Purpose of discussions with Government was to seek Nasheed's release: MDP VP Shifaz

The purpose of the discussions held with Government in July was to seek the release of former President Nasheed, MDP’s Vice President Mohamed Shifaz has said.

Speaking at RaajjeTV’s ‘Fala Suruhee’ programme last night, Shifaz said that the former President represented more than half of the population, and that his release was directly linked to the hopes and dreams of thousands of Maldivians.

“We had initially decided to cooperate with the Government and to engage in dialogue. But the Government has clearly turned a blind eye to our efforts to 

prioritise diplomacy”, Shifaz added.

Referring to MDP’s cooperation with the ruling party to amend the Constitution on two different occasions, Shifaz insisted the party had had “bitter medicine for the greater good of all Maldivians”.

According to the MDP, the Government reneged on its promise to release Nasheed, after successfully passing a number of controversial bills with the help of the opposition.

Although former President Nasheed was transferred to house arrest in June this year, on 23rd August 2015, he was taken back to Maafushi prison, after Maldives Correctional Service claimed that the document commuting Nasheed’s 13-year jail sentence to house arrest was a fake.

Former President Nasheed’s legal team had recently reiterated that the commutation document sent to their client on 19th July 2015 by the Maldives Correctional Service was valid.

Speaking at the press conference held by Nasheed’s legal team in Mookai Hotel on December 8, lawyer Hassan Latheef said that they had sent additional documents sent by the Correctional Service for forensic analysis, and found out that the commutation document matched with the rest of the documents, proving its validity further.

The former President’s family has now received the independent forensic analysis reports for letters sent by the Correctional Service to former President Nasheed and his wife on 21st June 2015, and another letter sent to the former President on 23rd June 2015, after his transfer to temporary house arrest.

Hassan Latheef further stated that his client’s family had handed over the original commutation document to the police on 12th November 2015, and called on the authorities to conclude the investigation as soon as possible.

 source- https://raajje.mv/55180