Press Release: MDN condemns the violent attack on those marking the International Yoga Day

• June 21, 2022

Maldives, 21 June 2022

Police lack of preventive measures amid threats raises alarming concerns about the security and safety of Maldivian society. Many recent events are the manifestation of several concerns raised by MDN in its 2015 report on violent extremism.

A month ago, senior staff at one of the oldest schools in the capital were attacked by a man who found fault with the curriculum being anti-Islamic.

Today’s act of extremism was against people performing yoga. None of which the government has dealt with sufficient seriousness and urgency. These acts are the direct results of government policy of appeasing groups violently exerting Islamist pressure.

The international community must step up to hold Maldivian authorities accountable for impunity on violent extremism and its enablers in media, civil society and the government.
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ENDS.