President defies Supreme Court in Maldives crisis

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is in the international spotlight after refusing to comply with a Supreme Court ruling to release political prisoners and reinstate opposition lawmakers. He then declared a state of emergency, deployed troops to the Supreme Court, and ordered the arrest of his half-brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was once president of the Maldives.in 30 years.

Mr. YameenBorn in 1959 in the capital Male, he attended university in Lebanon and then earned a master's degree from a university in California, USA. Under the Maumoon government, Mr. Yameen was appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry in November 1993. He later also served as Minister of Higher Education, Employment and Social Security and Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation.

Yameen has been accused by some of corruption.millions of dollars in the processas chairman of the State Trade Organization (STO)period 1990-2005,But he denied these allegations.

In May 2004, he became chairman of the Machchangolhi district of Male. Machchangolhi at that time had won many national competitions, especially in arts and crafts. Mr. Yameen focused on supporting the development of the Ahmadhiyya school, which later became the leading primary and secondary school in Male.

Mr. Yameen joined his brother's Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in 2010. He ran for president in 2013 and won by a narrow margin against his main rival, former president Mohamed Nasheed. Despite opposition protests and allegations of fraud, Mr. Yameen took office on November 17, 2013.

In 2015, former president Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison for abusing military power to detain a judge. However, Mr. Nasheed's sentence was criticized by international human rights groups as politically motivated.

Nasheed was later allowed to leave the Maldives for medical treatment and is now seeking asylum in the UK. He was one of nine politicians released by the Maldives Supreme Court last week, a surprise move given the court had previously ruled in Yameen's favour.

Last year, the PPM's parliamentary majority was threatened after 12 MPs defected from the party. The Supreme Court then ruled that these MPs should be stripped of their seats in parliament.

However, the court last week reinstated the MPs, raising the possibility that the Maldivian parliament could begin impeachment proceedings against Mr. Yameen. In response, Mr. YameenSecurity forces arrived to blockade the parliament building.

From friend to foe

Mr. Yameen had severely punished his right-hand man, former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb. The two men initially had such a good relationship that Mr. Yameen changed the law to help Mr. Adeeb keep the position of Vice President at the age of 33 (the Maldives constitution stipulates the minimum age for Vice President is 35).

Things changed after September 28, 2015, when an explosion occurred on a speedboat transporting President Yameen from the airport to Male, injuring his wife and two aides. Although initial reports suggested the explosion may have been caused by engine failure, the government insisted it was an assassination attempt and asked international law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to investigate the cause of the explosion.

The FBI found no evidence that the boat was bombed, but the Yameen government rejected that conclusion and said Adeeb was behind the incident. In 2016, Adeeb was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In 2016, an investigation byAl JazeeraIt is alleged that Mr. Yameen and Adeeb embezzled $79 million from the national treasury and that large bags of cash were delivered to Mr. Yameen's home. Adeeb was convicted of embezzlement and had his prison sentence increased. President Yameen was not prosecuted, although he admitted last year that he knew the money he received was illegitimate.

Mr Yameen also initially had a good relationship with his half-brother, former president Maumoon, but their alliance broke down in 2016. Last year, Mr Maumoon decided to join forces with Mr Nasheed to form a new opposition alliance. After Mr Yameen declared a state of emergency, former president Maumoon was arrested.

The Maldives Supreme Court on February 6 overturned a ruling to release nine political prisoners, hours after President Yameen ordered the arrest of two judges. The three remaining judges of the Supreme Court issued a statement saying the previous ruling was revoked "in light of concerns raised by the President."

With this development, Mr. Yameen seems to have the advantage. "He has the army backing him and his support within the party is quite solid," said independent analyst Abbas Faiz.

Phuong Vu