Held a peaceful rally last night: MDP

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said it held a peaceful rally in Male' last night, despite police reporting clashes, use of pepper spray, and multiple arrests.

The protest, which began at 9 pm at Artificial Beach, turned tense when participants attempted to move onto Majeedhee Magu.

Police said the route had not been agreed upon, and accused protesters of throwing rocks and bottles, as well as attempting to seize police equipment. At least seven people were arrested, police said.

A widely circulated video showed a man carrying a police shield. In response, Homeland Minister Ali Ihusan said the forcibly taking police equipment cannot be considered a peaceful political demonstration and described it as obstruction of law enforcement.

The rally ended with a prayer led by Adhaalath Party President Imran Abdullah. Soon after, the MDP legal team held a press conference, insisting the event was peaceful and denying police claims.

“Our party did not go against the agreed route. The police themselves declared beforehand that our rally was an attempt to create unrest,” the legal team said, adding that any throwing rocks and water bottles or disruption was not carried out by MDP members or supporters.

Police said they will pursue legal action against individuals who obstructed officers.

Two days before the rally, police had stated that they received intelligence of possible attempts to bring criminal groups into the protest to disrupt public order. MDP strongly denied the allegations, accusing the government of trying to provoke unrest.