Amal Clooney winning it for Mohamed Nasheed

By Natalie Obiko Pearson

The Maldives, known for its luxury villas atop turquoise waters battling rising sea levels, has become the centre of an increasingly highprofile international political spat that’s pitted human-rights lawyer Amal Clooney against the country’s leader.

Clooney is representing former President Mohamed Nasheed, who was convicted last year on terrorism charges she calls “bogus.” The Maldives government says the charges aren’t political and Nasheed must serve time for throwing a criminal court judge into jail during his presidency that ended in 2012.

So far, the controversy hasn’t made much of a dent in the country’s main industry: tourist arrivals surged 15 percent last year, according to Ministry of Tourism data.

But Clooney and her colleagues appear to be chalking up wins in the court of international public opinion. A UN panel called for Nasheed’s release in September, while the European Parliament passed a resolution in December asking the EU to impose asset freezes and travel bans on top Maldivian officials and businessmen.

Under pressure from India, Sri Lanka, the US and European Union, President Abdul la Yameen’s government agreed to release Nasheed in January to travel to London for spinal surgery.

The charges against Nasheed date back to January 2012 when his government arrested Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed after he ordered the release of a political rival.

Nasheed’s administration invoked national security and asked the military to detain the justice. The move sparked huge protests, and a month later Nasheed stepped down.

Yameen’s government is feeling the pressure, according to Mohamed Shainee, the minister of fisheries and agriculture who is heading efforts for peace talks with the opposition.

It wants the United Nations and the Commonwealth to broker talks, but so far Nasheed’s party has refused to join the dialogue. “It’s very difficult for a developing country to spend a lot of money, all this money on publicity,” Shainee said. “We are cornered.” “Regarding Nasheed, there is no political side to it,” Shainee said.

“He has confessed to what he has done. He has said he would do it again.” Clooney said Nasheed wants to return to the Maldives “but not to go back to his prison cell.”