Maldives: Army Storms Supreme Court as Government Declares Emergency

The Maldivian government on Monday night declared a 15-day state of emergency in the island nation, giving it sweeping powers to make arrests, seize property and ban any public gathering. Overnight, the members of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) stormed the Supreme Court and arrested the Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed.

The recent development came after the Supreme Court had ordered the release of top opposition political leaders including former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb.

The court said in a brief statement that they must be freed until fair trials could be conducted without undue influence.

Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen had earlier suspended Parliament and ordered the Army to resist any moves by the Supreme Court to impeach the President.

On Monday morning , Yameen wrote three letters to the Supreme Court explaining the challenges being faced in implementing the court order.

According to reports, the soldiers scaled the court building and held staff and judges under military supervision. After the siege, the judges were taken to a detention facility outside the capital, Male.

Judicial administrator Hassan Saeed was also arrested after midnight and his residence was raided for the second time.

The reason for the judges' arrest remains unknown. However, the Maldives Police Service has said that there was evidence that could implicate Saeed and Hameed.

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has allied himself with the opposition that rejects the state of emergency, was also arrested on Monday night, the Maldives Independent reported. Gayoom is the half-brother of President Yameen.

Before being arrested, Gayoom released a video saying that he has not "done anything to warrant arrest" and urged everyone to "remain strong". His son-in-law Mohamed Nadheem was also arrested.

The charges for the two men include bribing lawmakers and plotting to overthrow the government. Gayoom and Nadheem were taken to a detention facility on the island of Dhoonidhoo.

Nasheed, currently in exile, was the first democratically elected President of the country after Gayoom, who had ruled for continuous 30 years. Nasheed was ‘forced’ to resign in 2012, allegedly by Gayoom loyalists.

He was convicted on terrorism crimes in 2015, which according to critics and Amnesty International is “politically motivated”.

According to reports in 2015, in the negotiations between the government and Naheed’s party for his release, the government demanded opposition’s support for two constitutional amendments. The first on the relaxation of the age limits for the presidency and vice presidency and the second to allow foreign ownership of Maldivian land.

Meanwhile, Nasheed has written on Twitter requesting India to intervene in solving the political crisis in the country. In 1988, India had helped the then President Gayoom to thwart a coup attempt against him, by deploying its military in the Indian Ocean nation.

Due to the turmoil, Maldives is under pressure from international powers, reported BBC.

India, China and the UK have issued travel warnings to the country that is made up of 26 coral atolls and 1,192 individual islands.

(with inputs from IANS)