No gatherings without prior written approval: Ministry of Home Affairs

Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday declared that street protests, marches, parades, and other gatherings can only be held with "prior written approval by Maldives Police Service", with the exemption of the comparatively secluded carnival area in the Henveiru ward of capital Male'.

The declaration is in accordance with the controversial first amendment ratified by former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, to the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Act on August 23, 2016.