Parliament accepts committee report on Fayyaz, Azim arrests

The parliament has accepted the report by the Parliament Committee on Privileges, in which it concluded that the police had reasonable grounds to arrest MPs belonging to Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Medhu-Henveyru MP Ali Azim and Gan MP Fayyaz Ismail, during recent protests.

The report on Azim’s arrest was accepted with 40 votes in favour, and one abstention; and the report on Fayyaz’s arrest was accepted with 39 votes in favour, and two abstentions.

The committee said in the report that the arrests were not politically motivated, and noted that the MPs were allowed to attend parliament sittings while in police custody.

The matter was discussed with the police prior to the compilation of the report, the committee said.

Both MPs have been released – Azim on 5 March on the condition that he does not participate in protests for 60 days, and Fayyaz yesterday after 15 days in police custody.