The Stream

What’s going on in the Maldives?

Protests, politically motivated arrests, and a state of emergency have thrown the country’s future into question.

On Thursday, February 8 at 19:30 GMT: 

A political crisis is unfolding in the Maldives, an archipelago in the middle of the Indian Ocean, after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The situation escalated, in part, because of a standoff between President Yameen and the Maldives Supreme Court. Last week, the court threw out a terrorism conviction against the country’s former president, Mohamed Nasheed. The justices also ruled that a number of President Yameen’s opponents had unfairly been convicted and ordered their release.

On Tuesday, security forces stormed the Supreme Court building and arrested two of the five justices who President Yameen accused of plotting to overthrow him. Shortly after the arrests the court reversed their ruling  to release the president’s political opponents.

Meanwhile, opposition protests have started as the cries of injustice grow louder. So what happens now? We will pose that question to politicians on both sides when they join The Stream to discuss their country’s political future.

On this episode of The Stream, we’ll speak to:  

Zaheena Rasheed @ZaheenaR

Producer, AJE Online

Eva Abdulla @evattey

Member of Parliament, Maldives Democratic Party
mdp.org.mv

Jeffrey Waheed @JSWaheed

Deputy Ambassador, Maldives

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