In this handout photograph released by the MDP yesterday, Maldives security personnel arrest opposition activists during rally in Male.
AFP/Male
US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that democracy was in danger in the Maldives as police made nearly 200 arrests at a protest over the jailing of the paradise islands’ ex-president.
Police fired tear gas and baton-charged on Friday night’s protest on the main island of Male, said witnesses to what was the biggest show of support for Mohamed Nasheed since he was handed a 13-year term in March.
Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said one of its top aides were among those arrested, while the head of the largest Islamist party in the mainly Sunni Muslim nation was detained.
The streets of Male appeared to be calm yesterday as police put the number of arrests at 193.
But while authorities defended their use of force to break up the protest, Kerry added his voice to the growing chorus of criticism of President Abudulla Yameen’s regime.
“We see even now how regrettably there are troubling signs that democracy is under threat in the Maldives where the former president Nasheed has been imprisoned without due process,” said Kerry.
“This is an injustice that needs to be addressed soon,” he added on a visit to
neighbouring Sri Lanka.
The MDP said 195 people had been arrested, accusing the security forces of responding to what it called a peaceful protest “with tear gas, baton charges (and) stun grenades”.
“All key opposition figures are now under arrest,” party spokeswoman Shauna Aminath said. “It was a brutal crackdown by the regime.”
She said the party’s chairman Ali Waheed had been arrested along with Sheik Imran, leader of the main Islamic Adhaalath Party, who was an organiser of Friday’s protest.
The government responded in a statement by accusing the organisers of incitement, saying they had “called on all gathered to topple the government and confront the police”.
Nasheed, a climate change activist, became the archipelago’s first democratically elected leader in 2008.
He was toppled in February 2012 after a mutiny by police and troops.
The arrest formed the centre-piece of Nasheed’s prosecution. His conviction triggered widespread international condemnation and alarm in regional powerhouse India.
The MDP put the number of people taking part in Friday night’s protest at 25,000, a huge figure given the islands’ population is only around 330,000.
The protest came only hours after the United Nations criticised the jailing of Nasheed on March 13 on anti-terror charges as “arbitrary” and said the sentencing had followed a “vastly unfair trial”.
The UN Human Rights Office said their delegation, which visited Male late last month, found Nasheed had been subjected to a “rushed trial” under a system that was highly politicised.
It asked Yameen to ensure the safety of Nasheed and allow freedom of expression.
Nasheed’s lawyer filed a petition on Thursday with the UN arguing his detention is illegal and a violation of international law.
The appeal to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Geneva came as Nasheed’s wife Laila Ali visited Washington to lobby the White House, State Department and Congress.
“This is a very difficult time for me and my children, but today I also have hope,” Ali said, alongside her legal team that includes London-based rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
In a report last week, Amnesty International said protesters in the Maldives were being frequently beaten up while the media faced a growing number of death threats.
