MALDIVES: Opposition seeks to bar president from leaving country
Opposition in the Maldives asked the police to bar President Abdulla Yameen from leaving the country hours after he announced plans to step down in the face of a likely defeat in a court case challenging his election loss. Yameen, who presided over a five-year crackdown targeting opposition, media and rights activists, “must not be […]
MALDIVES Opposition seeks to bar president from leaving country
Opposition in the Maldives asked the police to bar President Abdulla Yameen from leaving the country hours after he announced plans to step down in the face of a likely defeat in a court case challenging his election loss.
Yameen, who presided over a five-year crackdown targeting opposition, media and rights activists, “must not be allowed to leave the country” without facing justice over allegations of corruption, opposition lawyer Hassan Latheef told reporters in the capital Male late on Wednesday.
“We are receiving credible reports Yameen may leave the country at any minute,” Latheef said outside police headquarters, urging the police to “stop Yameen’s departure given ongoing investigations into allegations of corruption”.
The police could not be reached for comment immediately.
Ibrahim Muaz Ali, spokesperson for Yameen, dismissed the opposition’s claim, saying the president “will never flee and was ready to cooperate with any investigation”, according to newspaper Mihaaru.