Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Maldives asylum-seeking politician's life at risk: British Lawyer  

FORMER Maldives vice president Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor has sought political asylum from India as he faces a serious risk to his life in his home country, a UK lawyer from the firm representing the politician said on Friday (2).

Ghafoor Thursday (1) reached India via sea route on the coast of Tamil Nadu and he is being questioned by the Indian authorities.


Toby Cadman, co-founder of Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers – the firm representing the politician in his bid for political asylum, called on the Indian government to uphold the asylum plea in accordance with international law.

"We remain deeply concerned that he could be returned to the Maldives where his life is at risk," said Cadman.

"He has made a plea for asylum and that should be upheld. I would strongly urge the Indian authorities to respect national law and its international obligations and provide the protection he requires," he said.

The vessel in which Ghafoor arrived had nine crew members, a police official had said.

"There have been statements issued by the Maldives Police that he will be returned to Maldives. I would remind the Maldives authorities that he has claimed asylum and if they want to return him to the Maldives, the proper course of action is through a request for extradition, not through any other means," Cadman said.

The firm's international legal team is working on Ghafoor's asylum case said it had initiated contact with the United Nations' Office of the High Commission for Refugees and the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights.

It also disputed some media reports claiming that he was under arrest in India.

"He is not under arrest but we understand he is being questioned in relation to his plea for asylum... He fled the Maldives due to the ongoing pressures placed upon him to sign an agreement implicating other persons in relation to a corruption scandal. He was forced to sign an agreement and provide false testimony on video," said Cadman.

According to his legal team, Ghafoor fell out of favour with the then Maldives president Abdulla Yameen and was investigated in connection with an alleged bomb plot to assassinate Yameen.

Thereafter, he was implicated in various allegations of corruption, resulting in him being imprisoned for a period of three years on offences he denied.

Ghafoor was released from prison at the end of last year and the Supreme Court in Maldives reportedly acquitted him of all offences earlier this year, citing "political influence" exercised over the trials.

It is claimed that despite being acquitted, he has remained under house arrest following an appeal being lodged by the Prosecutor General against his acquittal.

"There is real concern that the criminal justice system in the Maldives is being manipulated to target political opponents," Cadman said.

"As he has stated in the past he is willing to face the allegations levied against him, but in a system that is independent and impartial. The system needs to be reformed and we invite the EU to re-engage in this process," the lawyer said.

Ministry of external affairs has said that it is working on establishing the "veracity of the reports" and as the former political leader had entered India with a lack of valid travel documents, his entry to India remains uncertain.

(PTI)

More For You

King Charles

King Charles, wearing a black armband to pay respects to the victims of Air India plane crash, attends the Trooping the Colour parade on his official birthday in London. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Victims remembered during King Charles's birthday parade

A MINUTE's silence for the victims of the Air India plane crash was observed on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour parade in London marking King Charles's official birthday. Some members of the royal family wore black armbands during the ceremony.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles, 76, had requested changes to the parade “as a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rochdale grooming case

They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)

Seven men convicted of raping 13-year-old girls in Rochdale grooming case

SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.

Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.

Keep ReadingShow less
karan-thakar

Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles

Karun Collection

Karun Thakar Fund to support textile research with scholarships and grants

THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.

The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Probe focuses on engine and flaps; safety checks ordered for 787 fleet

THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.

The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less