Police officers have to defend the government, no matter the orders given to them to the contrary, said President Abdulla Yameen.
The President said this at the police service's 85th anniversary ceremony on Wednesday night.
President Yameen told the officers at the ceremony that, even during times of political turmoil, police officers have a responsibility to defend the government and so have to think before acting on orders that may be in contradiction to it.
Not only can unlawful orders come from senior police officers but that it can also come from elsewhere, he said, reminding the officers that the president is their commander-in-chief.
President Yameen also severely criticized the police service, saying that it had lost the people’s trust due to the behavior of police officers, and that they need to regain that trust.
