04:56: Since President Yameen declared a state of emergency late Monday night, five arrests have been made - three of which (Chief Justice Abdullah Saeed, Judge Ali Hameed and Judicial Service Administrator Hassan Saeed) were made from the premises of the Supreme Court. Earlier in the night, former strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom and his son-in-law Mohamed Nadheem were arrested from their home in the capital.
While Gayyoom and Nadheem have been taken to Dhoonidhoo Detention Centre, it is not known where the judges would be taken.
The apex court judges were reportedly holed inside the court, since "nobody could go out or come in", according to former Attorney General Husnu Al-Suood.
04:20: While the reason for the prominent judges' arrest is still not clear, Maldives Police Service has said that there is evidence that could implicate Judge Saeed and Judge Hameed in the Judicial Administrator Saeed's alleged corruption case. The police said that an official case was lodged with the institute, which is why it is investigating the claims "seriously" - however, no further details were revealed.
Meanwhile, the judges, as well as Saeed's family deny the allegations.
04:04: Chief Justice Abdullah Saeed and infamous Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed have been arrested, seven hours after the troops stormed the court.
Maldives Police Service confirmed via Twitter that Judge Hameed was arrested in relation to an "on going investigation" - though the details were not divulged.
03:30: Police search the residence of Judicial Service Administrator Hassan Saeed who was arrested earlier in the night and charged with corruption, allegedly over an issue with acquiring an apartment.
The police had searched his house early on Monday as well.
The police has not yet revealed whether any evidence was attained from Saeed's home.
03:20: UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has also issued a statement on the state of emergency declared by the president late Monday night.
His statement reads:
"I am gravely concerned about the declaration of a state of emergency in Maldives, and the accompanying suspension of fundamental rights. The damage being done to democratic institutions in Maldives and the sustained misuse of process in Parliament is deeply worrying."
"I call on President Yameen and the Government of Maldives to peacefully end the state of emergency, restore all articles of the constitution, take immediate steps to implement in full the order of the Supreme Court, and to permit and support the full, free and proper functioning of Parliament."
03:12: Maldives government is under a lot of international international pressure as many governments, including the US have called on the government to respect the court order and has stated that it is observing the situatuon in Maldives closely.
Meanwhile, Yameen administration's close ally China, along with UK and India have issued travel warnings to Maldives.
03:00: There are five top court judges currently in the Supreme Court while the troops continue to occupy the area. This includes Chief Justice Abdullah Saeed and infamous judge Ali Hameed. It is still not clear what they are doing in court; however, there was buzz on social media that the two judges are going to be arrest - though this has not been confirmed.
01:50: Hours after marching in to the Supreme Court and barricading the premises off, an arrest has been made.
Mihaaru is aware that the Judicial Service Administrator Hassan Saeed was arrested and charged with corruption in acquiring an apartment.
The Criminal Court had issued an arrest warrant for Saeed on Sunday; however, it was quickly nullified.
Judicial Service Administrator oversees all administrative procedures of the Judicial Service Commission.
23:55: Riot police commences a raid on Cafe Al Fresco in the vicinity of the Supreme Court. The cafe was reportedly being cleared since many journalists had been waiting there following the development at the apex court.
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The Maldivian military late on Monday night, stormed in to the premises of the Supreme Court.
The area surrounding the court in the capital Male had been barricaded off and riot police guarded the premises of the apex court. Reporters were also barred from getting close to scene.
The Department of Judicial Administration confirmed the raid via Twitter in an alarming tweet that read, completely in caps: "The National Defence Forces of the Maldives have broken into the Supreme Court of the Maldives."
Opposition supporters continued their protest in the vicinity of the top court.
Shortly before the troops marched in to the Supreme Court, the President's Office's Legal Affairs Minister Azima Shukoor announced that President Yameen had declared a state of emergency to be in force for a period of 15-days.
With the declaration of the state of emergency, several Articles of the Constitution were suspended, leaving the judiciary and the Supreme Court without any authority.
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