07 June 2004

To Whom It May Concern

On 28th May 2004, the Government of Maldives in a publication made on the official Information Ministry website gave the following statement regarding my detention by the Maldivian Authority.

"5) Ibrahim Fareed was arrested and charged over plots to carry out numerous terrorist activities including blowing up places of entertainment, kidnapping senior Government officials, sabotaging the tourism industry and instigating calls for a violent jihad."

Upon receiving this information, I wrote to the Attorney Generals Office to clarify the charges described in this statement as it was the first time I was hearing them. Attached written answer was received on 01st of June 2004, and is testimony to the fact that I have not been charged with heinous crimes as stated in the Governments' answer in detail to Amnesty International.

Translation of the Letter from the Attorney Generals Office

"The case brought against Ibrahim Fareed by this Office, the case which is now being conducted at the Criminal Court are, attempting to carry out an act against the state and speaking to people in a way that could create religious thoughts and making religious speeches to people in a way that could have undermined the rights of some people in the Maldivian society. No other case is recorded in this Office accept those mentioned here".

Despite this, the government has specifically stated that I have been charged over plots to carry out numerous terrorist activities including blowing up places of entertainment, kidnapping senior Government officials, sabotaging the tourism industry and instigating calls for a violent jihad.

I am a graduate from Univerity of Qatar, where I completed first degree in Law and Islamic Sharia. On my return in 1997, I was employed by the Government as a teacher at the Institute of Islamic Studies in Male', as well as I was working for the Supreme Council for the for Islamic Affairs, under which I was charged with performing Friday and Eid Prayers as Imam which include the deliverance of the sermons. In addition to that I was also assigned the duty of conducting public speeches in mosques and other gatherings, as specifically instructed by the Council. During such speeches, I constantly discussed the Islamic principles and highlighted the fact that corruption is one of the key areas of concern in our society. I further added that such acts cannot be the acts of pious Muslims as they must be role models for the people.

I was first warned by the Council about my style and content of speech which were apparently contradictory to the Maldivian government's religion policies. Few months after the first warning, I was warned again and then arrested on 8th June 2002, by the National Security Service (NSS). This was after giving a speech at Masjidh Mohamed Bin Abdullah, a newly opened mosque in the capital island of Male. Initially, I was kept in Male' Police Headquarters in solitary confinement for 29 days and they interrogated me heavily. They wanted me to admit that I was calling for religious divide and that I was involved in this with other people and asked me to name them or even make up names. On the 30th day of my detention I was kept in a small cell in Male' and then I was transferred to Dhoonidhoo Island Prison, where I was in solitary confinement for 5 months and 25 days. I was then transferred to house arrest in Male for 2 months and 12 days, before being taken away again to Dhoonidhoo Prison Island, where I was again interrogated and kept in solitary confinement for 7 months, in a small cell. Finally, I was brought back to Male' in October 2003, and was under house arrest until released on 1st of April 2004 after 6 months, with travel restrictions from Male' until the court case is concluded.

I can declare that I have not committed any of the crimes alleged against me and with a clear and conscious mind, I can guarantee that my speeches were 100% in compliance with the principles and teachings of Islam. I have never incited violence in any of my speeches and almost all the contexts was based on Islamic faith and the principles of creating a harmonious, happy and a just society.

I was never charged with the crimes listed in the governments answer to Amnesty International. In addition to that the first written reply to my case was given by the Ministry of Defence and National Security (attached) on 29th July 2002, which reads:

"Ibrahim Fareed is detained due to allegedly speaking in public in a way that could divide them under the Religious Unity Protection Law."

I strongly insist on my innocence and condemn these infringements on my human rights which are guaranteed by the constitution of Maldives. I have a wife and two young children, aged 4 and 2. My arrest and detention and the continued restriction of my life has meant that I am unable to earn a living as people are not only intimidated to employ me; there is no guarantee on what would happen tomorrow.

Signed
Ibrahim Fareed Ahmed
8/6/2004
Please visit Dhivehi Observer for original.