Malé, Maldives – Home Minister, Sheikh Imran Abdulla has said that this government will not obstruct any peaceful political demonstrations carried out within the country.
In a tweet he posted earlier today, Minister Imran said that this administration would allow for peaceful political demonstrations and that people would benefit from it as well.
Minister Imran’s tweet about allowing peaceful demonstrations comes after yesterdays opposition protest was stopped by police with 30 people, including top leadership members of the opposition being arrested.
Earlier today, Maldives Police Service revealed that all the protesters except three were released with a fine of MVR 1,000 per person for violating HPA regulations set out to curb the spread of Covid-19. Police revealed that three people from the arrested were not fined because they were arrested before the protest began.
After yesterdays arrests, PPM said that the actions by Maldives Police was curtailing their freedom of assembly, speech and expression and condemned their actions.
Maldives Police Service broke up the protest, citing that such gatherings are against the guidelines put forth by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) during the pandemic. Prior to the demonstrations, the Home Ministry and Police warned that legal action would be taken against those who violate the regulations, however, the opposition paid no attention to the warnings.
