2 arrested from opposition protest accused of assault
By
Mohamed Muzayyin Nazim
The Criminal Court has ordered the detention of two people arrested from opposition protests for a period of 15 days on accusations of assault.
The two people were detained during a protest organised by the opposition calling for the immediate release of former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who had been jailed for 11 years last week convicted on charges of money laundering and bribery.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, the spokeswoman for the coalition Heena Waleed said that the two people arrested and charged with assault were Ibrahim Zameel, a member of the coalitions senate who is also the president of a constituency, and Abdulla Adhly, who is a member of the steering committee.
The court remanded these two individuals in judicial custody on Wednesday. As per the order issued by the court:
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Both have been accused of rioting and obstructing the police from discharging their duties.
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Both have previous records of arrests and detentions.
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and sufficient evidence has been produced against these two individuals.
“This person had been arrested not for protesting but for assaulting a police as highlighted by the Police Investigative Office” the order issued by the court to remand the two individuals read.
The opposition has been organising daily protests in the capital since the guilty verdict passed on Yameen last Sunday, with the Police making arrests every night.
However, all of the arrestees except for Zameel and Adhly have been released by the Maldives Police Service without any charges against them.
The opposition has accused the government of having meddled in Yameen’s trial and influencing the courts so as to make sure he was unable to run for office next year.
