III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 8, 2016 

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 

RESOLUTION 

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. 

Whereas the Maldives is strategically important due to its location, which straddles major trade routes in the Indian 

Ocean; 


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•SRES 392 IS 

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 


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•SRES 392 IS 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses profound concern over the pros3 ecution and conviction of former President Mohamed 

4 Nasheed without due process; and 

5 (2) urges the Government of the Maldives to 

6 take all necessary steps— 

7 (A) to redress this injustice; 

8 (B) to release all political prisoners; and 

9 (C) to ensure due process and freedom 

10 from political prosecution for all the people of 

11 the Maldives. 

Æ 


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