Mass Protest in Maldives over ex-Leader's Arrest
Thousands of supporters of former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed marched in the honeymoon islands' tiny capital Friday, protesting his detention on terror charges which have sparked international condemnation.
Crowds streamed onto Male from early Friday for the two and a half hour rally, angered by news that Nasheed had been given just three days to prepare his defense for his latest court appearance.
Nasheed's lawyers also said he had been denied access to his defense team as he was brought before the court Thursday on charges dating back to his sacking of one of the islands' top judges while he was president.
"Stop brutality," said a placard carried by a Nasheed supporter wearing yellow, the color of his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
Others carried red and green Maldivian flags as they marched to the meeting venue, while police in full riot gear deployed in the area.
Supporters of the Jumhooree Party, a former ally of President Abdulla Yameen, also joined the opposition rally that marched through narrow streets of the capital to express solidarity with their one-time rival Nasheed.
"We are with you sir," said a placard which had a photo of the 47-year-old Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected leader.
He was arrested on Sunday and charged with terrorism over the detention of criminal court judge Abdullah Mohamed in 2012, when he was president.
The United States and regional power India have voiced concern over the charges, which carry a jail sentence of more than 10 years, and the manner in which Nasheed was dragged roughly into court on Monday, and denied both legal access and medical treatment.
The dramatic arrest came amid mounting opposition to the government of President Yameen, whose spokesman on Tuesday denied that the move to prosecute Nasheed was politically motivated.
- Sporadic clashes -
Nasheed's MDP said street gangs attacked protesters as the rally came to a close and accused the police of failing to stop the violence.
There were no reports of major casualties, but the party said local gang members used machetes and wooden planks to attack protesters, causing unspecified injuries.
The MDP said over 10,000 people participated in the rally. Authorities gave no official estimate of the size of the crowds.
"The rally is to pressure the government to release president Nasheed," MDP spokeswoman Shauna Aminath told Agence France-Presse.
"The authorities have tried to scare away people, but they failed."
Police were seen arresting scores of people after the rally, but there was no immediate comment from the authorities.
The opposition has held regular night-time rallies over the past year to protest what they call growing authoritarianism, which has damaged the atoll nation's image as a tourist paradise.
Former colonial power Britain Friday said it was closely following the developments after urging its citizens to remain vigilant and avoid large crowds ahead of the rally in the one square-mile (two square kilometer) Male.
Nasheed resigned as the Maldives' leader in February 2012 after a mutiny by police and troops that followed weeks of protests over the arrest of the criminal court judge Mohamed on corruption allegations.
A former political prisoner, Nasheed denies any wrongdoing in those dramatic events, which he has labeled a coup.
Nasheed tried to stage a comeback in the 2013 presidential election, winning the first round before losing in a controversial run-off to Yameen, who is the half-brother of former strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
After his toppling, Nasheed was initially prosecuted on charges of abuse of power and arbitrary arrest.
The charges against Nasheed were initially dropped earlier this month after making little progress, so the decision to up the ante by slapping him with terror charges on Sunday caught observers off guard.
He has been refused bail and ordered to remain in police custody until the conclusion of a trial that his party says will not be fair.
Local media reports said Nasheed had objected to two judges on the three-member bench on the basis they were already cited as prosecution witnesses in the case against him.
Source: Agence France Presse
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