Maldives row: 3 opposition MPs detained, anti govt protest intensifies

Protests against President Yameen has intensified in capital Male and other cities, as joint opposition continues to maintain pressure on the government to implement the Supreme Court ruling of February 1.

Police has arrested three more Members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday, including Abdulla Shahid, Abdullah Riyaz and Abdulla Latheef. So far, six opposition MPs have been arrested by the police.

Speaking to ANI, Ali Zahir, Dy leader of Adhalat Party blamed President Yameen for the prevailing unrest in the country, "For sure this is direct instruction from him. President Yameen and his government must be treated as a dictator by international community".

Police allegedly targeted family members of the jailed political leaders and brutally handled and pepper sprayed at close range.

Maldives row: 3 opposition MPs detained, anti govt protest intensifies

Protests against President Yameen has intensified in capital Male and other cities, as joint opposition continues to maintain pressure on the government to implement the Supreme Court ruling of February 1.

Police has arrested three more Members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday, including Abdulla Shahid, Abdullah Riyaz and Abdulla Latheef. So far, six opposition MPs have been arrested by the police.

Speaking to ANI, Ali Zahir, Dy leader of Adhalat Party blamed President Yameen for the prevailing unrest in the country, "For sure this is direct instruction from him. President Yameen and his government must be treated as a dictator by international community".

Police allegedly targeted family members of the jailed political leaders and brutally handled and pepper sprayed at close range.

Maldives crisis: Emergency decree 'illegal and void', says joint Opposition

The state of emergency decree passed by the Maldivian parliament is illegal, said the Joint Opposition on Tuesday.

The opposition alleged that the Speaker bypassed the constitution to pass the emergency decree in the parliament.

"President Abdulla Yameen failed to muster the required number of votes to pass his emergency legislation. And, so Yameen has ratified and extended the emergency illegally. This state of emergency is illegal and void.

All acts undertaken with emergency powers are illegal. By entirely circumventing the constitution, President Yameen has, in effect, hijacked the entire state and is ruling the Maldives like a military dictator," Parliamentary group leader of the Joint Opposition, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said.

In a statement, joint Maldivian opposition said, "Article 87b of the constitution stated that 43 MPs (out of 85 MPs) should be present in the parliament during voting on a matter of public compliance. Hence, a state of emergency was a matter of public compliance."

Maldives Parliament extends emergency by 30 days; 'disappointed', says US

Maldives parliament approves extension of state of emergency by 30 days
Parliament in the Maldives on Tuesday approved a 30-day extension of a state of emergency sought by President Abdulla Yameen who cited an ongoing national security threat and constitutional crisis.
Countries including the United States, India and Canada along with the United Nations have urged Yameen to lift the emergency and restore normalcy.

Tour operators say hundreds of hotel bookings have been cancelled daily since the 15-day emergency was imposed on Feb 5 despite government assurances that all is normal in the resort islands, which are far from the capital.

Yameen imposed the emergency to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed the convictions of nine opposition leaders and ordered his government to free those held in prison.
The emergency "shall only apply to those alleged to have carried out illegal activities, it shall not apply to otherwise law abiding residents of, or visitors to, the Maldives," a statement from Yameen's office said on Tuesday.

Maldives crisis: US asks President Yameen to ensure 'rule of law'

The United States on Thursday called on Maldives President Abdulla Yameen to ensure the proper functioning of the Parliament and restore constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people and institutions in the country.

"The US calls on President Yameen, the army, and police to comply with the rule of law, implement the Supreme Court's lawful ruling, ensure the full and proper functioning of the Parliament, and restore constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people and institutions of Maldives," a State Department spokesperson told PTI.

He was responding to questions on the current situation in Maldives.
The spokesperson, however, did not weigh in on former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed seeking military intervention from India.

Ex-President, Supreme Court judges arrested as Maldives declares emergency

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency in the honeymoon islands, before heavily armed troops stormed the country's top court and arrested the Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed. Earlier, a former president was also arrested in a deepening political crisis.

The tiny tourist archipelago has been plunged into chaos recently, with the president pitted against the Supreme Court after he refused to comply with its Thursday order to release nine political dissidents.
The tense standoff comes amid a years-long government crackdown on dissent that has battered the image of the upmarket holiday paradise, with the president jailing almost all the political opposition since he came to power in 2013.

Maldives police arrested Yameen's estranged half-brother and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had sided with the main opposition and was campaigning against him.