Amal Clooney bugged by Maldives government during meeting with Mohamed Nasheed

Home Top

EXCLUSIVE: How Caitlyn Jenner's BFF Candis Cayne went from a gawky boy relentlessly bullied for being too 'girlie' (and having a twin brother who was a high school football star) to a sassy transgender woman
PICTURED: Family of five - including three children - found dead in $2million lakeside Minnesota mansion following apparent murder-suicide
Is a comet about to destroy Earth? Best-selling author GRAHAM HANCOCK argues that a cosmic explosion will soon strike Earth - triggering epic floods
British Airways Boeing 777 surrounded by fire engines on the runway after 'full emergency' landing at Heathrow airport
US government blocks release of new CIA torture documents detailing alleged torture of 'top Al Qaeda operative' held in Guantanamo Bay
Missouri man, 37, is charged with involuntary manslaughter after a boy, 14, died in a crash while a nine-year-old was behind the wheel driving at 100pmh
Is your toddler a psychopath? Traits such as a lack of emotion or empathy for others can be detected from the age of THREE
America marks the 14th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with moments of silence and remembrance across the nation
'Today is Pearl Harbor': Never-before-seen 9/11 emails capture White House staff reaction to the horror of the terror attacks
Florida man, 20, arrested for 'plotting a Boston Marathon-style attack on 9/11 memorial'
Stunning rainbow emerges from the World Trade Center on the eve of the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks
Brother of the Mormon high school shooter who gunned down a classmate before killing himself asks police for the rifle back
Man accused of killing his seven-month-old son by throwing him off a bridge into the Connecticut River pleads not guilty to murder charges
'It was almost like they were sharks that could smell blood': Jewel explains how she has fought off sexual harassment from men since she was EIGHT-years-old
Indian girl, 17, 'is raped by up to 27 men after being lured to a hotel on the promise of a job'
South Korean attacker who slashed the face of US ambassador is sentenced to 12 years in jail
A victim's bloodied shoes, bullet-pierced soda cups and chilling trails of blood: Never-before-seen evidence photos from inside the movie theater where James Holmes murdered 12 innocent victims
PICTURED: The suspect who cops were searching for when one mistakenly body-slammed James Blake as it emerges officer involved 'tried to cover up mishap'
NYPD cop who tackled tennis star James Blake is an 'arrogant liar' claims woman that he wrongly arrested in 2013
Hitler was high on heroin and his troops carried out the Blitzkreig on METH: New book reveals the extent to which the Nazis pursued their evil dream on narcotics
Pittsburgh Steelers detail headset problems following opening night loss to New England Patriots saying it is 'always the case' when playing the team
She's his biggest cheerleader! Gisele Bundchen 'wears Tom Brady jersey to watch Patriots crush Steelers' as marriage trouble rumours fade
Humble Vice President Joe Biden wells up as he explains to Stephen Colbert how a run-in with one of Beau's comrades made him question his ability to run for President
Clinton's support collapsing: Hillary in dead-heat with Republican opponents and fading fast in the Democratic primary

Amal Clooney and her legal team have accused the state of spying on them
The human rights lawyers were visiting client Mohamed Nasheed in jail
But they claimed the government bugged their confidential conversation
Clooney's colleague said he was 'utterly unsurprised but still outraged'

Published: 06:03 EST, 11 September 2015 | Updated: 08:18 EST, 11 September 2015

View
comments

Amal Clooney and a fellow lawyer have accused the Maldives government of secretly recording a confidential discussion between themselves and their client while inside a state jail.

Clooney, a human rights lawyer and wife of Hollywood actor George Clooney, is currently representing deposed Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed.

The former leader is serving a 13-year sentence after a court found him guilty of terrorism for ordering the arrest of a senior judge when he was president three years ago.

Scroll down for video

Human rights lawyers Amal Clooney and Jared Genser (left) accused the Maldives government of bugging a confidential conversation with their client

Clooney, who is married to Hollywood star George Clooney, is representing the Maldives' deposed former president

Earlier this week, Clooney described the human rights situation in the Indian Ocean archipelago as 'deteriorating day by day' and she has previously labelled Nasheed's trial as 'phoney'.

However, fellow defence team member Jared Genser today accused the Maldives government of bugging a conversation his team had with Nasheed during a jailhouse visit.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Genser claimed he received a phone call from his wife that revealed government officials were already aware of sensitive details in the discussion, just moments after leaving the prison.

He said: 'It is the most flagrant breach of the fundamental right of a defendant to be able to have confidential client-attorney discussions about sensitive information for his case.'

He added he was 'utterly unsurprised but still outraged' by the clandestine bugging.

Meanwhile, Clooney has warned she will press for sanctions against the Maldives unless it frees Nasheed, who has been controversially jailed for 13 years.

London-based Clooney, who is defending the former leader, wrapped up a four-day visit to the upmarket honeymoon destination vowing that she will not give up until he was released.

'The next stage will be to pursue targeted sanctions, travel bans and any other action and recourse that we have against the government (of the Maldives) until this matter is resolved,' she told reporters. It is disappointing that it has come to this.'

She is due to visit neighbouring Sri Lanka Friday, where she will meet with top leaders and discuss Nasheed's case, official sources in Colombo said.

The high powered lawyer has called on the Maldives government to release ex president Mohamed Nasheed

Nasheed (pictured) was the country's first democratically elected leader but was forced to resign in 2012

The charge against Nasheed relates to the ordering of the arrest of an allegedly corrupt judge when he was still president in 2012. The UN had said his rushed trial earlier this year was seriously flawed.

His 13-year jail sentence was commuted to house arrest in July, but last month police took him back to prison in a surprise move that drew fresh criticism from the UN and the US.

Faced with mounting international pressure, Maldivian authorities have tried to distance themselves from the controversial judgement, saying that the state will take the unusual step of appealing his conviction.

The nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered across the equator depends on upmarket tourism. However its image has suffered in recent years due to prolonged political unrest.

Nasheed was the country's first democratically elected leader. He ruled from 2008 to February 2012, when he was forced to resign following a mutiny by police and troops.