PR Adviser Praises Maldives Prisons

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Nic Careem, a London-based "public affairs consultant", recently proclaimed his interest in helping raise the profile of the President of the Maldives, Abdul Gayoom, on the issue of global warming. While Gayoom's government has been widely criticized for human rights abuses, earlier this year Careem gushed that he was "impressed with the humanity shown to prisoners." In response to recent criticism of his defense of the regime, Careem wrote that the "penal system" is "as good as anything in the western world" and explained that murders occurred in his own London suburb. In a pointed letter to the editor, a reader objected to the comparison: "Does Mr Careem know that we too have murder cases in the Maldives? The police torture and kill detainees to perpetuate the regime in this country." Last year, Tim Fallon from Hill & Knowlton's London office, was deluged with critical comments after defending his company's work for the Gayoom regime on his blog.