President Abdulla Yameen Thursday afternoon lifted the state of Emergency, ending an almost 45-day long state of emergency in the Maldives.
The announcement was made by the Legal Affairs Minister at the President’s Office Azima Shukoor and Attorney General Mohamed Anil at a press conference held at the President’s Office.
The state of emergency would no longer be in effect from 12pm on Thursday, Azima had declared.
The state of emergency was first announced late on February 5, for a period of 15-days, following an unprecedented ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1 which ordered the release of nine high-profile political prisoners and including former President Mohamed Nasheed, axed Vice President Ahmed Adheeb, and also reinstated the 12 lawmakers who were unseated last July for floor-crossing. It was extended by 30 days in an extraordinary parliament sitting when the initial 15-day period expired.
A statement from the President’s Office claimed that the state of emergency was declared after a Constitutional crisis was created by “two justices of the Supreme Court who conspired with political actors to violate both the Constitution and standard legal norms and practices in order to illegally overthrow a lawful government, and whose actions constituted an imminent threat to national security.”
“Though there still exists a diminished threat to national security, the nation can now continue without further losses incurred, and upon the advice of the security services, and in an effort to promote normalcy, the President has decided to lift the state of emergency,” the statement read, ensuring that the three branches of the state will remain independent and the checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution will be safeguarded.
Just hours after the state of emergency was declared, Chief Justice Abdullah Saeed and Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed were arrested from the premises of the court. They have since been charged with attempting to orchestrate an act of terrorism, accepting bribes and obstruction of justice.
Many prominent individuals were arrested during the state of emergency, including the Judicial Administrator Hassan Saeed, former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom and his son-in-law, opposition Jumhoory Party’s leader Qasim Ibrahim’s son Siyad Qasim, former Police Commission Ahmed Areef and several opposition activities who rallied on the streets deeming the state of emergency to be unconstitutional.
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