Politics

World not convinced of need for Maldives emergency

International human rights groups and the governments of the UK and the US have urged the Maldives to revoke a nationwide state of emergency and restore full constitutional freedoms.

Impeached vice president facing corruption, illegal weapons charges

Impeached Vice President Ahmed Adeeb is now facing prosecution on charges of bribing police officers into divulging state secrets and smuggling weapons, the police have said.

Maldives parliament votes to impeach vice president – as it happened

The Maldives parliament impeached today Vice President Ahmed Adeeb in an abrupt vote scheduled a day after an unprecedented state of emergency was declared in the island nation.

Parliament approves declaration of state of emergency

The parliament today approved President Abdulla Yameen’s declaration of a 30-day state of emergency in the face of criticism from opposition MPs. The unprecedented nationwide state of emergency was approved with 58 votes in favour, 14 votes against, and three abstentions.

US lawmakers in bid to gain Congress backing for Nasheed’s release

A bipartisan coalition of 13 top US lawmakers, in a resolution submitted to the Congress, have called on the Maldives to free former President Mohamed Nasheed, imprisoned in March on a terrorism charge.

Supreme Court suspends Vice President’s lawyer

The Supreme Court has suspended detained Vice President Ahmed Adeeb’s lawyer, Hussain Shameem, on a charge of contempt of court.

Maldives declares state of emergency – as it happened

The declaration comes two days ahead of a mass protest planned by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Several constitutional rights and freedoms as well as the 2013 Freedom of Assembly Act has been suspended.

PPM confident of impeaching vice president without MDP support

The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives says it is confident of impeaching Vice President Ahmed Adeeb without the main opposition party’s backing.

Police accused of beating three Raajje TV journalists

The opposition-aligned Raajje TV has alleged that three of the station’s journalists arrested while covering last night’s bomb scare were beaten by police. The criminal court ordered the police to release the journalists at a remand hearing this afternoon.

President warns Maldivians to be wary of ‘traitorous plotters’

In his address to the nation on the occasion of Victory Day – celebrated annually on November 3 to commemorate a failed coup attempt in 1988 – Yameen assured the public of efforts to ensure security after a weapons cache, including firearms and explosives, was discovered submerged in the lagoon of an uninhabited island leased for resort development.

Vice President loses remand appeal

Vice President Ahmed Adeeb remains in custody after losing an appeal of his detention over suspicion of links to an alleged assassination attempt on President Abdulla Yameen.

Maldives army defuse presidential palace bomb

Bomb squad officers defused tonight a homemade bomb found on vehicle parked near the presidential palace in Malé. President Abdulla Yameen, who prefers to live at his private residence, only uses Muleeaage for official meetings.

Parliamentary rules changed to expedite budget approval

MDP meets new police chief, discusses November 6 protest

The police had said in a statement that the acting police chief met with representatives from the MDP yesterday and asked them to reconsider plans to stage a mass protest on November 6 “given the present state of affairs in the country”.

No evidence of bomb on Yameen’s speedboat, says FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has found no evidence an explosive device caused the blast on President Abdulla Yameen’s speedboat, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

Maldives downplays FBI findings on boat blast

Although the FBI had found no evidence of an explosive on President Abdulla Yameen’s speedboat, the government insisted that analysis by Sri Lankans and Saudis, and evidence gathered by Maldives security forces provide enough proof of a bomb plot.

Police officers asked to stay clear of politics on social media

“We will be taking action against police officers who comment, like, share or re-tweet political posts, photos or publish political posts in social media,” Assistant Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed informed departments heads last week.

Missing weapons from state armoury ‘a national security failure’

President Abdulla Yameen as the commander-in-chief must bear full responsibility for weapons that went missing from the state armoury, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said. The military has acknowledged that a rifle and a submachine gun found in a weapons cache discovered on Friday in the lagoon of an uninhabited island in Baa atoll were from its armoury.

Hunt declared for eight suspects in boat blast probe

Mohamed Allam Latheef ‘Moho,’ a close associate of the vice president and the singer of a popular local band, is wanted by the police on suspicion of links to an alleged attempt to assassinate the president. The police said that Latheef has links to a weapons cache discovered on an island leased for resort development.

Social media celebrity, loyal to Adeeb, arrested in Sri Lanka

The police have confirmed Ahmed Ashraf, aka Shumba Gong’s arrest. The 18-year-old had tweeted that he was in danger and that “some people smashed my doors trying to come in.”