Police officials in Maldives arrested a former prosecutor for allegedly issuing a fraudulent arrest warrant to arrest President Abdulla Yameen. The presidential spokesman announced to the public that a judge was also involved in issuing such warrant to the president without requesting to the police.
Fox News reported that the president's spokesman, Ibrahim Hussain Shihab says that Judge Ahmed Nihan and former Prosecutor General Muhthaz Muhsin were arrested on Sunday Night. Shihab said that the warrant is fraudulent because it didn't originate from any official authority.The warrant that was issued was related to a corruption allegation against President Abdulla Yameen.
Former opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed, who is now in London for surgery, released a statement saying the government was trying to cover up corruption and money-laundering. Nasheed was Maldive's first democratically elected president. Last March, he was sentenced to 13 years on charges that were related to terrorism over the alleged abduction of a judge which drew an outcry from international human rights group, as reported by Voice of America.
According to ABC News, the police officials of Maldives are currently investigating a complaint against President Yameen of embezzlement of state funds, which is the reason for the warrant. Meanwhile, President Yameen has not responded to the allegations thrown against him. In 2008, Maldives held its first multiparty party election, but its transition to democracy has been very difficult with its judiciary as the bureaucracy and police still deemed heavily politicized.
In recent years of conflict inside Maldives' government, Nihan is the second sitting judge who was arrested. Meanwhile, Nasheed was released temporarily few month ago because he was scheduled for surgery in London due to spinal condition and it is uncertain whether he will return home or move to other countries. Maldivian Democratic Party, which Nasheed is an active member, said that it had evidence to implicate the president's corrupt activities.
