The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
January 26, 2016

Former President of Maldives Calls for Sanctions over Human Rights Abuses
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, has called on the
United States and European nations to levy sanctions against Maldivian
officials for human rights abuses in the Maldives. Nasheed was the
Maldives' first democratically elected president, known internationally
for his work on climate change. He was ousted in 2012 in what he called
an armed coup by supporters of his predecessor, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. He
is now serving a 13-year sentence under antiterrorism laws. He has been
permitted to travel to London for back surgery, where he spoke alongside
his lawyer, Amal Clooney.

Mohamed Nasheed: "It's easy to topple a dictator, but not so easy to
uproot a dictatorship. The lingering remains of dictatorships remain in
the countries, in societies, for far longer than we think we know."



.