Maldives court orders to detain opposition leaders
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blog where he railed against all forms of organised religion.
He was also the author of a series of books, including the best-selling “The Virus of Faith”, which was hugely contentious in Bangladesh, an officially secular state where MALE, Maldives, May 3, (Agencies): A court in the Maldives on Saturday ordered three opposition leaders and 172 of their supporters detained further after they were arrested for violence during a protest demanding the president to resign and freedom for a around 90 percent of people are Muslim.
In March, police arrested two madrassa students over the killing of Rahman. Police are investigating whether they belonged to ABT and whether they had any connection with Roy’s murder. jailed ex-president.
With the court order the entire opposition leadership behind Friday’s anti-government protests is detained.
Police announced they arrested nearly 200 people including the leaders and 187 of them were brought to court Saturday night. The remaining had been released by police themselves.
The court ordered that the three opposition leaders and 171 other protesters be detained for 15 days. One other protester was ordered to be detained for seven days. All of them are accused of inciting and engaging in violence against the state.
Court released 12 others because police did not produce them in court within 24 hours as required by law.
The detentions could exacerbate an acrimonious political climate in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation, which is still in its early years of democracy.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking in the neighboring Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, said “there are troubling signs that democracy is under threat in the Maldives, where former President Nasheed has been imprisoned without due process. That is an injustice that must be addressed soon.”
Police arrested Sheik Imran, leader of the Islamic conservative Adhaalath, or Justice Party; Ali Waheed, chairman of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, and Ameen Ibrahim, deputy leader of Jumhooree, or the Republican Party.
Thousands of people marched in the capital on Friday, accusing President Yameen Abdul Gayoom of jailing his predecessor, Mohamed Nasheed, and others who he sees as political threats. The opposition activists ran through a cordon of shieldcarrying police protecting the military headquarters in Male and clashed with officers.
Police fired tear gas and arrested 192 protesters. They later declared that the demonstration was not peaceful, saying they will break up any gathering without warning.
However, Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party said police charged the protesters without provocation. Party spokesman Hamid Abdul Gafoor said the protesters did not enter the restricted zone but were only going to a mosque close to the area for evening prayers. The protesters beat up two police officers who were flown to neighboring Sri Lanka for treatment.
Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison in March for ordering the arrest of a senior judge when he was president three years ago. He was sentenced under the country’s terrorism laws after the court declared that the arrest was akin to kidnapping.