The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has condemned the arrest and treatment of Naeema Mohamed, an elderly woman, by the Maldives Police Service (MPS).

The 70-year-old was among those arrested from an opposition demonstration on Friday night.

In a statement issued on Sunday, MDP called on the National Integrity Commission (NIC) to investigate police's treatment of Naeema following the arrest.

Noting that she was kept inside an interrogation room, MDP said that officers had refused to serve her any food until 11 am on Saturday. She was not allowed to use the bathroom till Saturday morning as well, MDP emphasized.

MDP also noted that she was not given her prescribed daily medication, and that she was woken up on Saturday morning when two foreign workers entered the room, without a female officer.

MDP said that Naeema had been deprived of her basic rights, and that despite them being able to take people into custody that officers do not have the power to treat people so inhumanely.

The party also said that Commissioner of Police, NIC and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) should be ashamed at the lack of action over such cases, which MDP noted, have been repeatedly reported by arrestees.