Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Maldivian government about freedom of the press in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Government has a number of concerns about human rights, including freedom of the press, in the Maldives. Most recently, on 4 April, I tweeted my concern over the arrest of 16 journalists who were protesting in Malé. I also raised human rights concerns, including restrictions on the freedom of expression, when I met representatives of the Maldives Government in London on 11 February, and when I met President Yameen and Foreign Minister Dunya during my visit to the Maldives on 17 and 18 January.