Amnesty International has called on the Maldives government to release Dhiggaru MP Faris Maumoon and withdraw the charges levied against him.
The son of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, MP Faris was convicted to jail time of four months and 24 days over unlawfully using ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s flag and logo at a press conference held with the opposition coalition last year.
The international rights body described Faris a prisoner of conscience, stating that he had been detained for almost a year through unfair trial proceedings on trumped-up charges, and called for immediate release of the lawmaker.
The Dhiggaru lawmaker is also facing trial over terrorism and bribery charges.
He has been incarcerated pending trial under these charges for a period of 10 months.
Whilst Faris has been convicted for identitiy theft charges, he has not yet been ousted from his seat at the parliament.
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