Maldives police arrest opposition leaders after clashes

Male, Authorities in the Maldives arrested three opposition leaders and nearly 200 other people after clashes erupted between police and protesters demanding the resignation of the country’s president and the release of a jailed ex-leader.
With the arrests, nearly the entire opposition leadership behind yesterday’s anti-government protests were detained, opposition lawmaker Eva Abdulla said today.
Police arrested Sheik Imran, leader of the Islamic conservative Adhaalath, or Justice Party, Ali Waheed, chairman of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, and Ameen Ibrahim, deputy leader of Jumhooree, or the Republican Party.
The arrests could exacerbate an acrimonious political climate in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation, which is still in its early years of democracy.
The Maldives government accused Imran of inciting violence among the protesters with the aim of overthrowing the government. The government, however, did not comment on the arrests of the other opposition leaders.
Thousands of people marched in the capital yesterday, accusing President Yameen Abdul Gayoom of jailing former president Mohamed Nasheed and others who he sees as political threats.
The opposition activists ran through a cordon of shield-carrying police protecting the military headquarters in Male and clashed with police officers.
Police fired tear gas and arrested 192 protesters. They later declared that the demonstration was not peaceful, saying they will break up any gathering without warning.
Police told reporters that Imran “incited violence amongst protesters with the aim of toppling the government and called for clashes with the police if necessary.”
However, Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party said police officers charged the protesters without provocation.
The protesters also beat up two policemen who were flown to neighboring Sri Lanka for treatment.
Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison in March for ordering the arrest of a senior judge when he was president three years ago. He was sentenced under the country’s terrorism laws after the court declared that the arrest was akin to kidnapping.
Nasheed’s imprisonment after a rushed trial sparked widespread international condemnation.
In a statement after a fact-finding mission to the Maldives, the United Nations human rights office said Nasheed’s trial was “vastly unfair and his conviction was arbitrary and disproportionate.”