In a disturbing turn of events, three Maldives high court judges ordered the release of nine high-profile political prisoners, one of the points in their 1 February verdict that was seen to have prompted President Abdulla Yameen to impose a state of emergency in Maldives and arrest two top judges. Yameen, who had moments earlier restored the powers of the judges to revisit the verdict, welcomed the tweaks.
Here are the important happenings in the Maldives crisis:
A top vacation spot, Maldives went into mayhem last week after five judges of the Supreme Court released terrorism convictions against nine leading opposition figures, including the exiled Mr Nasheed, Maldives’ first democratically elected president.
As governments across the world were concerned about the developments in the Indian Ocean archipelago, President Yameen first justified with a 16-point answer and later took to national television to justify the emergency for 15 days.
“The arrest of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and political figures are also reasons for concern,” New Delhi added in a statement by India.
Exiled ex- President Mohamed Nasheed, who resides in Colombo, was expected to come back and stand for President after the 1 February verdict. Mr Nasheed, who was president from 2008 to 2013, was controversially convicted of terrorism in 2015 and sentenced to 13 years. He was allowed to go to Britain for medical treatment in January 2016 and has been in exile since.
Mohamed Nasheed sought India’s intervention on the matter. “On behalf of Maldivian people we humbly request: India to send envoy, backed by its military, to release judges & pol. detainees… We request a physical presence,” he tweeted and has also the United States to stop financial transactions of Mr Yameen’s government.
Mr Yameen, who came to power in 2013 after winning a controversial run-off against Mr Nasheed, has presided over an escalating crackdown on dissent, jailing almost all the political opposition. The Supreme Court ruling also nullified the firing of 12 lawmakers for defecting from President Yameen’s party, giving the opposition the majority in the assembly meaning they could potentially impeach the president.
When President Yameen, on Monday, sent soldiers to arrest the judges, the Maldives police also detained the president’s half-brother and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had sided with the main opposition.
Ahmed Shiyam Maldives military chief is publicly backing Mr Yameen. “The Maldives military will not stand by and watch Maldives go in to a crisis,” he said on Sunday, warning he would not obey “unlawful orders” from the Supreme Court.
Mr Yameen has drawn close to China and Saudi Arabia when he was in power, with both countries investing heavily in the country. Located near key shipping lanes, Maldives have assumed greater significance to China after it began building political and economic ties as part of its so-called “String Of Pearls” strategy to build a network of ports in the Indian Ocean region.