Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom denies all the charges against him, according to his lawyer Maumoon Hameed.
In a police press conference, the acting Commissioner of Police Abdullah Nawwaz claimed that Gayyoom was arrested for bribing lawmakers, exerting undue influence on the judiciary and bribing judges, and conspiring to illegally stage a coup, as well as inciting violence and calling the security forces to revolt against the government.
Hameed had tweeted in his client's defence, stating that Gayyoom had denied all the charges levied against him by the state.
He said: “A proper investigation would not hide under cover of State of Emergency shy away from the clear light of rule of law, or fear the accountability of due process, or be terrified of an independent judiciary."
Former deputy Prosecutor General Hussian Shamem, who is also amongst the former president's lawyers, revealed Wednesday that when Gayyoom tried to speak to his lawyers in Arabic, the police had disallowed it, and said that they can only speak to their client in Dhivehi. However, Shameem noted that the law does not specify a language to be used when communicating with clients.
Shameem also claimed that, despite the serious allegations raised against Gayyoom, the police had not begun its investigation, and that Gayyoom had not been questioned yet.
Harsh criticism was aimed at the government - particularly President Yameen - for arresting his half-brother, who had contributed greatly to the presidential election campaigns which had ended in Yameen's favour.
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