Maldivian journalist Jennifer Latheef who was serving a 10-year jail term for terrorism has been pardoned by the government. Latheef has, however, rejected the presidential pardon.
The government announced Latheef's release on August 16. She was jailed for 10 years in October 2005 after being convicted of inciting a riot in 2003. International human rights groups had sharply criticised the sentence, with Amnesty International describing her as "a prisoner of conscience". The government said her conviction had been based on photographic evidence of her involvement in a mob.
Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed announced on Wednesday said that President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had freed Jennifer Latheef following informal talks between Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the government. Though Latheef was freed on Tuesday, the announcement was made the following morning.
Official spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef confirmed Latheef had been released. "Jenny was freed a little while ago," said Hussain Shareef. "It was one of the points the government and MDP had agreed on during their informal talks. MDP kept their part of the bargain by agreeing to hold their gathering on August 12 and 13 without any violence. Now we've kept our end of the bargain."
Latheef told HaveeruOnline that even though she had been freed she did not accept the pardon that had been granted. She said that she would not accept it unless her record was cleared. "I have been labelled as a terrorist and sentenced for 10 years," she said. "Unless the false accusation is cleared from my record the world will always view me as a terrorist. I cannot travel to any part of the world."
She also said that her release was unfair to the others who had been imprisoned with her under false accusations. "Four other people were sentenced along with me. Freeing me and not freeing them is unfair." Her father, Mohamed Latheef, was one of the founders of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
The members of the International Mission for Press Freedom in the Maldives has termed the presidential pardon for Latheef as a step towards reinforcing confidence in the reform process, but said it was a "half-measure" all the same. The mission comprises Article XIX, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF), International Media Support (IMS), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and South Asia Press Commission (SAPC).
"This pardon is a step in the right direction but we think it is important that Jennifer Latheef should be cleared of the charges of terrorism," said the five organisations that make up the mission. "This is necessary so that the case can finally be closed. We also call for a fair and transparent review of the cases against Mohamed 'Ani' Nasheed and Abdulla Saeed."
According to Minivan News, MDP secretary-general Hamid Abdul Gafoor said that his party had fulfilled its commitments and now expected the government to do the same. "We have done everything we promised according to the understandings reached at the talks," he told Minivan on Monday last. "Now it's time for the government to deliver on the clear commitments it has made both to us and the international community."
An analyst told Minivan that the government was seeking to downplay the talks in public, while at the same time making big promises in private: "There's been a definite increase in behind the scenes international involvement. On the one hand, these talks provide an opportunity for Gayoom to reestablish his 'reformist' credentials after a damaging few months. And a few strategic concessions could keep things quiet domestically for a while. But ministers have been making radical promises on the President's behalf in front of international mediators. If they fail to deliver, as they so often have, it's hard to see how he can rebuild his credibility."
President Gayoom has ruled the Maldives for more than 25 years and political parties were in effect banned until June last year. His government has been repeatedly criticised for violating human rights, a charge it strongly denies.
Minivan News wrote, "MDP officials claim the government has been pressured internationally and domestically into making radical promises in front of foreign mediators, including the release of Latheef. If they don't deliver on them, the opposition can withdraw from talks with little cost. Shaheed and Hassan Saeed will be discredited and Gayoom weakened.
"So goes the theory. But while Maldives ministers whisper sweet nothings behind the scenes, the government is busily sabotaging referendum preparations within the Special Majlis. The democracy movement's best ever opportunity to damage Gayoom is slipping away without street protest or public outcry."
Minivan News sees a reason why Gayoom supported these talks. "Faced with the choice between making short-term tactical concessions during secret negotiations and allowing the entire nation's democratic voice to be heard, he has inevitably worked for the former. A crushing defeat on September 16 would have have crippled him. But behind-the-scenes manuoeuvring keeps the democracy movement quiet, rebuilds his international credibility and plays different cabinet factions off one another."
