A political crisis in the Maldives intensified on after President Abdulla Yameen decided to disobey the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

order to release 9 political prisoners and reinstating 12 parliament members which will give the opposition control of the chamber and potentially paving the way for Yameen's impeachment. On 5 February 2018 president Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency and ordered the arrest of two judges of the Supreme Court of the Maldives, including

Chief Justice of the Maldives The chief justice of the Maldives is the most influential member of the judicial branch of the Maldives. He is appointed by the president of the Maldives. He is a member of parliamentary committee and one member of the five Supreme Court justices. ...

Abdulla Saeed Abdulla Saeed ( dv, އަބްދުﷲ ސައީދު; born 25 September 1964) is a Maldivian politician, who was the Chief Justice of the Maldives from September 18, 2008 to August 10, 2010 and December 15, 2014 to June 20, 2018. On February 6, 201 ...

and justice Ali Hameed Mohamed and former President ''(also his half-brother)''

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (; dv, މައުމޫން ޢަބްދުލް ޤައްޔޫމް; born 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician and an Islamic scholar who served as the President of Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as Minister of Trans ...

Events

February 1, 2018

After a few hours after the

released the court order on its website. The state-owned TV channel

Television Maldives Television Maldives is the public service broadcasting TV channel of the Maldives. It was formed on March 29, 1978. In 2009, the management of Television Maldives (TVM) and national radio, Dhivehiraajjeyge Adu Voice_of_Maldives">nowiki/>Voice_o ...

and Channel 13 owned by president Abdulla Yameen went to discredit the order by saying the

website was hacked. The

immediately responded by tweeting the website is not hacked.

Maldivian Democratic Party The Maldivian Democratic Party ( dv, ދިވެހި ރައްޔިތުންގެ ޑިމޮކްރެޓިކް ޕާޓީ, ''Dhivehi Rayyithunge Dimocretic Pati''; MDP) is the first political party formed in the Republic of Maldives with a total membership ...

was already holding a small peaceful gathering in front of their campaign headquarters who heard the news and many broke into tears including some Parliament members. They announced a gathering to be held on February 2, 2018, that night at 2:00 a.m.

Cabinet ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries ...

question authenticity of the court order and said that they have not been able to be in contact with the

and they are trying to get direct communication with the justices. President Abdulla Yameen fired the Commissioner of Police Ahmed Areef and replaced by Ahmed Saudhee, claiming that Areef was not attending his phone calls. Ahmed Saudhee also fired back by saying that he was trying to follow the court orders and president Yameen did not allow him to do his job. The opposition held a peaceful rally 2 a.m midnight to celebrate the court ruling. Maldives Police Service an hour after the rally started used

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...

and pepper spray to disperse the crowd and leaving many affected.

February 3, 2018

The opening of

People's Majlis The People's Majlis ( dv, ރައްޔިތުންގެ މަޖިލިސް; ''Rayyithunge Majilis'') is the unicameral legislative body of Maldives. The Majlis has the authority to enact, amend and revise laws, as outlined in the Constitution of t ...

was cancelled for security reasons and was being rescheduled as soon as it was possible. President Abdulla Yameen fires Acting-Commissioner of Police Ahmed Saudhee, and gave no clear reason why he fired Saudhee. Presidents office staff released a small statement only saying: President Abdulla Yameen hold a rally and officially announce his re-election and say he was not expecting the

ruling, the state and all relevant authorities have to do a lot of work to see how to implement it. Special Operations Police were posted outside the

s house. Upon hearing rumours he was about to be arrested the public gathered and had clashes with Special Operations Police the people who gathered were backed off successfully and Special Operations Police Maldives Police Service released the statement they were not going to be arresting Justice

February 4, 2018

Attorney general alongside acting-police commissioner Abdulla Nawaz and Chief of Defence Force

Ahmed Shiyam Major General (Retd) Ahmed Shiyam was serving as the Chief of Defence Force of the Maldives National Defence Force. He was appointed to this post on 9 February 2012. Military career and training Shiyam joined the Maldivian National Defence ...

holds press conference saying they will not obey any order to impeach president Abdulla Yameen. Secretary General of the parliament Ahmed Mohamed resigns citing “personal reasons.” Opposition lawmakers submit no-confidence motion against

prosecutor general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, Aishath Bisham,

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, Mohamed Anil,

home minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minist ...

, Azleen Ahmed, and

defence minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

, Adam Shareef for their refusal to comply with the Supreme Court order.

February 5, 2018

Criminal Court orders the immediate release of Faris Maumoon from detention. President Abdulla Yameen declares a state of emergency for 15 days, Suspension of 20 constitutional rights, and the Criminal Procedures Act and parts of the Judges Act. Maldivian military forces gather around the

supreme court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

and try to break into the court by forcing the gate open. Former president

and his son-in-law Moamed Nadheem got arrest on charges of trying to overthrow the government

February 6, 2018

After multiple attempts to break into the

special operations climbed up the roof of the high court (same building) and broke the windows of the supreme court and forced justice Ali Hameed and dragged chief justice Abdulla Saeed on the floor out of the

. Former president

Mohamed Nasheed Mohamed Nasheed GCSK (; born 17 May 1967) is a Maldivian politician and activist currently serving as the 19th speaker of the People's Majlis since May 2019. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Party, he served as President of the ...

requests India's intervention. State of emergency amended to suspend more legal rights, including the right to remain silent and be brought before a judge within 24 hours. Ibrahim Siyad Qasim, son of opposition leader

Qasim Ibrahim Qasim Ibrahim (born February 10, 1951), also known as Buruma Qasim is a Maldivian politician, business magnate and philanthropist. As the chairman and founder of the Villa Group, he is one of the country's wealthiest businessmen. Ibrahim ra ...

arrested.

Response

Former President

, currently in exile in the UK, called for India to send a military-backed diplomatic mission to compel the release of political detainees, and for the US and UK to freeze the financial transaction of Maldivian government officials. The Indian government stated that they regard the situation as "disturbing". ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' reported that the Indian Armed Forces were on standby for "deployment at short notice" on potential operations in Maldives, ranging from the evacuation of nationals to a military intervention akin to that in the 1988

Operation Cactus Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

References

{{Reflist 2018 in the Maldives

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...