Reference: 33/03/2012

7 March 2012

Dr. Mohamed Waheed’s spokesperson yesterday issued a thinly-veiled threat to the former President, Mohamed Nasheed, warning him that the protections and immunities afforded him as a former Head of State are not guaranteed. On the same day, in a concerted move to intimidate the former President and his supporters, the PPM party of former President Gayoom, which dominates the new Government, submitted five criminal cases against Nasheed to the police.


Speaking at the President’s Office yesterday, the chief spokesperson said: “There are several legal impediments to providing President Nasheed with the protection and immunities that are to be provided to those persons who have been the President of Maldives by our Constitution and the law”. This is a first step in Government attempts to remove protections and immunities to clear the way for legal and other moves against President Nasheed.


At the same time, senior members of the PPM “submitted” five cases to the police and asked them to be investigated. This move – a clear attempt to politicise the police and to use the police as a political tool to consolidate PPM’s hold on power – was clearly coordinated with the announcement of the President’s Office. The cases concern political decisions taken by President Nasheed while in Office.


MDP’s international spokesperson, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, said today: “This is clearly the opening barrage in a coordinated attempt by the Gayoom old guard to intimidate President Nasheed and the MDP, and thereafter to raise the possibility of his arrest and imprisonment. We urge the international community to be vigilant”.

ENDS

Hamid Abdul Ghafoor
Spokesperson, International Affairs
Mobile: +9607778285
Tel: +9603340044