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Agence France-Presse

Associated Press

The Maldives government has declared a 15-day state of emergency amid a deepening political crisis between the president and the judiciary over its order to release a group of imprisoned opposition leaders.
Legal Affairs Minister Azima Shakoor announced the state of emergency on state television Monday evening local time, prompting a swift response from the US government.
“America stands with the people of Maldives. The Maldivian government and military must respect the rule of law, freedom of expression, and democratic institutions. The world is watching,” the White House National Security Council said in a post on Twitter.
China warns tourists to postpone trips to the Maldives


America stands with the people of Maldives. The Maldivian government and military must respect the rule of law, freedom of expression, and democratic institutions. The world is watching.
— NSC (@WHNSC) February 5, 2018

The Maldives crisis has been sparked by President Abdulla Yameen’s refusal to release nine jailed dissidents and reinstate opposition lawmakers, per a shock ruling by the Maldives’ top court.
We request the international community ... to do everything in their power to help return power to the people
Maldive opposition lawmakers
Opposition leaders in the country on Monday urged the international community to pressure Yameen into obeying the court order and “restore democracy” to the troubled honeymoon islands.
The Supreme Court on Sunday asked Yameen to comply with its order, saying the dissidents must be released because their trials were politically motivated and flawed.
But the strongman leader has remained defiant, suspending parliament, ordering the arrest of two returning opposition defectors and staging a rally on Sunday with hundreds of supporters in the capital Male.
In a letter addressed to the international community, Maldive opposition lawmakers appealed for external support in persuading Yameen to end the tense stand-off with the country’s highest court.
“We request the international community, including India, Sri Lanka, the US, Britain, the EU … to do everything in their power to help return power to the people of the Maldives and restore democracy,” the statement read.
Maldives faces national security crisis as top court seeks to impeach president
Yameen has faced increasing pressure to respect Thursday’s landmark court ruling, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the weekend calling for “restraint” as the crisis escalated.

The United Nations, Australia, Britain, Canada, India and the United States welcomed the court’s decision as a move towards restoring democracy in the troubled Indian Ocean nation.
Yameen has faced previous unsuccessful opposition attempts to impeach him for alleged corruption.
But the court order, to restore the seats of 12 government MPs who defected to the opposition, would effectively reduce Yameen’s party to a minority.
Attorney General Mohamed Anil warned Sunday that any move to impeach the president would be “unconstitutional and illegal”.
Two opposition lawmakers who returned to the Maldives since the court’s ruling were detained by police to face court on Monday.

One was freed by a criminal court in Male, while the other awaits a hearing.
Parliament, due to resume Monday, was suspended indefinitely at the weekend by Yameen, who has deployed troops to occupy the People’s Majlis since March last year.
Opposition parties rallied in Male on Sunday, but there was no repeat of the police clashes and tear gas that rocked the capital over the weekend.
The court’s ruling also opens the way for exiled former leader of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed to run for president after the Supreme Court quashed his conviction for terrorism.
Nasheed – who was barred from contesting any election after a controversial 2015 conviction on a terrorism charge – has described Yameen’s refusal to obey the Supreme Court as a “coup”.
Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party said the court’s ruling “effectively ends President Yameen’s authoritarian rule”.
Yameen’s crackdown on dissent has tarnished the Maldives’ image as an upmarket holiday paradise.
He has jailed almost all the political opposition since 2013, when he won a controversial run-off election against Nasheed.


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Maldives’ embattled president calls state of emergency amid protests calling for his impeachment

Strongman president has ignored a court order to free political prisoners and reinstate opposition lawmakers

Maldives defence soldiers patrol on the main street of Male, Maldives, Monday, Feb. 5, 2018. The Maldives government has declared a 15-day state of emergency as the political crisis deepens in the Indian Ocean nation amid an increasingly bitter standoff between the president and the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/ Mohamed Sharuhaan)

In this late Sunday, Feb.4, 2018 photo, Maldivian opposition supporters shout slogans during a protest as they the urge the government to obey a Supreme Court order to release and retry political prisoners, including an ex-president in Male, Maldives. The political crisis in the Maldives deepened Monday, as the government of the island nation said it would not obey a Supreme Court order to free a group of imprisoned opposition leaders. Placards in Divehi language from left, to right, read, "protect the citizens , carry out the supreme court's order, free political prisoners and to uphold justice". (AP Photo/ Mohamed Sharuhaan)

FILE PHOTO Abdulla Yameen takes his oath as the President of Maldives during a swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Male November 17, 2013. REUTERS/Waheed Mohamed/File Photo

Opposition supporters protest against the government’s delay in releasing their jailed leaders. Photo: Reuters

Maldives facing ‘national security crisis’ as top court seeks to impeach President Yameen over jailed politicians

Maldivian president Yameen Abdul Gayoom surrounded by body guards greets supporters in Male. The Supreme Court is said to be trying to impeach the president for not releasing a handful of lawmakers. Photo: AP

This handout image released on February 2, 2018 by Mihaaru shows supporters of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) celebrating the Supreme Court's decision to order the release of jailed political leaders near the capital Male. Tensions ran high in the Maldives on Friday after a shock Supreme Court decision to clear the exiled former president and eight other convicted political dissidents triggered overnight clashes between police and opposition activists. / AFP PHOTO / Mihaaru / Handout / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / MIHAARU" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

A Maldivian opposition supporter stands facing police during a protest demanding the release of political prisoners in Male, Maldives, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018. The exiled former president of the Maldives said Friday that the government must abide by a Supreme Court ruling to free a group of political prisoners, hours after clashes erupted in the Indian Ocean archipelago's capital in the wake of the surprise verdict. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sharuhaan)

Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed poses for a photo following an interview with Associated Press in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018. The Maldives' Supreme Court ordered the release of imprisoned politicians, including exiled ex-President Mohamed Nasheed, saying their guilty verdicts had been politically influenced. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Maldives opposition says government is reneging on deal to release eight political prisoners

A Maldivian opposition supporter among police during a protest demanding the release of political prisoners in Male. Photo: AP

Newly elected Maldives President Abdulla Yameen raises his hand at his party's headquarters for election day, at Nasandura Palace Hotel in Male November 16, 2013. Yameen won the Maldives presidential election run-off on Saturday, narrowly defeating the favourite Mohamed Nasheed in a ballot that voters hoped would end two years of political turmoil that has hit the vital tourism sector. Picture taken November 16, 2013. REUTERS/Waheed Mohamed (MALDIVES - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS)

China warns tourists to postpone trips to the Maldives

The Maldives is a popular spot for Chinese holidaymakers. Photo: Imaginechina

Opposition supporters protest against the government's delay in releasing their jailed leaders, including former president Mohamed Nasheed, despite a Supreme Court order, in Male, Maldives, February 4, 2018. Pictures taken February 4, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

(FILES) In this file handout photo received from the Maldives Presidency on October 25, 2015, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen speaks of the dismissal of Vice President Ahmed Adeeb from his duties during his Address to the Nation in Male. Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen on February 5, 2018 declared a 15-day state of emergency, his aide Azima Shukoor announced, deepening the political crisis in the Indian Ocean nation. The move gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects, and comes amid a tense standoff between the Supreme Court and the government. / AFP PHOTO / MALDIVES PRESIDENCY / HO

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Strongman president has ignored a court order to free political prisoners and reinstate opposition lawmakers
