The Criminal Court on Sunday remanded Aishath Shadhiya and Shazra Ibrahim into custody for an additional five days following their arrest for protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.
The two women had been detained for gathering, and protesting, near diplomatic missions in violation of the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Act (Act No. 1/2013), harassing an ambassador and for obstructing the police in the performance of their duty, the Maldives Police Service said.
The two were arrested on August 28 and remanded into custody for three days, after which they were presented before the Criminal Court on Sunday and remanded for an additional five days.
Police did not confirm which ambassador or diplomatic missions reported the women.
The arrest of Shadhiya, 47, and Ibrahim, 36, was condemned by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Adhaalath Party, who called for their immediate release. However, the administration defended the police action, stating that solidarity with Palestine can be expressed without harassing diplomats.
Shadhiya and Ibrahim had been consistently protesting near the British Embassy, the German Embassy, the UN Offices in the Maldives, and the residences of the British and Saudi ambassadors.
