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By APD Writer Easwaran
COLOMBO, Sept. 14 (APD) -- The Maldives on Thursday said it will seek the assistance of relevant authorities in Sri Lanka to return former President Mohamed Nasheed using diplomatic channels, if required.
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, Maldives’ Ambassador-designate to Sri Lanka said that Nasheed is a fugitive and left the Maldives midway through a jail sentence after being allowed to seek medical treatment overseas.
“It is ironic that Nasheed and his legal team are accusing others of attempted kidnapping when he himself is a fugitive from the law for the well-publicised kidnapping of a Chief Judge,” Mohamed Hussain Shareef said.
International legal counsel representing former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed earlier raised concerns about a threat made by the Maldivian ambassador-designate to Colombo to detain their client in Sri Lanka and forcibly return him to the Maldives.
Legal counsel Amal Clooney said any attempt by a Maldivian diplomat to detain President Nasheed in Sri Lanka would constitute a violation of international law as well as Sri Lankan criminal law.
Legal counsel Amal Clooney(R) and Sri Lanka's former President Mohamed Nasheed.
She had said President Nasheed should not be returned to the Maldives to serve a sentence that resulted from a sham trial, and it is incumbent on the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure that his rights are respected while he is in their country.
“Should a relevant authority in the Maldives request the Embassy to seek the assistance of relevant authorities in Sri Lanka to return him or any other fugitive in accordance with our Constitution and laws, all avenues available through diplomatic channels will be utilised to fulfill the obligation,” Mohamed Hussain Shareef said.
He also said that Nasheed and his supporters have continuously attempted to create diplomatic friction between Sri Lanka and the Maldives, including assertions of bias by the Sri Lankan government.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
