Police arrest 16 protesters during demonstrations by Nasheed supporters

Protesters supporting the former Maldivian President gathered last night at an intersection near the Indian High Commission where Mohamed Nasheed has sought refuge from police seeking his arrest.

Riot police took up position outside the diplomatic premises shortly after 1:00pm yesterday, blocking the street outside to pedestrians and placing checkpoints in adjoining streets.

The street outside the High Commission was clear aside from a small group of police, including Special Operations officers and piles of riot shields.

Down the road, the crowd at the Sosun Magu junction were blocked by a line of police, and had reached an estimated 1500 people by around 10:45pm. Police entered the crowd and arrested several protesters, after glass bottles and temporary barricades were thrown into the police line.

As the day’s protests drew to an end last night, the area surrounding the Indian High Commission building on Ameer Ahmed Magu was in near silence after being cordoned off by police.  Minivan News observed at the time a minimal police presence across the street,  despite the diplomatic drama earlier in the day that had been covered throughout international media.

Further down the road towards the opposition demonstration, remnants of glass bottles that had been hurled at police earlier in the evening were the only visible sign of scuffles between law enforcement officers and Nasheed supporters.

Meanwhile, shortly before the protests concluded at around midnight, protesters who attempted to force their way through to the parliament building were met by police charges.

Police later announced they had arrested 16 people during Wednesday’s protests, including one minor and one female.

According to police, 11 of those arrested were on charges of obstructing police duty, breaking police cordons, entering closed areas and threatening police.

Authorities said the woman and one man arrested were intoxicated and had tried to enter restricted areas, as well as throwing water bottles and stones at police. No injuries were reported.

The courts had released two of those detained at time of press.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs and protest leaders called a halt to the protest around midnight, vowing to gather in the area every night while the former President remains in the High Commission.

Meanwhile, from inside the commission, former President Nasheed issued a statement calling on President Mohamed Waheed to step down from office and make way for an interim government that would oversee free and fair presidential elections.

“The events of the past year – the mass arrests, the police brutality, the politically motivated trials – demonstrate that Dr Waheed cannot be trusted to hold a free and fair election. Waheed should do the right thing and resign from office. An interim, caretaker government should be established that can lead the Maldives to genuinely free and fair elections, in which all candidates are freely able to compete,” said Nasheed.

He labelled his ongoing trial “a politically motivated sham” and said the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court – established to hear his case – was illegal and created “with the sole purpose of disqualifying me from standing in the presidential elections.”

“The fate of Maldivian democracy hangs in the balance. The Maldivian people must not be robbed of their democratic right to elect a leader of their choosing,” he added.

In a statement, police accused Nasheed’s supporters of “voicing out their hatred towards police and spreading untruthful rumors of police trying to arrest Nasheed unlawfully, despite the Hulhumale’ Court’s court order.”

“The Maldives Police Service strongly condemns the spreading of incorrect rumors and assures the general public that police will stand to implement lawful court orders,” the statement read.

Sub Inspector Hassan Haneef would not confirm whether police would arrest the former President were he to step outside the Indian High Commission, and was unclear as to whether the court warrant to present the former President was still valid after the trial hearing was cancelled yesterday in Nasheed’s absence.

“Ex-president Nasheed is inside the Indian High Commission. It is not a question of arresting him, but making sure he is secure,” Haneef said, adding that school children were being allowed to move freely through the area this morning.

Correction: An earlier version of this article included a tweet from a Twitter account attributed to PPM MP Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Minivan News has been unable to establish the authenticity of this twitter account, and has removed the quote.