Malé, Maldives – Former President and Speaker of the Maldives Parliament Mohamed Nasheed stated on Thursday that his brother Ahmed Nazim’s arrest earlier tonight was politically motivated to appease hardline extremists in the government coalition.
Speaker Nasheed stated this in a tweet following his brother’s arrest following a leaked video of allegedly Nazim engaged in same-sex sexual relations.
Nasheed claimed that Nazim’s arrest was made against criminal procedures and have been targeted selectively by the incumbent government.
Nasheed has previously come to the defense of parliamentarians and his brother regarding the same issue stating that he would not stand by as parliament members are maliciously persecuted using their private affairs. The Speaker stated this in a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Police requesting to direct all investigations of parliamentarians through the parliament.
Police arrested three high-profile individuals earlier today regarding leaked videos portraying same-sex sexual relations, including prominent lawyer Ahmed Nazim, former MP for Nolhivaramfaru constituency Mohamed Nasheed (Colonel) and a police officer belonging to the Drug Enforcement Department Abdul Rahman Rafeeu.
The first arrest in the case was Bangladeshi citizen Alamgir, with who was the common denominator in a sex scandal involving over 200 high-profile individuals.
