Protests dispersed due to impact on public lives: Police

Thursday night's youth-led protests demanding justice for Hawwa Yumnu Rasheed, the 21 year old woman found fallen onto the roof of a warehouse on April 18, was dispersed to protect the interest of students and based on the impacts it had on public lives, said Maldives Police Service.

Police used force to disrupt Thursday night's protests, which took place near Henveiru Police Station on Majeedhee Magu at around midnight, and arrested two. Officers also used pepper spray to break up the protest, which turned into a confrontation.

The two individuals arrested were Abdulla Mahzoom Majid, 28 and Aishath Shiman Ahmed, 19, police said.

According to police, Mahzoom was arrested for obstructing police duties, disobeying orders, and attempting to assault an officer. Shiman was arrested for disobedience and obstruction of duty, police said.

In a statement, police said the agency had received continuous complaints of businesses and traffic being disrupted due to the protests which held up one of the busiest roads in Male' city.

“During this protest, we repeatedly advised against activities such as playing music and playing games like table tennis and carom by blocking Majeedhee Magu, which is an important road for traffic flow,” police said in a statement.

Police also highlighted that Friday would mark the beginning of O'level exams, and said legal warning was issued before breaking up the protest.

According to media reports, protestors did play table tennis, carom and the occasional loud music on Majeedhee Magu last night.

While there were considerably less protestors on Thursday night, they reportedly gathered outside other areas of Malé following the protest being dispersed.

Considering the public outrage regarding Yumnu's case, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has formed a presidential commission to investigate the allegations against police.