Maldives crisis: Army told to block any impeachment move

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Security forces in the Maldives sealed off the parliament building on Sunday as the crisis over the Supreme Court’s order to release jailed politicians, including former president Mohamed Nasheed, and reinstate 12 opposition lawmakers deepened.

President Abdulla Yameen has refused to apply the ruling and instead suspended parliament, leading to speculation the court could try to impeach him.

Attorney General Mohamed Anil said on Sunday that the army had been ordered to prevent any effort to arrest or impeach the president.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen. /VCG Photo

"We have received information that things might happen that will lead to a national security crisis,” Anil said. "Any Supreme Court order to arrest the president would be unconstitutional and illegal. So I have asked the police and the army not to implement any unconstitutional order."

Soldiers in riot gear surrounded the parliament after the opposition called for the attorney general and chief prosecutor to be removed for failing to carry out the court’s order, al Jazeera reported.

Police detained two opposition lawmakers who returned to the country on Sunday.

The tussle between the court and the president is threatening to spark a constitutional crisis and undermine Yameen's control of the Indian Ocean island nation.

What sparked the dispute?

The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the immediate release of Nasheed and eight other opposition leaders and said they should be tried again, saying the previous proceedings had violated the constitution and international law.

In its ruling ordering the release of the former president, the Supreme Court said it found that prosecutors and judges had been unduly influenced "to conduct politically motivated investigations" into the allegations levelled at Nasheed and others.

Opposition supporters celebrate the Supreme Court's decision to order the release of jailed political leaders near the capital Male, February 2, 2018. /VCG Photo

The nine had been jailed on charges ranging from terrorism to treason and corruption. The court also ordered the reinstatement of 12 lawmakers who had been stripped of their parliamentary seats by Yameen's party for defecting last year, saying their removal was unconstitutional.

Why won’t Yameen comply?

The reinstatement of the legislators, who now belong to opposition parties, would cause Yameen's party to lose its majority in the 85-member parliament and expose him to the risk of impeachment.

Should the opposition reach a majority, they would be able to unseat the speaker, who is a member of the ruling party, and pass no confidence motions against government officials.

Yameen has ignored the order, although he has stopped short of definitively saying he will not obey it. He fired two police chiefs who said they would uphold the court verdict last week, however.

Yameen could seek to arrest the chief justice of the Supreme Court and other judges on corruption allegations, Western diplomats told Reuters. That would allow him to reverse the Supreme Court ruling, but at the risk of exacerbating a constitutional crisis.

Yameen vs Nasheed?

Close allies of Yameen told Reuters his main concern is that Nasheed has said he can prove the current president engaged in past corrupt deals if freed. Yameen has denied corruption allegations.

Nasheed, who has worked with lawyer Amal Clooney to expose alleged abuses in the Maldives, hopes to contest elections due by October.

Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed (R) and British lawyer Amal Clooney pose after Nasheed arrived at Heathrow airport in London, Janurary 21, 2016. /VCG Photo‍

The former president, currently living in exile, won elections in 2008, but was forced to resign in 2012 after ordering the arrest of a top criminal court judge, Abdulla Mohamed, for alleged corruption. He then lost the 2013 election to Yameen, and was sentenced to a 13-year jail term in 2015 for arresting judge Mohamed.

The army is supporting Yameen. On Sunday several police and soldiers said in a live broadcast they were ready to sacrifice their lives "in the defense of the lawful government.” The combined opposition says they fear a military takeover of the islands to preserve Yameen's grip on power.

Yameen has so far ignored international calls to heed the court decision and solve the political crisis through dialogue.

(With inputs from agencies)

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