Legal Affairs Director of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said that there are currently 36 individuals; 34 men and two women, detained under the state of emergency.

In a tweet posted on Sunday, Hisaan Hussain said that their records show that “36 people are currently being arbitrarily detained under the state of emergency by the police,” adding that “those detained are being denied many of their fundamental rights”.

“None of them have seen judges since their arrest, some have been in detention for almost a month,” she noted.

In a second tweet, Hisaan added that 34 of the 36 people are detained in Dhoonidhoo, while one is in Villingilli Police and one the other is under house arrest.

President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency on 5^th February, after refusing to implement a ruling by the Supreme Court. The ruling issued on 1^st February ordered the release of nine high-profile political prisoners and reinstated 12 parliamentarians. The parliament extended the state of emergency by an additional 30 days on 20^th November, in a vote taken without the constitutionally required quorum of 43 members.

Following the declaration of the state of emergency, prominent figures were quickly arrested, including former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed, all under the state of emergency. While they are accused of bribery and attempting to overthrow the government, police have forwarded their cases for prosecution seeking to charged them with “destroying evidence”.