Author: Laura Restrepo Ortega

Former Hill & Knowlton employee now working for government

A former employee of global public relations agency Hill & Knowlton, which was controversially contracted by the former government to improve its international image, continues to work for the government in its Geneva office.

In a previous interview with Minivan News, Independent MP and former Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed said the PR firm was hired to respond to the allegations of human rights abuses promulgated by the MDP.

He also said that while he believed it had whitewashed some of the activities of the former government, its primary agenda was to encourage the government to show a more democratic face.

The PR company was also criticised for editing the statements on the country’s wikipedia entry critical of the former government, after was caught in the act by data-mining tool Wikiscanner.

Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said there “might be one staff member [from Hill & Knowlton] in Geneva who was hired by the former government.”

“Cancelling the contract was more expensive than continuing it,” Zuhair explained.

He added that this person was probably still doing PR work for the government.

Minivan News contacted the Permanent Mission of the Maldives to the United Nations in Geneva and spoke to the man in question, Mark Limon.

Limon said he finished his work for H&K nine years ago, but could not give any details of his work with the firm or with the former Maldivian government due to contractual clauses.

“I am helping as a local employee [in the Geneva Mission],” Limon said. He added that the rumours of continued links with the PR firm were “absolutely not true. There are no links or contracts at all [between the Maldivian government and Hill & Knowlton].”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed Shaheed said the rumours of a Hill & Knowlton employee working for the current government were “total rubbish. There is no one from Hill & Knowlton [under the current government].”

He confirmed that Hill & Knowlton was hired by the former government in 2004 and stopped working for them in 2007, he said, noting that there were currently only two foreign nationals working in Maldivian Missions in Europe – one in Brussels and one in Geneva.

Shaheed dismissed rumours the foreign nationals were receiving an extravagant pay checks of up to ₤80,000 a year, saying that they were being paid “competitive rates, comparable to that of an ambassador.”

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Naseem said the MDP had been concerned about Hill & Knowlton’s work with the previous government, and the current government had no one from the firm working for them.

To claim otherwise was “a ridiculous suggestion”, he said.

“There are so many people inherited from the previous government. This doesn’t mean they work for Hill & Knowlton,” he said.

Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, spokesman for the former president, confirmed that the former government had terminated its contract with the firm in 2007. Rumours that a Hill & Knowlton employee was still on the government payroll were incorrect, he said.

“The gentleman in Geneva is a former employee of Hill & Knowlton, but is now working for the government,” Mundhu said.

He said Limon “still has all the skills” from his time in Hill & Knowlton and had been “instrumental” in in setting up the Mission in Geneva.

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DRP reclaims top position in membership battle

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has again become the political party with the most number of members in the Maldives, after it was eclipsed by the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) last month.

Secretary General of the Elections Commission (EC) Ahmed Ali Didi has confirmed that as of yesterday the DRP’s membership stood at 32,539 while the Maldivian Democratic Party’s MDP’s membership stood at 30,848.

DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali told a party meeting yesterday that once the completed forms for DRP membership are submitted to the EC, the DRP’s membership could  rise as high as 37,000.

Didi explained that forms were received by the EC  every day from different parties, and they could only know how many of those were for DRP once they had screened everything. The results would then be published on the EC’s website, he said.

Didi added that sometimes the parties gave out a membership estimate depending on how many forms they have in their office waiting to be sent to the EC for screening.

DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef said DRP’s majority was “nothing new”, and said he thought it was “very likely” that the DRP would now maintain membership majority.

“MDP only had majority for a brief time,” he said, accusing the MDP were “forcing” members to change from DRP to MDP with promises of jobs.

“We don’t have the means to pressure members into signing with us,” Shareef said, noting that “many new members of DRP are signing on their own accord.”

MDP Spokesperson Ahmed Haleem said they “are not worried” about DRP’s current majority.

“I think after one month or so MDP will regain majority. There are a lot of forms in our office waiting to be processed.”

He said many DRP members were moving to other parties, “and in about one month they will have maybe 25,000 members.”

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Discrepancies in rape statistics highlighted in NGOs report

A coalition of NGOs have condemned the performance of the judiciary and the State for its treatment of criminal cases, especially those concerning rape.

Maldivian Detainee Network, Trasparency Maldives, Rights for All, Maldives Aid, Madulu, Democracy House, Maldives NGO Federation and Strength of Society issued a statement “condemning the increase in serious crime and the failure of the state and responsible authorities to convict those responsible for these crimes.”

The statement referred to statistics on crimes such as murder, child abuse, assault with sharp weapons, and threats to journalists and others in the media, comparing these with the number of crimes investigated by police, the number sent to the Prosecutor General’s office and the number tried in the Criminal Court.

The NGOs said the blame for the “failure to deliver justice” should not be placed on the new democratic system or human rights safeguards, “but rather [on] the unsatisfactory implementation of these systems and safeguards.”

They “note with great concern that there is not a single case of ‘rape’ in the statistics maintained by either the PG or the Criminal Court.”

Technical misunderstanding

Information provided by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to Transparency Maldives states that in 2009 ten cases of rape were reported to police, eight of which were investigated and five sent to the Prosecutor General (PG)’s office.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said in the instance of these rape cases, the three that had been labelled as ‘finished’ by police but were not sent to the PG were still “being checked” by police before being sent to the PG’s office.

“Sometimes we check and update information,” Shiyam said, “and there could be other documents being collected.”

Information gathered by the coalition of NGOs from the Criminal Court show zero cases under ‘rape’ were prosecuted in 2008 and 2009.

But Senior Judge at the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed said the Criminal Court had processed six cases of rape during the year.

Deputy Prosecutor General Hussein Shameem said the discrepancy was “a misunderstanding of technical terms.”

“If consent is lacking, regardless of whether or not there was intercourse, the case would fall under sexual misconduct,” he said.

Shameem said when the PG’s office received cases from the police, they decided whether or not to prosecute it depending on the evidence.

He added that the statistics from the police might “not give a clear idea” of the number of cases, as the PG’s office might prosecute for a different offence.

“For example, if police investigate a case for rape, and within the document we find evidence for battery and assault, we would prosecute both charges.”

In the document provided by the Criminal Court, 37 cases falling under the category of “sexual misconduct” are shown as being received by the court.

Of those, nine were dismissed due to lack of evidence while fourteen were tried.

Aishath Velazinee from the Judicial Service Commission said the remaining fourteen cases did not appear asdismissed or tried because they were still being processed by the court.

She said that “because rape is not a crime under the current Penal Code” cases of rape would fall under the category of “sexual misconduct”.

“The existing Penal Code is not adequate,” she noted, adding that under the new Penal Code (which is still tabled in the Parliament) rape, including spousal rape, would be considered a crime under its own category.

Rising concerns, rising crime

The coalition of NGOs said “lack of communication between the [State] authorities” was one of the “main reasons behind the recent failure to convict criminals.”

They called upon the State to “comprehensively study and identify the causes for the recent rise in crime, in particular, identify why convicted criminals are able to offend repeatedly.”

The Human Rights Commission Maldives (HRCM) has also recently condemned the rise in crime.

In their 2009 annual report released on 9 March 2010, they claimed the crime rates in the country had risen, and communities in the Maldives have reached a state of fear, mainly because of “failure to enforce sentences for convicts.”

The United States 2009 annual country reports on human rights, published on 11 March 2010, also expressed concern for increased violence against women in the Maldives and lack of convictions by the judiciary.

The report cited that “In 2008 the Ministry of Gender and Family released data showing an increase in the reported cases of violence against women, although NGOs believed that most cases remained unreported.”

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Pain and politics: Torture Victims Association inaugurated

The Torture Victims Association (TVA) held its inaugural meeting last night, following its founding in January 2010 by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Naseem, Tourism Minister and human rights lawyer Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad, and Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed.

Naseem, who is president of the organisation, said the organisation’s purpose was to support torture victims and “prevent these types of things from happening again in Maldives.”

He said the organisation was founded “so there is a place [torture victims] can go and talk about what happened to them, and take some solace, get some comfort.”

“[Torture] happened a lot, openly,” said Naseem, who says he was himself a victim of torture.

“It happened under several governments… through government institutions. It wasn’t the exception, it was the norm here.”

A political thing

The TVA has come under scrutiny already for being an MDP-led NGO, of which President Nasheed has just become a member.

“It’s non-governmental, and it is not a political organisation,” Naseem insisted, “it is totally egalitarian.”

Torture through silence

“At the [inaugural] meeting, there were victims who were tortured as well as people who torturered through their silence,” Sawad said. “Through their silence, they condoned a culture of torture.”

The previous government has been accused of torture, but none of the accused have been taken to court.

The first step in bringing justice to victims of torture is, according to the TVA, gathering information and evidence.

“Gathering information is the very initial stage,” Naseem said. “We also need the support of the people of this country. It’s a traumatised society. Families have been traumatised.”

Creating a historical record of torture in the Maldives, and breaking the silence, are two major steps forward, claims the TVA.

“We are the only country in the world who doesn’t have a historical record regarding this,” Naseem noted. “In the Pol-Pot regime, in Nazi Germany, in Kosovo, they know how many people were killed. But here, we don’t know. We just see in the papers that some people have been lost. That’s it.”

Dr Sawad said the entire culture of torture “has been called a myth by powerful members of our community. But it happened. With that acknowledgement, we can focus on accountability.”

Kevin Laue, a lawyer with London-based human rights NGO Redress, is working with the TVA to seek justice for victims of torture.

“Finding out what happened is key…then we can decide what needs to be done,” said Laue.

Politics

Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, spokesman for the former president, said there has been no formal response from Gayoom to the TVA’s allegations “because they are not an entity we recognise as being worthy of response.”

“Just look at who’s in charge. When the association starts with a name like Reeko Moosa, who hates Gayoom, there is very little reason to take them seriously.”

Mundhu said the TVA wanted people to believe it is was an NGO – impartial, free of government intervention and politically unbiased – but he said suggested that it had been formed as a “political ploy… to divert people’s attention from the failures of this government.”

When asked whether the number of politicians in the Association could be a liability for the impartiality of their work, Naseem answered, “what can you do?”

“All the people who participated in the human rights movement in the Maldives are now in government, so you can’t avoid it. Some went to jail, some people were brutalised and some people died. You can’t say it’s the government, we are human beings.”

Naseem reiterated that the TVA is “not a political thing” and it only becomes political when people are looking for a “quick fix.”

“A process like this takes years,” Naseem said. “We work through the government and the judiciary, and if the government doesn’t get involved, it is much better.”

The TVA says members of the former government “cannot” admit to torture allegations because they would be tried in court, but Mundhu said that none of the “ridiculous claims of defamation of character” against former president Gayoom have held up in a court of law.

“Gayoom is the single most popular individual in this country,” he said. “The government should be ashamed of accusing him of torture.”

Accountability

Dr Sawad said the TVA does not believe it was up to the government or the state to decide what would happen to the torturers.

“It’s for the victim to launch the claim and for the judicial system to decide. And we are here to facilitate that,” he explained.

He added that the TVA wants to “document and push the claims of torture within the judiciary.”

“If we believe that the claim has not been addressed through the domestic judicial system, we are prepared to take it to the next level.”

Laue said that “if [torturers] are not prosecuted [in the Maldives], we must not forget torture is a crime which is under universal jurisdiction.”

Assuming there is enough evidence, Laue claimed a perpetrator could be arrested and tried in a foreign country, extradited or sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

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President condemns attacks on media

President Mohamed Nasheed has condemned the attacks against the media following attacks on DhiTV and Haveeru on 15 March.

The president said the government would not tolerate “threats or actions against freedom of the press”.

“The Maldivian media is free and open now,” Nasheed said, adding that the Maldivian government “will always support the efforts of the journalists to keep this freedom alive and will value their efforts.”

He urged the public to cooperate with police in identifying the suspects.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) meanwhile called on the police to “seriously investigate” death threats made against journalists by extremist bloggers.

Concerns from the media

Independent MP and former Minister of Information, Mohamed Nasheed, said the issue was one of “political punching. People in the government are accusing opposition media and people in the opposition media are accusing the government.”

He said the media has always been divided into two camps, and sometimes looking at the same editorial content from different news agencies “you feel as if two different stories are coming out.”

“Political activists, the religious quarter and violent criminals” are against the media, he said, explaining that the struggle for press freedom was a “tug of war.”

“This is where the temperature needs to be brought down. We need to stop politicising the media and work with them.”

He added that “a democracy cannot see the media as a friend”, but should instead treat it as a medium to dialogue.

Managing Director of Miadhu, Abdullah Lateef, said “so far the government has not been able to give the media enough protection” from violent attacks.

He claimed the former government “used gangsters,” who “still don’t understand this is not Gayoom’s regime.”

“These gangsters don’t value the media,” Lateef said. “They think they can do anything; they attack anyone.”

He said that because the government had not shown the public the value of the media and the work the media was doing, they did not value it: “Even when we go to a scene, it is a risk we are taking.”

Lateef said he had “personally received a lot of threats”, and claimed that “politicians will call and try to make us scared.”

But he noted that “this government has done a lot for us, like giving us the freedom to write without being arrested. I am not afraid of my death – the former government gave me enough threats so I don’t mind.”

Public Concern

The Human Rights Commission Maldives (HRCM) has also “strongly condemned” the attacks on media.

A statement from the HRCM said the organisation “was sad that people are instigating fear among journalists at a time when Maldivian media is not very stable.”

HRCM said it believed the incidents had occurred because of the “judicial system’s reluctance to convict people. They are released into society and are not abiding by laws and regulations and respecting human rights.”

The statement notes that such cases of violence are “alarmingly increasing” and “the Commission is calling for the authorities to take legal action against the people who are releasing these criminals into society.”

“To stop these things from happening we are calling on stake-holders, government, authorities, media, civil society, NGOs and the public to work together.”

Meanwhile the Maldives Journalists’ Association (MJA) condemned threats made against journalists and bloggers and the “continuous attempts to intimidate press freedom by the extremists in the name of Islam.”

The MJA called on the government to take action against growing extremism and said it believed there would be a solution “if the president and all the institutions work to raise awareness.”

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Ministry of Finance asked to provide list of political appointees

Minister of Finance and Treasury Ali Hashim was asked today to provide the Parliament with details of the number of political appointees, their titles and salaries under the current government.

Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed requested the information from the minister.

He said there had been a “war on words” regarding the number of political appointees in both the former and current governments, with some people saying there were as many as 600 appointees while others claimed there were fewer than 300.

“There has always been a comparison between this government and the previous one,” Nasheed said, referring to one of the things the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) criticised most about the former government: that it was =‘top heavy.’

Nasheed said he did not ask Minister Hashim for a list of cabinet members or even for the VP’s salary, only for the number of appointees, but the minister “is providing more than I asked for.”

State Minister of Finance Ahmed Assad said the Ministry of Finance would provide Parliament with the list of appointees soon since “there is no reason to withhold it.”

Whether or not the list would become a matter of public knowledge, he said, was “for Parliament to decide.”

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Visaam Ali said the DRP was “really concerned” about the number of political appointees under the current government.

She said she was not only concerned about the government being “top heavy” but was worried because “they advocated different views” during their election campaign in 2007.

“What they are doing is different to what they promised the people,” Visaam said. “They promised the people an MDP government would be different.”

She added that the number of political appointees is even “worse than under the previous government” and there are more political appointees now earning higher salaries that they were under Gayoom’s government.

MDP Spokesperson Ahmed Haleem said government appointees “are not an issue” for the party, but issues dealing with civil servants were a major priority.

Haleem said during the 2007 presidential campaign, MDP had told the people they wanted the government of Maldives to be smaller.

“The former government had over 1,000 political appointees,” claimed Haleem. “Now we have just over four hundred.”

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Amendments to Armed Forces Act dismissed by Speaker

Parliament has thrown out the proposed amendments to the Armed Forces Act, put forward last week.

The Majlis was stalled last Wednesday after two contradictory amendments to the Armed Forces Act were proposed.

The first amendment came from Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP for Manimaadhoo Amhed Mujthaz, proposing Parliament should ultimately have the power to approve or deny the president’s choice for army chief.

The second amendment came from Maldivian Democratic Party (MPD) MP Mariya Didi, which was meant to counteract DRP’s proposal.

MDP’s proposal sought the Act to remain unchanged, and for President Mohamed Nasheed to have sole discretion in appointing or dismissing the army chief.

DRP’s amendment was tied at 35 on each side and was settled by Speaker of the People’s Majlis Abdulla Shahid, who cast his tie-braking vote in favour of DRP.

However MDP’s subsequent amendment passed at 35-33 votes, causing both contradiction and chaos.

“The Constitution allows me to vote only if there is a tie,” Shahid said, adding that he should not comment on the issue since his role was an impartial one.

Shahid said he “consulted the two major parties [DRP and MDP] and the leaders advised me to throw out the amendments” and leave it open for the process to be started again.

He said he thought the amendments would be resubmitted in the future, but were currently no longer on the floor.

Mariya Didi said “now the bill is as it was before,” noting that “the Speaker has exercised his discretion” and decided the bill should not be considered at this time.

“You don’t make bills and pass legislation to cater only for that day, but for the situation to be better in the country,” Mariya said.

State Minister for Home Affairs Ahmed Adil said he personally thought giving the power to parliament was “a dangerous move” and the motives for the proposed amendments were “purely political”.

He said the fact that the amendments were thrown out showed “the country is moving in the right direction.”

Adil added the Parliament “should not put their hand in the judiciary or executive branches” and each branch should remain independent of the other.

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Murder of newborn baby sends mother and daughter to life in prison

The Criminal Court has sentenced a woman and her mother to life in prison for killing an illegitimate new born baby.

Aminath Hussain, 31, and her 64 year old mother Sakeena Ali, both of Omadhu, Thaa Atoll confessed to the crime in court.

According to the court, the baby was delivered in a toilet, after which the grandmother submerged the baby in a pool of water.

They then put the baby into a polythene bag and buried it near the beach.

The Criminal Court has acquitted the 21 year old father of the crime.

Omadhu Case

Police Sub Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said there were “some clues that [the father] had some involvement,” but added that the court had made its decision and the police respected it.

Shiyam said although these types of cases are “not [reported on] a lot” there is another similar case currently being processed where a new born baby was “thrown into the sea” in Laamu Atoll.

Island Councillor for Omadhu Ahmed Abdulla said the incident occurred last year.

He said an islander knocked on his door early one morning when he was preparing to attend the first school assembly of the year.

“He knocked and told me to come out quick,” Abdulla said, “and when I came out, he told me that a baby had been killed on the beach.”

Abdulla said he immediately went to the beach and saw the baby’s legs protruding from the polythene bag.

He said there was blood around the baby’s neck, which appeared to be broken.

Abdulla then informed the police, who told him to monitor the crime scene until they arrived.

Shiyam confirmed the police had received a call from the island office reporting the crime.

Illegitimate children under Sharia law

Because abortion is illegal in the Maldives (the exception being if an unborn child is diagnosed with Thalassaemia), some women travel overseas to perform the operation..

But many cannot afford to so.

Deputy Minister of Health and Family Mariya Ali said “we don’t know a lot about it but there have been other [similar] cases.”

“It’s something that should be considered under child mortality,” she said, adding that there had been no comprehensive studies on the subject.

“We don’t hear about it a lot,” Ali said, “and we don’t know the exact prevalence of these cases.”

She added that many cases are probably not reported.

Mariya said there could be many reasons behind a family choosing to kill a baby, the main reason probably being that “children born out of wedlock still face discrimination” in society.

She noted that other factors, like the mother’s mental state, should be considered when looking at the reasons why people resort to these crimes.

Because under Sharia law premarital sex is forbidden, young couples can find themselves looking for a solution to get rid of an unwanted, and illegitimate, child.

Mariya said the Ministry of Health and Family would “talk to the Islamic Ministry and see how we can deal with these issues and reduce the number of cases.”

She added that “under Maldivian law, this is considered murder.”

Mohamed Shihaab of Child Abuse Watch Maldives did not hesitate in saying a crime such as this one “is not child abuse, it is murder.”

He said “some people think children born out of wedlock do not have a right to life,” adding that it was a major concern for the country.

“We need to look at how justice is served,” Shihaab said. “In how many cases has it not been served?”

“People need to accept we live in a more complex society. The police, the Prosecutor General and the judiciary also need to be more advanced.”

Sheikh Abdulla Jameel said people were not afraid of committing these kind of crimes because the courts did not punish according to Sharia law.

He explained that the Qur’an says a person must be killed if the court finds them guilty of a murder.

“The judge decides how [the person] will be killed,” explained Sheikh Abdulla, adding that “people would be afraid to commit such crimes if the courts start punishing according to Islamic Sharia.”

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US State Department critical of women’s rights in the Maldives

Human rights in the Maldives have “continued to improve from the previous year, although some issues remain” according to the 2009 Country Report on Human Rights Practices published by the United States’ Department of State.

The report, published on 11 March, describes a case reported last September by detainees at Maafushi jail to the Human Rights Commission Maldives (HRCM) where “members of the Emergency Support Group (ESG)… indiscriminately attacked detainees.”

President of HRCM Ahmed Saleem said they have “received less complaints than in the past” regarding abuse of detainees.

Under the heading of “Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment” the report reads “the law prohibits such practices, although there were reports of mistreatment of persons by security forces.”

Saleem said the Maldives had endured “a culture of torture” for many years, “but things have changed and are still changing.”

On the unequal treatment of women, the report cites that “In 2008 the Ministry of Gender and Family released data showing an increase in the reported cases of violence against women, although NGOs believed that most cases remained unreported.”

Saleem said “in this country women enjoy more rights than in other countries,” noting that “women have been voting here for as long as I can remember.”

Saleem added that the United States still hasn’t ratified the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

“Ninety-nine countries have signed it,” Saleem said, “but not the United States.”

The report also states that “Under [Maldivian] law, spousal rape is not a crime” and “There are no laws in force regarding domestic violence against women or workplace harassment, nor were there firm data on the extent of violence against women.”

Saleem responded to this by saying that “domestic violence is a crime anywhere” and reiterated that the “population of Maldives is unique” and women enjoy many rights that women in other countries do not have.

Another point of concern shown in the report was that of the judicial system releasing known pedophiles back into the communities of their victims.

The report reads “The [Judicial Service Commission] JSC did not publicise deliberations or make recommendations on the hiring, dismissal, or discipline of judges during the year.”

The report says that according to the Maldives Police Service (MPS) “from January to March, 34 cases of child sexual abuse were reported, and 23 pedophiles were arrested.”

It also stated that there was an increase in the reporting of child abuse cases, which the MPS attributed to growing public awareness.

Saleem said the HRCM “is not in favour of the government releasing any criminal unless they are fit to live in society” and have been through a rehabilitation programme.

He added that the HRCM is “sending reports” to change these practices and “things are happening. But it’s not as quick as we want it to be.”

The Department of State’s report further reads “The law does not provide for freedom of religion and significantly restricts it” but only cited one case suggesting that a lack of freedom of religion could be seen as a human rights issue in the Maldives.

The report said that as the Ministry of Islamic Affairs has sole authority to grant preaching licenses, they requested the police investigate an independent prayer group led by unlicensed preachers. This could be seen as an infringement on the group’s rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association (section 2b of the report).

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs said the reason for the investigation was the threat of religious extremism.

The last major concern in the report was the rights of workers, mainly foreign labour workers.

According to the report, the HRCM had reported “some domestic workers, especially migrant female domestic workers, were in some cases trapped in circumstances bordering on forced labor in which employers used threats and intimidation to prevent them from leaving.”

The report adds that “In December 2008 the government established a Labour Relations Authority and a Labour Tribunal to implement the new Employment Law.”

The Tribunal did not begin functioning until April 2009 due to budgetary constraints and lack of office space.

When asked what he thought of the changes in human rights practices in the country, Saleem said “as far as civil rights go, we are a changed country.”

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