Former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has requested for Indian intervention for the release of political prisoners who were detained, post the verdict of the Supreme Court of Maldives. Nine leading opposition members were cleared of terrorism convictions. Following the court ruling, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen ordered the security forces to take over the control of the apex court and arrest a judge along with the chief justice.
Exiled president Mohamed Nasheed in a tweet, from Colombo, urged the Indian forces to send a military-backed envoy to help in the release of the judges and the political detainees. Nasheed further urged the United States to put a stop to the financial transactions carried out by the Yameen-led government in the Maldives. Yameen’s government issued a statement on Monday saying that the President was forced to declare a state of emergency for 15 days keeping in mind the risk of the current situation and the threat to national security. Ever since they came to power in 2013, the Yameen government in the Maldives has been under questions of posing a threat to freedom of speech, detaining opponents and threatening the independence of the judiciary.
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India, Britain & US Urge Maldives Establishment To Respect Laws
The Yameen government has been urged by India, Britain, and the United States to release the detainees and honour the rule of the law on Maldivian soil. The Indian interest in the Maldives has also increased ever since the latter began maintaining economic and political ties with China and its ‘string of pearls’ strategy wherein they propose to build a network of ports in the Indian Ocean territory. India is making efforts to push back the Chinese influence on the Maldivian government. The United States, on the other hand, released a statement saying it was disappointed by the emergency declared in the Maldives and over the failure of the establishment to respect the laws. The statement said that President Yameen has weakened the government institutions.
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