Tag: MDP

President appeals for talks, no apparent change in terms

President Abdulla Yameen has called on the opposition to begin talks for the “stability and the benefit of Maldivian citizens,” but the president’s office says discussions can only be held on “lawful demands.”

The Maldives has been gripped by political turmoil over the imprisonment of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and former defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

The president has previously described the allied opposition parties’ demands for the pair’s release as unlawful, saying they must appeal their sentences at the high court.

President Yameen stresses he has no role in Nasheed and Nazim’s incarceration, insisting charges were raised by the independent prosecutor general’s office and tried in independent courts.

Speaking to Minivan News today, the president’s office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali said the government’s stance “has not changed,” stating: “There are boundaries and limits to everything, and in this case it is the law.”

President Yameen’s earlier refusal to substantially engage with the opposition had resulted in a 20,000-strong march in Malé on May 1. Nearly 200 people were arrested and hundreds were injured in clashes.

The leaders of the Maldivian Democratic Party, the Adhaalath Party and the Jumhooree Party were arrested shortly afterwards, and remanded for 15 days.

When asked if the president’s office was ruling out negotiations on Nasheed and Nazim’s release, Muaz said the government has not set an agenda or a representative for negotiations, but reiterated that talks can only proceed on “demands the president can meet.”

He once again said the pair must appeal their sentences, and said the president was merely repeating an earlier appeal for talks.

The opposition has previously accused the government of insincerity in overtures for talks, especially after President Yameen appointed tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb as his representative. The opposition had accused Adeeb of corruption and illicit connections with gangs and had insisted President Yameen himself must sit down with them.

Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism and Nazim was sentenced to 11 years on weapons smuggling charges. The trials have been condemned by foreign governments and international bodies including the UN for apparent lack of due process.

Nazim has filed an appeal, but Nasheed was unable to as the criminal court failed to provide required documents within the ten day appeal period, shortened by the Supreme Court a month before his arrest.

The government, however, maintains Nasheed can still appeal, but his lawyers say the Supreme Court’s new regulations are silent on late appeals.

The apex court had struck down an earlier provision giving judges the discretion to accept late appeals in the same ruling that shortened the 90-day appeal period to ten days.

Nasheed’s family has now asked the UN working group on arbitrary detention to rule his imprisonment as illegal and arbitrary.

The allied opposition parties are also calling on the government “to stop targeting” Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim’s businesses. The tourism ministry in February slapped a US$90.4 million fine on Gasim’s Villa group, which the company insists is unlawful.

The central bank yesterday froze the bank accounts of several of Villa group’s subsidiary companies.

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Former MP Easa released from police custody

Former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Easa has been released from detention today amid allegations of mistreatment under police custody.

A police media official told Minivan News today that Easa’s family had requested permission to take the former MP overseas for a spinal cord operation. He was brought to ADK hospital for a doctor’s consultation and hospitalized last night.

The police authorised the medical leave after the family submitted a written recommendation from Easa’s doctor, the official said.

Easa was released from custody as police have determined that his prolonged detention “was no longer necessary for the investigation,” he added.

Easa was arrested from the mass anti-government protest on May 1 along with nearly 200 protesters. MDP chairperson Ali Waheed, Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla, and Jumhooree Party deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim were arrested later in the night.

The three leaders of the allied opposition parties remain under police custody while most other detainees have been released.

The MDP has accused police of beating Easa and other detainees after their arrest from the May Day protest.

The human rights watchdog is investigating cases of alleged police brutality and custodial abuse.

Easa was allegedly kicked and beaten on the head with batons after he was hauled on to the police vehicle. Minivan News journalists at the scene heard Easa scream from the vehicle packed with SO officers.

Easa was limping when he was brought to the remand hearing on Saturday.

Police have denied the allegations and suggested that lawyers and families file complaints at oversight bodies such as the Police Integrity Commission and the Human Rights Commission of Maldives.

Ali Waheed was meanwhile brought to the ADK hospital in Malé for treatment last night.

Ali Waheed was reportedly taken to hospital around 6:00pm for an MRI scan of his spinal cord, which was recommended by doctors who diagnosed his back pain. He was taken back to Dhoonidhoo detention centre around 7:45pm.

His family had previously said Waheed had been brought to Malé a week after the doctor requested the scans. The family has also expressed concern with police failing to provide medication for Waheed’s diabetes.

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MDP congratulates British conservative party on election victory

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have congratulated the British Conservative Party and prime minister David Cameron for the ruling party’s shock victory in last week’s general elections.

“The imprisoned president of the MDP, former president Mohamed Nasheed wishes to convey his compliments from the confines of a cell in Maafushi jail in the Maldives on the impressive victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Prime Minister David Cameron,” the main opposition party said in a statement.

Nasheed is serving a 13-year jail sentence on terrorism charges after a 19-day trial in March that was widely criticised by foreign governments, the UN, and Amnesty International for its apparent lack of due process.

The Conservative Party has a longstanding relationship with the MDP dating back to its formation in 2005.

“I am heartened by the electoral successes of my friends in the Conservative Party, who has so steadfastly stood by us as we have endeavoured to nurture our nascent democracy in the Maldives.” Nasheed was quoted as saying in the MDP statement.

“I take this opportunity to extend my warmest congratulations to our friends in the Conservative Party who have retained their seats as well as those members who are freshly beginning a parliamentary career as proud Conservatives under your able and inspiring leadership.

“I have no doubt that under the leadership of prime minister Cameron, the Conservative Party will lead the United Kingdom to even greater prosperity and success in the future, both at home and internationally.”

The MDP said the party is “greatly appreciative of its close friendship and cooperation with the Conservative Party, from whom we have gained much experience and knowledge on political party building and democratic practice.”

Foreign minister Dunya Maumoon also congratulated the re-elected UK prime minister for the “outstanding win by the Conservative Party”.

The Conservative Party won 331 out of the 650 seats in the UK House of Commons and secured a majority for the centre-right party, which had formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats after the 2010 general elections.

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Home minister vows to keep ex president in jail

Home minister Umar Naseer has vowed to keep ex-president Mohamed Nasheed in prison despite growing calls for his release by the international community.

“We will not free Nasheed. This government will not free him. I repeat it,” Naseer said in an interview on pro-government private broadcaster Dhi-TV on Thursday.

Nasheed is serving a 13-year jail term on terrorism charges relating to the arrest of a judge during his tenure. Foreign governments, international bodies including the UN and Amnesty International have criticized the trial for lack of due process.

The EU parliament in April passed a resolution calling for Nasheed’s immediate release and have urged member states to warn tourists on Maldives’ human rights record on their travel websites.

However, Naseer said the government “will not back down an inch” even if the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is backed by 50 foreign governments. He went on to describe the MDP as a “lie factory.”

“There is no way will we hand the country to MDP. We will not back down an inch even if they come with 50 countries behind them,” he said.

“The government is built upon a very strong foundation. There is no way we will budge.”

Naseer said the MDP had planned to torch several buildings during a mass antigovernment protest on May Day. Nearly 200 people, including opposition leaders, were arrested when violent clashes erupted between the police and protesters.

Approximately 20,000 people had taken to the streets on May 1 over Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim’s imprisonment.

Although the opposition has criticized the police for excessive force and brutality during the protest, Naseer congratulated the police force, saying they are the “most professional” force in the region.

He said the police had ten years of experience in controlling protests and condemned protesters for beating two police officers.

“MDP can only deceive others [the international community], not Maldivians,” he said.

The home minister once again denied allegations he had made of president Abdulla Yameen’s involvement in the brutal murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in 2012.

Naseer had contested against Yameen during the Progressive Party of the Maldives’ (PPM) presidential primaries of 2013. When he lost, he held a public rally accusing Yameen of corruption, vote-rigging, illicit connections with criminal gangs, and said he saw a suspect in Afrasheem’s murder meeting with Yameen.

Naseer was expelled from the PPM when he refused to apologize for his remarks. He joined the Jumhooree Party (JP), and was given a cabinet portfolio after Yameen won the second round of polls with JP’s backing. The party left the ruling coalition in January.

“I said I saw a suspect in Afrasheem’s murder, after he was released, at the PPM office seeking a meeting with president Yameen. I did not say there is any connection between president Yameen and Afrasheem’s murder,” he said.

Naseer on Thursday said he had made the comments because of the “rivalry in the campaign,” and said the investigation does not suggest the president was involved in the murder at all.

In recent months, several defectors from the ruling coalition, including MP Ahmed Mahloof, have claimed president Yameen will know the truth behind Afrasheem’s murder.

In December 2012, then-police chief Abdulla Riyaz had said that Dr Afrasheem’s murder was politically motivated with a local gang offered MVR4 million (US$260,000) to carry it out.

The late moderate religious scholar and Progressive Party of Maldives MP was brutally stabbed to death on October 1, 2013 in a murder that shocked the nation.

Riyaz, now a JP MP, was summoned to the police last week when he said he would reveal details of Afrasheem’s murder “when the time comes” in an interview with a local TV station.

Hussain Humam, the chief suspect in the murder and the only person convicted of the crime so far, has alleged president Yameen and tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb’s involvement in the killing.

However, Adeeb accused the opposition of orchestrating Humam’s remarks in a “character assassination” attempt. Humam had said at the first hearing of his appeal at the High Court last month that president Yameen and Adeeb “will know best” the details of the murder.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom meanwhile told reporters that president Yameen should sue opposition politicians alleging his involvement in the murder for defamation and strongly condemned the insinuations.

 

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“You will never walk out of here alive”: MDP reveals details of alleged torture of May Day detainees

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has accused police of torturing and threatening to kill suspects arrested for assaulting a police officer during Friday’s anti-government protest.

Nine suspects have been taken into custody over the assault. Video footage shows protesters tripping and kicking a Specialist Operations (SO) officer and one man hitting the policeman over the head with his baton.

The MDP said Moosa Sharmeel, 35, was arrested from his home in Malé by policemen in plainclothes and severely beaten in front of his wife and children.

“He was taken to police headquarters where he was beaten again. The detainee reports that the policemen inside the building, including those at the reception counter, cheered on while he was being beaten,” the MDP said in a statement yesterday.

Policemen kept saying “we will kill you” as they beat him, Sharmeel told his lawyer.

“He was shoved on the floor and beaten until he lost consciousness. His head smashed open when he was shoved to the floor.”

Police have denied the allegations of torture. A police media official told Minivan News yesterday that lawyers for the detainees have not submitted complaints to the police.

Lawyers and families could also file cases with independent oversight bodies such as the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM), the official suggested.

The human rights watchdog is investigating cases of alleged police brutality and custodial abuse.

Nearly 200 protesters were arrested from the 20,000-strong anti-government demonstration, which was the highest number of arrests made from a single protest in over a decade. Some 175 protesters are being held in remand detention for 15 days.

Sharmeel’s lawyer, Abdulla Haseen, told the press yesterday that a police officer intervened and stopped the beating. He was then taken to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and admitted at the intensive care unit for treatment of injuries.

Police denied his requests for a CT scan after he complained of a “foul smelling discharge from his head,” the MDP said.

Haseen said Sharmeel was suffering from chest pains, had difficulty digesting food, and suspects he has internal injuries due to the beating.

Eyewitnesses told Minivan News they saw policemen in plainclothes beating a man around 3:15am on Saturday near the Henveiru stadium, close to Sharmeel’s residence. Seven men, some wearing jerseys and shorts, repeatedly punched and kicked the man and drove off with him in a police van.

The MDP said Sharmeel was not taken to court within 24 hours “as his injuries from the beatings would have been too visible.”

“Instead, he was released near the Malé detention Centre (Atoll Vehi) and immediately shown another arrest warrant and taken into custody again,” the party said.

Police allegedly told Sharmeel he was “arrested for his own safety” and are now claiming “he was beaten inside his home by members of the public who also allegedly transported him to the Police HQ.”

The MDP also said two other suspects, Abdulla Ibad, 32, and Mohamed Rasheed, 52, were also beaten at the police headquarters.

Both detainees reported police threatening to kill them. Rasheed said police “kept saying ‘you will never walk out of here alive again. We will charge you with terrorism, you do not have that much longer to live anyway.'”

The party said other detainees reported beatings on the police vehicle after their arrest.

Former MDP MP Ahmed Easa was allegedly kicked and beaten on the head with batons after he was hauled on to the police vehicle. Minivan News journalists at the scene heard Easa scream from the vehicle packed with SO officers.

Easa was limping when he was brought to the remand hearing on Saturday.

The MDP noted that video footage shows Easa along with other protesters shove off the violent protesters, help the fallen SO officer to his feet, and take him back behind police lines.

Easa and MDP chairperson Ali Waheed were brought to a clinic in Malé last night. The MDP has said police doctors at Dhoonidhoo recommended the pair consult specialist doctors.

Lawyer Fareesha Abdulla said yesterday that three of her clients among the May Day detainees have alleged beatings by police.

The Dhoonidhoo doctor recommended medication for head injuries for one detainee, who says he has not received medicine so far, she said.

Police officers kicked and beat a second detainee with batons on a police vehicle, she said, while an SO officer kicked him on the groin with his knee at the police headquarters.

He has not been provided medicine prescribed by police doctors, she said.

Another detainee with a chronic illness said police were not providing medication at prescribed times, Fareesha said.

The detainee was having seizures due to the lack of medication, she said.

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Lawyers accuse police of restricting access to May Day detainees

Lawyers have accused the police of restricting access to protesters arrested from Friday’s anti-government demonstration, and raised concern over packed conditions at the detention center as well as the arrest of pregnant women, senior citizens and nursing mothers.

The main opposition party’s legal team is planning to appeal the 15 day remand detention of over 170 protesters arrested after a crackdown on the 20,000-strong protest.

“Sick people and mothers of infants should be given lighter punishments. These people are not yet convicted they are only under the suspicion of a crime,” said lawyer Fareesha Abdulla at a press conference this afternoon.

The 195 arrests made on Friday was the highest number from a single protest in the past decade.

The criminal court had granted a blanket 15-day extension of detention for 175 protesters, while 19 were released after police failed to present them at court in the 24 hours required by law.

In addition to restricting access, lawyers accused police of holding detainees in overcrowded cells with no ventilation and failing to provide medication at prescribed times.

Amnesty International’s Abbas Faiz says the human rights organization is investigating reports of failure to provide medication to a pregnant woman.

About 12 lawyers visiting the Dhoonidhoo detention centre were kept waiting for hours and were only able to meet about four or five detainees a day before having to leave at sundown, lawyers said.

“The way police have made arrangements there we have faced a number of difficulties in meeting our clients,” said Fareesha.

Lawyers also said police had initially refused to provide a list of detainees and said the legal team gathered details based on calls to the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) hotline and by waiting at the criminal court for remand hearings.

Fareesha Abdulla said only one police officer handles paperwork at the Atholhuvehi custodial centre, who had to process forms from lawyers from over 170 detainees.

The police media official today dismissed the opposition’s allegations as “baldfaced lies,” insisting that cells at the Dhoonidhoo detention centre are up to standards.

MDP vice president Mohamed Shifaz meanwhile said the detainees included a number of bystanders, including a pizza delivery man, people out shopping, and students on their way to classes.

Shifaz said police were calling families of detainees and saying they did not have lawyers, while MDP women’s wing president Shifa Mohamed claimed police had offered to arrange lawyers for MVR3,000.

The police media official said families were contacted, but denied the claims of seeking money.

“No police officer would do that, we do not do business transactions here. Maybe that is something they do,” the official said.

Lawyer Abdulla Haseen meanwhile noted that the detainees were accused of “confronting police, throwing rocks and bottles, assaulting and harming police, and damaging police vehicles.”

Police had argued at the remand hearings that the detainees posed a danger to society if they were to be released from police custody.

Others were accused of not leaving the protest area despite orders by riot police, Haseen added.

The penalty for “obstructing police duty” for a first time offender was a MVR3,000 fine, Haseen said, adding that 90 percent of the detainees do not have criminal records.

The May Day detainees were treated with unprecedented “harshness” by police and the criminal court, he said, adding that the police had failed to hand over clothing and personal items provided by families of detainees.

Some detainees were still wearing the same clothes from Friday, lawyers said.

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Opposition condemns police obstruction of protests

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has accused the police of disrupting demonstrations and obstructing freedom of assembly by asking for prior notice for protests.

The opposition has continued nightly gatherings despite a crackdown on a mass antigovernment protest on May Day. Nearly 200 were arrested and scores were injured in violent clashes on Friday.

The police have now ordered the MDP to give prior notice despite a constitutional provision guaranteeing freedom of assembly without prior notice.

In a statement today, MDP said: “On May 2, the police barged into the opposition gathering and attempted to confiscate the sound system and asked to stop the gathering without giving any legal reasoning. The activity continued despite the warning.

“On May 3, the police’s special operations team again disrupted the gathering and arrested Jumhooree Party Council member Sobah Rasheed. On May 4 and 5, police disrupted peaceful gatherings. When the protest spilled onto the streets, the police arrested people indiscriminately.”

Former president Mohamed Nasheed’s running mate in the 2013 presidential polls was arrested, but was released, the party noted.

The opposition is protesting over the imprisonment of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex-defence minister Mohamed Nazim.

 

Since the May Day protest, the police have stopped and confiscated the sound system used in a lorry to announce daily gatherings, the statement read. The individuals on the lorry were arrested.

The police, however, have said the MDP has rejected repeated calls for dialogue over the protests.

In a statement on Tuesday, the police insisted the opposition’s protests must not obstruct others’ rights or daily life in the capital. The MDP had provided prior notice, but had failed to act as indicated in the notices, the police said.

The MDP spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy said they had asked police to provide discussion points in writing prior to the meeting, but had not received a reply.

The police statement was “very irresponsible,” he said, insisting that the party has always accepted invitations to hold discussions.

“It is also very hard to attend such discussions when the party’s chairperson and president have been jailed. What discussions can we have without our leadership?” he said.

The party’s chairperson Ali Waheed, Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla and JP deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim were arrested on May 2 for “intimidation.”

The MDP has now written to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) urging the oversight bodies to ensure the constitutional right of freedom of assembly.

Freedom of expression and right to assemble are constitutional rights, the MDP said, calling on the independent commissions to investigate violations.

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Concerns grow over police abuse of May Day detainees

The human rights watchdog has launched an investigation into police brutality against protesters arrested from an anti-government rally on Friday amidst growing concern over custodial abuse.

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) said its officials were denied access to detainees at the police headquarters on Friday night, but were able to visit the detainees the following morning at Dhoonidhoo.

The commission is now investigating three cases of apparent brutality, member Jeehan Mahmoud said.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses have told Minivan News they saw policemen in plainclothes beating a man around 3:15am on Saturday near the Henveiru stadium. Seven men, some wearing jerseys and shorts, repeatedly punched and kicked the man and drove off with him in a police van.

Other sources say a 35-year-old man was arrested without a court warrant from his residence near the Henveiru stadium, on suspicion of beating a police officer at the protest. The source alleged the man was also beaten at the police headquarters, released the next day, and arrested again with a court warrant.

Jeehan said the HRCM is looking into the case as well.

Nearly 200 protesters were arrested from the opposition’s May Day rally after clashes with riot police. The numbers arrested are the highest from a single protest in a decade. Some 175 protesters are being held in remand detention for 15 days at the police custodial island of Dhoonidhoo near Malé.

Lawyers for the detainees and the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have accused police of brutalising the protesters during and after arrest and holding them in inhumane conditions at the packed detention centre.

The MDP alleged in a statement today that Specialist Operations (SO) police officers kicked former MP Ahmed Easa on his spine and shoulders and hit him on the head with batons after hauling him onto a police vehicle.

Minivan News journalists at the scene heard Easa scream in apparent pain from inside the vehicle, which was packed with SO officers. Easa was limping when he appeared in court on Saturday.

The MDP said police officers threatened to torture Easa while he was waiting at the criminal court and have so far refused to bring the former MP to Malé for treatment. Lawyers said Easa and other detainees have been provided treatment by police doctors at Dhoonidhoo.

Easa and other detainees were kept 25 people to a cell, which were infested with mosquitos, the opposition party said. Police routinely whacked the bars of the cell to prevent Easa from sleeping, the MDP statement added.

Other detainees, including two pregnant women, have complained of being kept in overcrowded cells with no ventilation.

Lawyers said former MDP MP Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Bonda’ had a swollen eye while other detainees had sustained a range of injuries during their arrest.

A man and woman arrested from a protest pickup that had charged through police lines into the green zone at dusk on Friday were also severely beaten, lawyers said.

A police media official told Minivan News that all the detainees, including Easa, were arrested in full view of the media, who were free to observe and report police conduct.

Lawyers for the detainees have not lodged complaints of brutality with the police, the official noted, adding that cases could also filed with independent oversight bodies such as the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and HRCM.

The head of the PIC was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

Police said six people have been arrested so far in connection with assaulting the police officer on Friday night. Two men aged 35 and 49 were arrested on Saturday while a 30-year-old woman and three men aged 19, 48, and 28 were arrested on Sunday.

The criminal court has extended the remand detention of all six suspects to 15 days.

Lawyers told Minivan News that they have not had access to detainees held on suspicion of assaulting the police officer.

A seventh suspect has reportedly been arrested this evening. Local media said 19-year-old Mohamed Laban, the goalkeeper of football club Eagles, was arrested around 5:45pm upon his arrival for training at the Maafanu stadium.

Laban is accused of tripping an SO officer. Police have posted videos of the incident, which show protesters kick and severely beat him on the ground with his baton.

Eyewitnesses at the scene told Minivan News at the time that other protesters, including Easa, shoved off the violent protesters, helped the fallen officer to his feet, and took him back behind police lines.

In a report released yesterday after observing the May Day protest, human rights NGO Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) said protesters sustained injuries after police used their shields to push people back.

“The police were also heard using inappropriate and abusive language at the crowds, displaying acute hostility towards the people gathered. It was also observed that some individuals used hateful language and threw plastic bottles and stones at the police,” MDN said.

“Protesters who were arrested after police charged into the crowds were seen to have been pushed, forced to run with several policemen or carried by more than three or four policemen,” the observation briefing stated.

“It was noted that requests by these protesters to let them walk calmly was not respected by the police, and rough handling which led to individuals beings banged into the barricades, injuries and also for several individuals to lose their footwear or cause damage to clothes was observed.”

The MDN also noted that it was unclear whether the individuals arrested during periodic charges by SO officers were responsible for breaching barricades or were simply bystanders.

The MDN praised police personnel who assisted injured protesters and helped wash pepper spray from their eyes and attended to cuts and bruises.

Transparency Maldives has meanwhile condemned police for charging at “peaceful protesters” as well as the “mob attacks on police officers by protestors at the May Day protest.”

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Revised law strips Nasheed of MDP’s presidency

MPs of the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives have passed a law which will effectively strip former president Mohamed Nasheed of the presidency of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

The amendment to the Prisons and Parole Act was passed today with 40 votes and prohibits inmates from holding high level posts in political parties.

Nasheed, who co-founded the MDP, will lose his party presidency because of a terrorism conviction last month relating to the detention of a judge during his period in power.

He was jailed for 13 years after the Criminal Court found him guilty of terrorism in a case his party says represented a politically-led campaign against him by the government of President Abdulla Yameen.

The bill was previously passed by the People’s Majlis on March 30. However, president Yameen vetoed it as the original proposal prohibited all prisoners from holding membership in political parties and non governmental organisations.

The Attorney General’s Office has reportedly said the original amendment infringes on the constitutional right to freedom of association.

The law was passed amid protests by opposition MPs, who had draped a large yellow banner behind the speaker’s desk calling for Nasheed’s release.

MDP MP Eva Abdulla told Minivan News today that the new law is proof the “government is using its majority in parliament to amend laws specifically targeting President Nasheed.” 

“They have done all but name him in this new amendment. It shows just how personal and political the arrest and sentencing of President Nasheed is,” she said.

Ruling coalition MPs also revised the Majlis regulations yesterday, preventing any MPs who protest inside the Majlis from receiving a MVR20,000 (US$1,290) allowance.

Opposition MPs have been disrupting parliamentary sittings since the Majlis reconvened this year on March 2 over Nasheed’s arrest and alleged constitutional breaches by the government.

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