HDh. Atoll, Maldives – Local news reports that the Maldives Police Service (MPS) has removed a protest banner and arrested a man in the ensuing scuffle during the President’s visit to HDh. Kulhudhuffushi yesterday.
A few protestors held a long banner inside private homes opposite where President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih would be sitting during a friendly football match at Kulhudhuffushi stadium.
The bright pink banner which read “India Out, Ibu Resign, Free President Yameen” was removed by the police.
This scene was livestreamed on Facebook by protest organizer and committee member of the Kulhudhuffushi PPM Secretariat Mujuthaba Ahmed.
The video showed police and a protestor pulling at the banner, with the protestor then handcuffed and taken under arrest. Protestors were heard saying, “Don’t do this. You have entered a private home without a court warrant.”
According to Mujuthaba, the police stated that protestors were not allowed within the barricaded area during the President’s visit. Police arrested Mujuthaba for resisting a police order.
