Dr. Hassan says will demand for compensation that will deter arrest every now and then

Dr. Hassan Saeed, President of Qawmy Party, and main opposition figure, has said that he would ask the Court to for a compensation significant enough to deter the Government from arresting opposition leaders every now and then for the “crime of uttering unauthenticated speech about the Government”.

Dr. Hassan, former Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, and former Attorney General, condemned the Government for summoning leaders of his party frequently, and said that the Government had violated the fundamental rights guaranteed to the people by the nation’s Constitution. He specifically said that the right not to be arrested without a warrant of the court was rendered meaningless by the actions of the Government.

Dr. Hassan said that in their case for compensation for unlawful arrest, they would not ask for a paltry amount that the Government could just pay without any worries.

He also said that he and his colleagues would consult among them and decide whether the suit for compensation would be against Government institutions involved, or against individuals who are in charge of these institutions.

The issue of the Maldivian Government continuing to arrest opposition leaders on various charges had been brought to the attention of the international community, affirmed Hassan. He said that the US State Department had also been notified about the happenings here.

“We are updating the US on the status quo here; we are updating Commonwealth, the Amnesty International, and to them, Ahmed “Sandhaanu” Didi, or Sandhaanu Ahammaidhy, is no strange face”, said Dr. Hassan. Sandhaanu Ahammaidhy is a colleage of Dr. Hassan, who was also arrested by the Government during the last week along with a number of other opposition leaders.

“We now have the chance to tell the reality about President Nasheed; the reality that he does not actually love democracy”, said Dr. Hassan.