MPs who entered parliament had done 'nothing illegal', says MDP's Solih

The Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said that he and other opposition MPs that entered parliament on the 24th of July had done ‘nothing illegal’.

MP Solih said this in response to a police investigation into the matter, claiming that parliamentarians had acted outside legal ambit and impeded the authority of security personnel by forcing their way into the parliament premises.

After having been summoned for police questioning on Friday night, MP Solih said that officers are investigating him for four separate offenses.

“I was questioned for trespassing, and over four other reported violations detailed in the penal code” Solih said “They are saying we had obstructed the conduct of law enforcement officers, attempted to assault officers, and incited violence”.

The parliamentarian said none of the MPs that entered the premises on that day are guilty of any of the aforementioned crimes.

His lawyers told RaajjeMV that while parliamentarians are legally allowed to enter the parliament premises – thus rendering allegations of trespass invalid – the remaining charges are also baseless.

“The police should rather be investigating how the parliament premises had been illegally closed-off and the unlawful removal of parliamentarians from the parliament premises” MP Solih’s lawyers said.

While conventionally, all of the parliament’s security is handled by officers of national security, the police had been involved in the operation to remove parliamentarians from the premises. The Maldives Police Service has since said that soldiers stationed at the premises had requested assistance.