Wednesday night’s opposition rally turned into a demonstration on the streets after the police’s special operations unit, clad in riot gear and heavy armour, forcefully disbanded it.

Officers employed their usual tactics of shoving, violently arresting, and pepper-spraying, to disband the rally at the allied opposition parties’ nightly gathering grounds in Heinveiru.

Supporters of the allied parties, who refer to themselves collectively as the ‘Joint Opposition’, had called for the resignation of President Abdulla Yameen, Major General Ahmed Shiyam, and acting Police Commissioner Abdulla Nawaz.

Those gathered had announced that they would continue their political demonstration, at about 11:30 PM, prompting officers to disband it with no intention to do so having been stated or seen prior.

The demonstrators had moved in unison down Majeedhee Magu, the capital city’s central road stretching from end to the other, and Chaandhanee Magu – another central road – before being cordoned off by riot shields.

They then gathered near Kunooz, the Jumhooree Party’s headquarters, where they continued their calls for resignation of said top-level officials. The locations at which political demonstrations can be held in Malé City are few and the process is heavily restricted, with parties needing to acquire permission from the government and police. 

The move to disband the rally is supported by the use of loudspeakers and amplified sound at public spaces being prohibited after midnight.