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The Maldives ranks from the middle to the top third of international indexes of press freedom, indicating a large degree of freedom. Media discussion of religion, however, remains tightly restricted.
In the 2011 Freedom House Freedom of the Press annual report, the Maldives scores a 50, or "partly free". [1] In 2023, Reporters Without Borders ranked the Maldives as having the 100th freest press in the world (of 180 ranked nations). [2]
In November 2011, the blog of journalist Ismail Khilath Rasheed was shut down by Communications Authority of the Maldives (CAM) on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, on the grounds that the site contained "anti-Islamic material". [3] Rasheed, a self-professed Sufi Muslim, had argued for greater religious tolerance. [4] The blog closing was condemned by Reporters Without Borders [5] and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay [6] as representing a rise in religious intolerance.
When Rasheed organized a rally in favor of greater religious freedom on 10 December, the rally was attacked and Rasheed's skull fractured. [4] He was subsequently arrested at the urging of the orthodox Sunni Adhaalath Party, [7] which also organized a counter-demonstration on 23 December to protect Islam. Rasheed was released on 10 January following protests by groups such as Amnesty International (which named him a prisoner of conscience [4] ) and Reporters Without Borders [7] on his behalf.
On 22 December 2023, CAM blocked 2 anti-gov news websites which caused massive outrage and after 4 days which caused major rights groups in the archipelago to condemn the blocking. It was later unblocked after 4 days of major criticism of the government. [8] [9]
The politics of the Maldives take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the Head of Government. Executive power is exercised by the government. The President heads the executive branch and appoints the Cabinet; like many presidential democracies, each member of the cabinet need to be approved by the Parliament. The President, along with their pick for vice president, is directly elected by the denizens to a five-year term by a secret ballot. Once in office, they could be re-elected to a second 5-year term, which is the limit allowed by the Constitution. The current President of the Maldives is Mohamed Muizzu, when his predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih lost the 2023 Maldivian presidential election.
Human rights in Uzbekistan have been described as "abysmal" by Human Rights Watch, and the country has received heavy criticism from the UK and the US for alleged arbitrary arrests, religious persecution and torture employed by the government on a regional and national level. Amnesty International stated that freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly continue to be restricted, and that relations between gay men are illegal.
Religious discrimination is treating a person or group differently because of the particular beliefs which they hold about a religion. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, denominations or non-religions are treated unequally due to their particular beliefs, either by the law or in institutional settings, such as employment or housing.
Turkmenistan's human rights record has been heavily criticized by various countries and scholars worldwide. Standards in education and health declined markedly during the rule of President Saparmurat Niyazov.
Internet censorship in Tunisia significantly decreased in January 2011, following the ouster of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as the new acting government removed filters on social networking sites such as YouTube.
Baháʼís are persecuted in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Baháʼí Faith originated and where one of the largest Baháʼí populations in the world is located. The origins of the persecution stem from a variety of Baháʼí teachings which are inconsistent with traditional Islamic beliefs, including the finality of Muhammad's prophethood, and the placement of Baháʼís outside the Islamic religion. Thus, Baháʼís are seen as apostates from Islam.
Navanethem "Navi" Pillay is a South African jurist who served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. A South African of Indian Tamil origin, Pillay was the first non-white woman judge of the High Court of South Africa. She has also served as a judge of the International Criminal Court and President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Her four-year term as High Commissioner for Human Rights began on 1 September 2008 and was extended an additional two years in 2012. In September 2014 Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad succeeded her in her position as High Commissioner for Human Rights. In April 2015, Pillay became the 16th Commissioner of the International Commission Against the Death Penalty. She is also one of the 25 leading figures on the Information and Democracy Commission launched by Reporters Without Borders.
Political repression of cyber-dissidents is the oppression or persecution of people for expressing their political views on the Internet.
Multiple forms of media including books, newspapers, magazines, films, television, and content published on the Internet are censored in Saudi Arabia.
The 2008 Constitution of Maldives designates Sunni Islam as the state religion. Only Sunni Muslims are allowed to hold citizenship in the country and citizens may practice Sunni Islam only. Non-Muslim citizens of other nations can practice their faith only in private and are barred from evangelizing or propagating their faith. All residents are required to teach their children the Muslim faith. The president, ministers, parliamentarians, and chiefs of the atolls are required to be Sunni Muslims. Government regulations are based on Islamic law. Only certified Muslim scholars can give fatawa.
Defamation of religion is an issue that was repeatedly addressed by some member states of the United Nations (UN) from 1999 until 2010. Several non-binding resolutions were voted on and accepted by the UN condemning "defamation of religion". The motions, sponsored on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), now known as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, sought to prohibit expression that would "fuel discrimination, extremism and misperception leading to polarization and fragmentation with dangerous unintended and unforeseen consequences". Religious groups, human rights activists, free-speech activists, and several countries in the West condemned the resolutions arguing they amounted to an international blasphemy law. Critics of the resolutions, including human rights groups, argued that they were used to politically strengthen domestic anti-blasphemy and religious defamation laws, which are used to imprison journalists, students and other peaceful political dissidents.
Ismail Khilath Rasheed is a Maldivian blogger known for his support of religious tolerance and his involvement in several national controversies. Reporters Without Borders has described him as a "leading journalist" and "one of his country’s leading free speech advocates".
Mohammad Davari is an Iranian journalist. After he documented abuses of prisoners at Kahrizak detention center, he was sentenced to five years in prison by the Iranian government, drawing international protest on his behalf.
Mazen Darwish is a Syrian lawyer and free speech advocate. He is the president of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression. News organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press, have described him as one of Syria's most prominent activists. He was imprisoned in Syria from 2012 until his release in August 2015.
Human rights in the Maldives, an archipelagic nation of 417,000 people off the coast of the Indian Subcontinent, is a contentious issue. In its 2011 Freedom in the World report, Freedom House declared the Maldives "Partly Free", claiming a reform process which had made headway in 2009 and 2010 had stalled. The United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor claims in their 2012 report on human rights practices in the country that the most significant problems are corruption, lack of religious freedom, and abuse and unequal treatment of women.
Alber Saber Ayad is an Egyptian computer science student and blogger who was arrested on 13 September 2012 on allegations of having shared the YouTube trailer for the anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims on his Facebook page. While he was raised in a Coptic Christian family, he is now an atheist.
Irreligion in Bangladesh is rare and uncommon publicly. A Gallup survey conducted between 2014 – 2015 found that approximately 5% of Bangladeshis were non religious and less than 1% identified as convinced atheists. Bangladesh has 157.8 million people as of 2015 estimation.
Human rights in Trinidad and Tobago comprise a series of rights legally protected by the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago has ratified a number of international treaties and conventions on human rights and parts or principles of these legal texts have been integrated into the domestic laws of the country. The Ministry of the Attorney General has established the International Law and Human Rights Unit to ensure adherence to these principles.
The Kingdom of Bahrain is deemed ‘Not Free’ in terms of Net Freedom and Press Freedom by Freedom House. The 2016 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders ranked Bahrain 162nd out of 180 countries.
Asaduzzaman Noor, better known as Asad Noor, is an exiled Bangladeshi blogger and human rights activist. Noor is an advocate for freedom of expression and LGBT rights, who has criticised religious fundamentalism in Bangladesh. He has been prosecuted multiple times by Bangladeshi authorities for alleged blasphemy and hurting religious sentiments. He has been living in exile since 2019.
