Police yesterday summoned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Vice president and MP Ali Waheed, DRP Vice president and MP Ahmed Ilham and DRP MP Ahmed Mahloof to police headquarters for questioning regarding last week’s brawl in parliament.
Waheed told the press that he assumed the police had summoned him in order to congratulate him on the no-confidence vote against Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem.
He said that the police questioned him about several cases, ”including a gathering near the president’s official residence, Muleeage, and about the brawl in parliament. They put the blame on us for everything happening in Male’,” Waheed said.
He claimed the questioning was a result of President Mohamed Nasheed “trying to stop us from making the government more responsible.”
”He thinks we will be afraid and back off,” he said, ”but that encourages us more.”
He said it was the DRP MPs who should have summoned the police, and questioned why they were taken into police custody on Thursday night.
”The government is planning to stop our activities and threaten us,” he said.
Ilham and Mahlouf told the press they chose to remain silent.
Press secretary for the president Mohamed Zuhair said the government had no role in the police questioning or arrest of DRP MPs, and that anyone disturbing the peace of country could expect to be arrested.
”Police will arrest them if they see them indulging in violent activity,” Zuhair said. “They were throwing rocks and chairs at a peaceful religious gathering. It’s like throwing stones at a mosque – police can’t simply ignore the matter because the throwers are MPs.”
Zuhair said he wished to repeat a quote made by former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom: ”No one is above the law”, and noted that the MPs were not arrested by ”temporarily kept in police custody.”
”The police will forward all the cases to the Prosecutor General when they have enough evidence,” he said.
”They are blaming president Nasheed just to gain political support, but the public won’t be fooled.”
Police Sub Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the police was not just summoning the DRP MPs.
”We are investigating a case presented to us by the parliament,” Shiyam said. ”There are many independent MPs and MDP MPs to be brought for questioning.”
He said the details could not be given as police were currently investigating the case.
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