MALE, July 21, 2010 . No political figure should be held in custody when the government and opposition parties go for peace talks to resolve the current crisis, President Mohamed Nasheed said Wednesday.
The President made the comments at a press conference held at President’s Office Wednesday afternoon, in response to a question asked about opposition Mulaku MP Abdulla Yamin, who is in the armed forces “protective custody.”
Responding to claims that Yamin is being held illegally, President Nasheed said the armed forces acted “on my orders” and added that his commands were within the boundaries of law.
“There is a lawsuit filed in the matter you are referring to. The court has not decided the process is illegal. I think it is not acceptable to point fingers at each other claiming that it is illegal when there is no court ruling,” he said.
Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) deployed armed personnel on July 14 taking Yamin away to Aarah island after violent clashes between government and opposition supporters outside his home.
Yamin was earlier arrested by police on charges of treason and bribery of parliamentarians. But the Supreme Court released the MP overruling a High Court warrant to hold him in 15 days house arrest.
The armed forces flunked an order to bring Yamin to Criminal Court to determine the legitimacy of his detention and refused to cooperate with the court to conduct a hearing in his absentia.
The President reiterated that the armed forces were acting according to the laws and added that he did not believe that those involved in a case could prevent a court decision.
President Nasheed noted that Yamin’s custody is based on National Security Council’s decision.
“[Yamin’s custody] will change once we believe that the situation has changed. I cannot take a risk on the safety of a political figure. Several times in the past several people, who were brought to Male by several politicians on various arguments, have perished. Their monuments are outside Male. I would not allow something similar under my leadership. I do now want that to happen,” he said.
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