Complaints received by government about protests near embassies: State

The State said in High Court today that the Government of Maldives has received complaints from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia about protests being staged outside their official premises.

Two women, Dr Shazra Ibrahim and Aishath Shadhiya, were arrested for protesting outside embassies. They were kept in remand in custody on two occasions but later released on conditions.

Shadhiya, wife of Islamic scholar Dr Iyaz, appealed her remand in custody at the High Court.

In today's hearing in the case, the State said that Maldives is obligated to provide protection to foreign ambassadors and embassies under the Vienna Convention. They said that the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Maldives had twice complained to the government about protests outside their offices and actions that inconvenience ambassadors.

The State maintains that Shadhiya was not arrested for protesting, but rather for refusing to stop despite police orders to cease protests outside the embassy. Under the Freedom of Assembly Act, demonstrations and gathering without prior permission is only allowed in specified locations in the Male' area, the State pointed out. Hence, the State appealed to the High Court to rule that there is no need to change the order issued by the lower court.

Noorussalam Abu Bakr, legal representative of Shadhiya, denied that she had refused to comply with police orders. The lawyer said that although Police claimed in court that she had addressed them disrespectfully, no such issues had been brought up during the investigation. He added that Police had not mentioned at the time any complaints received about the protests inconveniencing embassies.

The lawyer then said that last week, Police had notified Shadhiya that an advisory agreement can be entered instead of pressing charges against her. He questioned why this was an option if she was arrested for threatening diplomatic relations. He announced that Shadhiya had rejected the proposal.

He maintains that this, too, demonstrates that Shadhiya did not pose a threat to society. He appealed to the High Court to overrule the lower court's ruling.

The bench of judges announced that a further hearing will be held in the case. Judge Huzaifa Mohamed is presiding over the case, with Judge Hassan Shafeeu and Judge Abdul Maniu Hussain also on the bench.