The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation in the Maldives.
The text adopted in plenary was tabled by the EPP, S&D, ECR, ALDE, Greens/EFA, GUE/NGL and EFDD groups.
Parliament expressed its deep concern over the serious and deteriorating political and human rights situation in the Maldives, and the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Yameen and his Government.
The Government of the Maldives is called on to:
- lift the state of emergency immediately, to respect the fundamental rights of all people, including the right to freedom of expression and assembly, as well as the rule of law;
- guarantee the safety of all civil society activists, human rights defenders and media workers in the country;
- drop all charges against all those being held for political reasons and release them immediately and unconditionally;
- abide by the decision of the Supreme Court to annul the criminal proceedings against leading politicians and to reinstate 12 Members of Parliament;
- respect the moratorium on the death penalty that has been in place for more than 60 years;
- revoke all capital punishment charges against juveniles and to prohibit the execution of juvenile offenders;
- profoundly reform the judiciary, to establish the impartiality of the Judicial Service Commission, to re-establish the independence of the Prosecutor General, and to respect due process of law and the right to a fair, impartial and independent trial;
- ensure that the 2018 elections are transparent and credible, that voters are given a genuine choice and that parties are able to campaign freely.
Lastly, Parliament called on the EU to make full use of all instruments at its disposal to promote respect for human rights and democratic principles in the Maldives, including, possibly, the suspension of EU financial assistance to the country pending the resumption of the rule of law and abidance by democratic principles.
The Council should introduce targeted measures and sanctions against those in the country undermining human rights, and to freeze the assets abroad of, and impose travel bans on, certain members of the Maldivian Government and their leading supporters in the Maldivian business community.