Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed's arrest triggered a wave of street protests and clashes with police in the crowded capital Male. The island's Supreme Court and prosecutor general have called for Mohamed's release, but he remains in military custody. Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem wrote to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Commonwealth asking them to "urgently dispatch" a team of jurists, President Mohamed Nasheed's office said on Sunday.
"The letter is a follow-up to suggestions made late last week during phone calls between the president and senior UN and Commonwealth officials," the statement said.
Opposition parties said police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of activists at a protest on Friday night and that dozens were detained, raising to 82 the number of arrests in the past few days. Naseem said the judicial impasse represented "a systemic failure" and deeper structural reforms were needed to restore judicial independence.
"This system-failure led directly to the President's decision, as the ultimate guarantor of the Constitution and of rule of law in the Maldives, to detain Justice Abdulla Mohamed," he said. Naseem said the government was keen to resolve the crisis in an orderly and peaceful manner. The government last week raised fears that Islamic extremism were taking hold in the Indian Ocean island nation, best known for its upmarket tourism and as a destination for honeymooners.