The political leaders of the Maldives are calling for the immediate release of Jumhoory Party’s leader Qasim Ibrahim after his sudden arrest late Thursday.
Police arrested Qasim with a court order issued by the Criminal Court over Qasim’s alleged attempt to bribe parliamentarians in connection with the motion of no confidence that was recently taken against parliamentary speaker Abdulla Maseeh. The accusations against Qasim in the court order also include attempts to influence the armed forces and working to unlawfully overturn the government.
The court order read that Qasim is under arrest to prevent him from tampering or doing away with any evidence pertaining to these charges. It added that his free movements among society are being viewed as potentially threatening to the safety and security of the community.
Political leaders shortly voiced concerns over the arrest of Maamigili Constituency’s lawmaker. Among them are former presidents Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Mohamed Nasheed.
In a tweet, Former President Maumoon said he was “shocked to learn that JP Leader Hon @qasimibrahim has been arrested. He must be released immediately. Rule of law must prevail.”
Former President Nasheed strongly condemned Qasim’s arrest and urged “all Maldivians to come out and protest.”
The leader of the Maldives United Opposition (MUO) and the first vice president of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration, Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, declared that Qasim was arrested on “dubious charges”.
“The world must not stand by as #Maldives regime barbarically targets opposition,” he said in a tweet.
The former Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer also called on the government to immediately release Qasim Ibrahim, remarking that his arrest indicates that the current administration “has lost the political battle.”
Meanwhile, renowned lawyer Maumoon Hameed raised questions whether the state has evidence to back Qasim’s arrest which was made based on a police intelligence report. He also noted that decisions to detain the accused in cases forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office falls under the authority of the PG Office and not the investigative team, which, in this case, is Maldives Police Service.
Police had previously summoned Qasim to headquarters twice to interrogate him regarding his public statement to provide special allowances to lawmakers that vote in favour of passing the motion of no confidence against Speaker Maseeh. They had taken his photograph and audio samples for the investigation before forwarding the case to the Prosecutor General’s Office to press charges against Qasim. However, the PG Office has returned the case to Police upon the latter’s request, saying that the case has additional aspects to be completed.
Speaking at an opposition rally held by the joint opposition coalition last Sunday, Qasim had urged lawmakers to vote against Speaker Maseeh, promising to provide electoral tickets and back the opposition parties to enable their lawmakers to run for another term. According to Qasim, these parties include Jumhoory Party, religiously conservative Adhaalath Party, main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and lawmakers of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) that vote against Maseeh.
Qasim has since repeatedly denied the bribery allegations against him, remarking that as he was referring to the lawmakers of these allied parties, his statement can be interpreted in various ways.
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