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Maldives police free protesters but to charge "about 30"

Xinhua, May 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Maldives police have released the majority of around 200 people arrested earlier this month in an anti-government protest but has warned some will face charges, local media reported on Monday.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has released all but 25 of the protesters that were arrested in the mass opposition rally held in Male on May 1.

Prosecutor General Muhthaz Muhsin says he will press charges against 30 of the 193 protesters arrested from a mass antigovernment protest on May 1.

"Out of the 128 cases we accepted from the police, we've forwarded around 98 cases to the committee on reviewing first time offenders. That means we will press charges against only about 30 people. That includes repeated offenders and the people suspected of attacking police officers at the protest," he told reporters.

Thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets on May 1 over the imprisonment of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed and ex- defense minister Mohamed Nazim. Police cracked down on protesters at dusk when they attempted to enter Male's restricted Republic Square, reported local newspaper Minivan News.

Nearly 200 were arrested and scores were injured, including two police officers.

Charges against protesters at present range from disobedience to order to assaulting police officers.

The opposition has criticized Muhsin over the rushed trial of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges that resulted in his being jailed for 13 years. The international community including the United Nations has critiqued the trial as politically motivated and failing to meet international standards, a claim denied by the government. Endi