Police says won

If it becomes necessary to dismantle the Maldivian Democratic Party’s Usfasgandu Camp, it will be done without a court order, says the Maldives Police Services.

Speaking to the media about police operations to dismantle Usfasgandu Camp on Tuesday, Specialist Command Deputy Head Mohamed Riyaz said today that the law does not require the police to seek court order to stop criminal activities in a public place. He also said that the law clearly gave police authority to immediately take necessary actions to check and stop any criminal activities in a public place.

Riyaz said that the police does not have a resolve to seek a court order in the future for the purpose of dismantling the Usfasgandu Camp.

“We decided to dismantle the place earlier, without a court order, and we have no resolve to get one to do it in the future either”, said Riyaz.

Riyaz said that the police sought a court order to enter Usfasgandu Camp area and check it previously not due to a legal requirement, but only on consideration of the special circumstances involved and public interest. He said that it could have been done within the ambit of the law, even without a court order.

The police will decide what to do after further consideration, according to Riyaz.

He also said that the police will consider suspected criminal activities committed at Usfasgandu Camp, and the hindrances faced by public members in using the area caused by those in the Camp in any decision to dismantle it.

Riyaz also said that some people posed the question whether the law applied to the Usfasgandu Camp area anymore. He said that since the police are authorized and obliged to uphold the law, they would not allow anyone to break the law.

In response to accusations that the police used excessive force on Tuesday in their operations at Usfasgandu Camp, Riyaz said that they were baseless accusations. He said that the police did not use any unnecessary force against the protesters and those in the Camp. He said that the police did not target any particular person in their operations, and that they would respect the freedom of expression of the people in all circumstances.

The police also shared pictures and videos from Usfasgandu area, which show acts of black magic being performed at Usfasgandu Camp by MDP. Some videos also show groups of people coming out of the Camp against an army parade, using obscene and abusive language against the marchers.

Riyaz said that many complaints had been lodged with the Police by public members against activities of MDP at the Usfasgandu Camp. He said that those complaints were against such activities as performance of black magic, obstructing security services training activities, acts of violence against passers-by, and attacks against journalists of VTV.