Opposition Jumhoory Party (JP) leader and Maamigili MP Gasim Ibrahim’s lawyers on Monday alleged that he was arrested unlawfully and appealed his arrest at the criminal court.
MP Gasim was arrested last Thursday over allegations of bribing fellow lawmakers and making incitements to overthrow the government in a speech he gave during a JP rally before the censure motion against parliament speaker Abdulla Maseeh. Further, the police have also accused the business magnate of trying to destroy evidence that may implicate him.
One of MP Gasim’s lawyers, Hisaan Hussain confirmed that the case has now been filed at the criminal court and that it has also been lodged with the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM).
According to Hisaan, Gasim was arrested in contravention of the parliamentarians’ privileges and immunity laws. The constitution only allows a lawmaker to be arrested from a scene of a crime if the authorities acquired an arrest warrant from a superior court, which must be requested directly by the prosecutor general’s office.
However, according to Gasim’s lawyers, his arrest warrant was issued by the criminal court on direct request by the police.
The criminal court has JP’s leader remanded for six days.
The opposition coalition has claimed that the government is descending into autocracy and has been heavily critical of its “crackdown” on the opposition.
Meanwhile, most of Maldives’ international partners, including the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) have all echoed the call to find political common ground between the ruling parties and the opposition.
