The MDP Parliamentary group condemns the attack on the Maldivian Democratic Party’s Deputy Leader Rozaina Adam, by the Majority Leader, Government MP Ahmed Nihan, and also strongly condemns the Speaker of Parliament for clearly endorsing this barbaric attack on a female MP, as he continued the Parliamentary proceedings despite protests from opposition MPs, and after scuffles broke out in Parliament.

Majority Leader MP Ahmed Nihan spat on MP Rozaina’s face, during today’s Parliamentary session, over allegations of corruption. MP Rozaina was standing in front of MP Nihan protesting his verbal attack on her family, when he took a mouthful of water from the glass on his table, and spat in her face.

Today’s actions by the Government Majority Leader are an example of the absolute impunity with which the Government continues to intimidate and harass opposition MPs, in and outside the parliament house. The actions of the Speaker of Parliament today is also one of a long line of examples of refusing to censor the behaviour of his own party MPs, and the Speaker’s own deliberate attempts to sabotage the opposition’s legislative and oversight work.

The Government abuses its parliamentary majority to curtail motions submitted to the floor and to committees, uses its majority to hinder any investigation into attacks on opposition MPs, including a number of physical attacks, death threats and unlawful arrests by the Police. All opposition MPs have received death threats, 7 opposition MPs are facing criminal charges for peaceful protest, and a number of opposition MPs have been beaten and jailed by the authorities over the last year, without any condemnation from the Speaker. The Speaker has also refused to request security for the threatened MPs, despite MPs being entitled to state security, by law. Female opposition MPs have been physically attacked on a number of occasions inside the Parliament, and a Government MP threatened to “rape” opposition female MPs, inside the chambers. None of these acts of intimidation have been investigated or censored by the Speaker of by the Parliament.

MDP Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih called the attack “the most vulgar act” in the parliament’s history, and called on the Speaker of Parliament to “uphold the institution and its democratic values, and to ensure the Parliament is a safe place for all MPs to work without fear of harassment and intimidation.”

Video of the attack can be accessed here

ENDS