MDP protesters will face terrorism charges: Home Minister Dr Jameel
09 Feb 2012, 10:43 PM
Hawwa Lubna
The newly appointed Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel has warned of filing terrorism charges against those arrested over the destruction of public and police property during Wednesday’s late-night protests, which erupted across 10 islands in six atolls after the police attacked Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters’ peaceful march in Male’
Dr Jameel, the deputy leader of minority opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), was investigated by Nasheed’s government for ‘hate speech’ after his party published a pamphlet entitled ‘President Nasheed’s devious plot to destroy the Islamic faith of Maldivians’, alleging that Nasheed’s government was part of a “Jewish Zionist conspiracy” seeking to “spread Christianity” and “undermine Islam in the Maldives”.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Dr Jameel claimed that “MDP is responsible for the unrest” since the crowd beaten by the police had come from a meeting of the MDP national council yesterday afternoon.
Police stations and vehicles on several islands were set on fire or taken over last night by protestors identified by the police and government as “MDP supporters”, while several magistrate courts on the islands and government offices were also burnt down.
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