Press freedom group Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has expressed growing concern for a group of cyber-dissidents who are serving lengthy sentences for publishing pro-democracy information online.

Mohamed Zaki, Ahmad Didi and Fathimath Nisreen were all arrested in January 2002 for their work on Sandhaanu, a website and email newsletter covering corruption and human rights abuses in the Maldives. Political activist and painter and Naushad Waheed was arrested in December 2001 for emailing human rights group Amnesty International.

Fathimath Nisreen was released from prison on 25 October but was transferred to the island of Feeail under a five-year 'banishment' sentence.

RSF has raised concerns about prison conditions, claiming that Mr Didi has been beaten while in custody and held in solitary confinement. Following a visit to the prisoners, the official Maldives human rights commission referred to their treatment as 'inhumane' and said that the defendant's families had not been able to find any lawyers prepared to defend them.

"We call for the complete release of Fathimath and the three other cyber-dissidents still being held by the regime," said a spokesperson for RSF, who also claimed that Ms Nisreen had been 'psychologically disturbed' by torture she had witnessed in prison.

Internet services on the Maldives are managed by UK firm Cable & Wireless through local firm Dhiraagu, of which the Maldive government owns a 55 per cent share.

The Maldives have no independent press, explained RSF spokesman Julien Pain.

"The internet is the only medium which still provides independent information," he told dotJournalism.

"President Gayoom doesn't allow any free radio, TV or newspaper to exist. There are private magazines, but they are definitely not independent and though the internet is censored, it is not censored much."

A state of emergency was declared in the Maldives in mid-August when more than 5,000 pro-democracy activists demonstrated in Malè, the country's capital. During the demonstrations, the government shut down the internet for several days.

Protestors were demanding the release of political prisoners, although the government has denied that any prisoners are held for political reasons.

More news from dotJournalism:

Seven years in jail for web journalist

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See also:
RSF: http://www.rsf.org