Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom has stated the strategy behind former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom declaring state of emergency last year was to publicly disgrace him.
In a statement issued to coincide with the one year anniversary of the highly criticised move by Yameen, his elder brother and former President Maumoon said the move was not only unconstitutional but also in contravention of basic constitutional rights and in defiance of the judiciary. Noting it was obvious the true intention behind declaring state of emergency was to arrest him, Maumoon said it was himself and son-in-law Mohamed Nadheem who were first arrested and incarcerated under the state of emergency.
The former president noted while a year has passed since, it has become clear the accusations levelled against him were baseless. He called on the government to take action against those responsible for the brutality.
Maumoon stressed if action is not taken against those responsible for the events that followed the 2018 state of emergency declaration, people in positions of power would not hesitate to carry out unlawful and brutal actions.