Former Presidents Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed Nasheed, and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih have issued a joint letter to the Maldives' main development partners and diplomatic representatives, voicing serious concern regarding what they label as a swift decline in democratic governance within the nation.

The letter, released on Tuesday, emphasizes the 10 May gag order enacted by a Maldivian court that prohibits all public discourse regarding a documentary claiming misconduct by the President, marking the first comprehensive ban in the nation's democratic history.

Two days later, on 12 May, Adhadhu reporters Mohamed Shahzan and Leeven Ali Naseer received sentences of 15 and 10 days in jail for violating the order. The hearing took place in private, and the reporters were allotted just two hours to obtain legal representation. The letter states that this marks the first instance of journalists being imprisoned in the Maldives since the implementation of the 2008 Constitution.

The trio of presidents stated that demonstrators advocating for the journalists’ release have also been detained, labeling the scenario as a matter of “greatest concern” for individuals backing the Maldives’ democratic evolution.

“A free press stands as one of the most evident indicators of the democracy we have created together, and its repression aligns with a larger trend of regression,” the letter notes, referencing the weakening of Parliament, the erosion of independent commissions, and the enactment of a media law that allows a government-affiliated commission to sanction and close media outlets.

The letter additionally points out that rather than contemplating its loss in the recent council elections and the 69 percent dismissal of its constitutional referendum, the government seems to be “intensifying its attack on the institutions that hold it accountable.”

The three leaders additionally cautioned that the Maldivian economy is in severe trouble, facing depleting reserves, an unsustainable debt load, and a restricted ability to fulfill obligations to partners and creditors. They stated that the mix of economic weakness and democratic decline puts the nation “on a trajectory towards state collapse.”

“Despite the political divides of our respective administrations, we united in support of the democracy that our citizens established,” the letter states.

In closing the letter, the three ex-presidents called on development partners to push the government to promptly release all journalists held under the gag order, liberate those apprehended related to the protests, and stop what they label as unlawful prosecutions.