On the 18th November 2021, Mr. Mukesh Valabhji and wife, Laura, a prominent and reputable Seychellois lawyer were arrested and detained in what has become the most famous politically motivated trial to have ever taken place in Seychelles. Politically motivated as Mukesh had previously served as former President Rene’s economic advisor and confidant. Only a few days later a series of others formerly associated with the previous government were arrested, including former military officers, the former President’s wife and son and former ministers. Thus began the nightmarish ordeal which has since been the life of the  Valabhji’s. The arrests were directly ordered by President Wavel Ramkalawan who upon assuming power in 2020, made it top priority to arrest any potential perceived opposition or financial backers of opposition parties.

Since their arrests, there have been innumerable attempts to leave the Valabhji couple without any legal representation whatsoever. This has included intimidating members of the bar with threats of prosecution, tailing them, as well as refusing to release funds for legal fees. The detainees have been escorted to court for months on end, guarded by heavily armed military and police with sirens blaring, all of this aired on prime time national TV. Bail for the defendants was continuously refused or set so high that it amounted to a denial of bail. The case has been delayed time and time again, sometimes for no reason and laws have been amended to retroactively prosecute Laura and Mukesh.

Their home has also been under the control of the police, who continue to “search” it months after having been granted permission. Reports have been conveyed to the defence of the police allowing pillaging and ransacking, and the defendants have been refused the right to visit. While all of this has been happening, Laura Valabhji, has been held in apaling conditions. She has shared facilities with male and juvenile detainees and she has slept, prayed and dressed in full view. She has endured 45 days in solitary confinement with sewage seeping through, a detention facility which the Human Rights Commission of Seychelles declared unfit for human habitation. She has been fed food containing cockroaches and beetles, and has been threatened as well as verbally assaulted.  

She has survived 14 days with no food except crackers in rat infested cells. She has been denied contact with her daughter, who was evicted from her home with none of her personal effects. She has been denied medical care and medication. She has been prevented from practising her religion. Her husband has faced similar conditions and was even placed at gunpoint by Presidential guards extorting a confession. Despite all the trauma, terror and abuse that Laura and her husband have endured, they have somehow found the mental strength to carry on. Laura, though a diminutive woman of under 5 feet and weighing less than 50kg, refuses to give up and keeps fighting and having faith.

To succeed however, we need your help. Every signature helps bring Laura one step closer to justice, and eventually freedom. We are calling on all women and those who oppose torture and violence against women to help us get Laura Valabhji, a political prisoner, out on bail as well as for her to have a chance for a fair trial.

Laura Valabhji is a mother, a daughter, a sister, a relative, a friend, a colleague, and an innocent lawyer who is currently collateral damage. We are hoping that this plea is heard by you people of Seychelles and the people of the world who feel and know that what is happening today is fundamentally wrong, who feel that our nascent democracy is under immediate threat and who believe that we do not create injustice in order to achieve “justice”.

Sign this petition today, share it with your friends, send it around on social media and make sure your local representative is familiar with the case. The international community has extensive interests in the Seychelles as well as leverage points against the increasingly autocratic Ramkalawan government which they must use sooner rather than later. Your support will not only be helping Laura Valabhji, but will ensure that the Seychelles Constitution is upheld, guarantee the maintenance of separation of powers and ensure that our Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms is safeguarded and upheld equally for everyone.

We decided to shorten the previous petitition making it a quick read  by sparing the detail and to the point.