, 
Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Peters, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Menendez, 
Mr. Cardin, Mr. Coons, Mr. Markey, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 392

       Whereas the Maldives is strategically important due to its 
     location, which straddles major trade routes in the Indian 
     Ocean;
       Whereas increasing civil rights violations in the Maldives 
     fuel instability and pose a threat to regional security;
       Whereas since January 2015, President Abdulla Yameen of the 
     Maldives has increasingly cracked down on dissent within his 
     own party and the political opposition, presided over the 
     erosion of judicial impartiality, and put increasing pressure 
     on civil society;
       Whereas the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed in 
     March 2015, was widely condemned as politically motivated, 
     and his conviction and sentence of 13 years in prison has 
     been condemned by Amnesty International as a ``travesty of 
     justice'';
       Whereas in his speech in Sri Lanka on May 2, 2015, 
     Secretary of State John Kerry stated, ``[W]e've seen even now 
     how regrettably there are troubling signs that democracy is 
     under threat in the Maldives where the former President 
     Nasheed has been imprisoned without due process. And that is 
     an injustice that must be addressed soon.''; and
       Whereas on September 14, 2015, in his opening statement at 
     the 30th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 
     United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad 
     said--
       (1) ``In the Maldives, the rule of law continues to be 
     manipulated for political ends.''; and
       (2) in reference to former President Mohamed Nasheed's 
     detention, ``Given the deeply tainted nature of this case, I 
     urge the Government to release him, and to review several 
     hundred pending criminal cases against opposition supporters 
     in relation to protests in recent months.'':
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses profound concern over the prosecution and 
     conviction of former President Mohamed Nasheed without due 
     process; and
       (2) urges the Government of the Maldives to take all 
     necessary steps--
       (A) to redress this injustice;
       (B) to release all political prisoners; and
       (C) to ensure due process and freedom from political 
     prosecution for all the people of the Maldives.

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