Self-exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed has said that incumbent President Abdulla Yameen is now targeting the business community, after running out of political opponents.
In a tweet sent out early Sunday morning, the former President said that “President Abdulla Yameen’s government seems to have run out of political opponents to arrest,” adding that businessman Abdul Majid recent arrest shows that business community is their current target.
Majid, who was the campaign manager of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in the Local Council Elections held last May, was arrested late Thursday night, while at a restaurant in capital Malé City. Nasheed’s tweet also called for his immediate release.
The political situation in the country intensified following a ruling issued by the Supreme Court on 1st February, releasing nine political prisoners and reinstating the 12 opposition parliamentarians unseated by the Elections Commission. Four days after the ruling, President Yameen declared a nation-wide state of emergency, after refusing to implement the ruling. The state of emergency was extended by the parliament on 20th February, by an additional 30 days, through a vote held without the constitutionally required quorum of 43 members.
While a number of individuals have been arrested under the state of emergency since, including high-profile figures such as former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Ali Hameed- human rights lawyers claim that the arrestees “are being denied many of their fundamental rights”.
