50 May Day detainees released, but may face charges
09 May 2015, 6:09 PM
The police have released some 50 of the 175 people held in custody over a mass antigovernment protest on May Day, but it is not yet clear if they will be charged.
According to a police spokesperson, the 50 were arrested from the protest on suspicion of obstructing police duty and disobedience to order. The Prosecutor General will decide whether to file charges, he said.
The penalty for obstructing police duty for a first time offender is a MVR3,000 fine, lawyers have said. According to the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), over 90 percent of the detainees do not have criminal records.
Some 193 people were arrested from the May Day demonstration after violent clashes erupted between protesters and police at dusk. The arrests are the largest number detained from a single protest in a decade.
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