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Cannot compromise religious beliefs for Amnesty’s sake: Supreme Court

Cannot compromise religious beliefs for Amnesty’s sake: Supreme Court


Estimated time to read the article : 3 min, 12 secs

The nation’s Supreme Court has lashed out against Amnesty International, saying that the nation will not compromise the Maldivian identity and Islamic faith to please groups such as Amnesty International.

The Court issued a statement against the report issued by Amnesty on the “State of the World Human Rights”, citing that the report made on the status of the Maldives did not reflect the current status of the country, based on half-truths and often at times, on completely false information.

The statement lamented that a body such as Amnesty had failed to get an accurate assessment on the current status of the nation, prior to filing the report, adding that this reflected poor faith on part of the organization. The statement added that this was an attempt by the organization to defame the country in an international setting.

The statement said that even though groups such as Amnesty expressed concern over Maldives practicing Islamic Shariah, the country would keep on doing so. The statement said that Islamic Shariah addressed all of the issues facing a modern nation and that this has been accepted by the judiciary and the citizens of the country.

The statement also challenged the claims made in the report, which had claimed that the Supreme Court had breached the mandate of Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM). The statement said that the Court had merely acted within its mandate to remind the Commission that they were answerable first and foremost to the citizens of the country, rather than a foreign party.

Supreme Court added that the Court will always work within the legal mandate set in the Constitution and will implement justice and human rights, with no exceptions.

Noting the Amnesty report was biased at best, towards one single political party and entity, the statement said that this was not a principle accepted by the Court. As such, the statement said that the Court will seek to uphold the mandate of the Court, rule of law and justice without any exceptions.

The statement concluded by stating that the Court and the country will welcome all forms of constructive criticism. However, the statement categorically said that they will reject any forms of criticism based on baseless allegations.