Gaumee Party has said today that a case will be filed to argue against every person involved in the arrests of Gaumee Party’s Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and Council Member Sandhaan Ahanmaidhy.
In a Press Conference held at the Gaumee Party Office today, Dr Hassan Saeed said that they have enough evidence to file a case, and that arguments will be made against the State, the Home Minister and individual Police Officers.
“Every one of them is under oath to work in accordance with the country’s Constitution. The Constitution clearly says that nobody should comply with unlawful demands,” Hassan said.
He said that no Police Officer can get away by claiming that they were following orders. Every Police Officer and civil servant has the option of not complying with orders demanding for illegal actions.
He further said that the government acts in this manner as a result of the decline in public support for them. They no longer have the capacity to verbally stand up to or fight their opponents within the framework of the Constitution, and are therefore instead taking advantage of their authority to sustain superiority.
Hassan said that he had been closely involved in the arrests of Dr Jameel and Sandhaan Ahanmaidhy in the past two days, and that the Police have indicated that they were not the ones to request or initiate these arrests.
He also said that he was present at the investigation of Sandhaan Ahanmaidhy. The investigation was being carried out as per normal until the arrival of Home Minister Hassan Afeef at the scene, at which point a decision was made to arrest Ahanmaidhy.
“I met several senior members of the Police. The Police keep saying that they are very sorry about this case, and that they do not want things done in this way. They said they can’t help it, they are only following orders,” said Hassan, who previously held the post of Attorney General of Maldives. Dr Jameel also participated in the Press Conference held today. He said that one basic right guaranteed by the Constitution is that citizens cannot be caught and arrested, and therefore the Police have no right to arrest people as they please.
Jameel also said that the Home Minister should work for the benefit of all Maldivian citizens, and that Hassan Afeef does not have the right to order the Police to treat certain people a certain way.
In addition, Dr Hassan said that the government is arresting political groups because they are running out of options and going into a state of panic. Signs are beginning to show, of President Nasheed losing his status in the international arena as well. He also said that they will continue to inform the international society of the illegal acts of the current government, and that President Nasheed will soon face pressure from the outside world.
“In the following months, heads of several international organisations will arrive in the Maldives to monitor the government’s activities,” Hassan said.