Maldives slams criticism over jailing of ex-president

Colombo, March 17: The Maldivian government slammed what it called “unjustified” criticism over former president Mohamed sheed’s conviction and asked for the help of neighbouring India and Sri Lanka against such criticism, said its foreign minister on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Dhunya Maumoon, part of the Maldivian delegation in Sri Lanka to brief the intertiol community regarding the Maldivian political situation, told reporters that sheed had been given a fair trial at Crimil Court, and the Maldivian government would not influence the country’s judiciary, Xinhua news agency reported.

Noting that the Maldives was not the only country where a former president had been prosecuted, Maumoon said that such examples could be seen in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

sheed was last week sentenced to 13 years in jail over the alleged abduction and imprisonment of a former chief justice while he was president.

Maumoon said that arresting Crimil Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed was a serious offence, and that the person responsible should be answerable, even if it was a former president. “We feel that we are criticised harshly because we are a small tion. Treating countries differently is ucceptable to us. There are many countries with issues much more serious than the Maldives,” said Maumoon.  (IANS)