News Desk
MALE’ — Former President Mohamed Nasheed said on Sunday he will continue attending street protests even without security protection, after a Majlis committee ruled that former presidents are not entitled to MNDF security detail when participating in demonstrations.
The decision was made at a closed session of the People’s Majlis Security Services Committee on Tuesday, proposed by PNC MP for Kelaa constituency Abdullah Shareef. Three committee members voted against it: MDP’s Abdul Ghafoor Moosa, MNP’s Mohamed Nazim and Thulhadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Aboobakur.
Nasheed described the decision as a serious threat to public safety, not just to former leaders.
“Attacks on political leaders have mostly happened during gatherings. Not only in the Maldives. Look at South Asia, Asia, Africa. Most of the time attacks happen during political gatherings,” he said. “Security forces should provide the most protection precisely at those moments, because the risk of a terrorist attack is always highest in crowds.”
He noted that attacks at public gatherings put not only the leader but ordinary citizens at serious risk.
The concern is not abstract for Nasheed. On 6 May 2021, he survived a bomb attack outside his residence in Male’ that left him with severe injuries requiring months of treatment abroad. It remains one of the most serious terrorist attacks on a political figure in Maldivian history. The perpetrators were convicted but questions about who commissioned the attack have never been fully resolved publicly.
Nasheed has spent much of his political life on the streets. His reform activism before the Maldives transitioned to democracy in 2008 led to multiple prison terms. Since rejoining the MDP and taking the chairperson role, he has said he intends to increase the party’s street presence.
Some observers have suggested the committee’s decision is specifically designed to deter Nasheed from attending the ongoing protests over the jailing of two journalists and the broader press freedom dispute. Nasheed did not accept that framing but made clear the ruling would not keep him away.
MNDF security for former presidents is currently provided under a military regulation. The committee’s decision to suspend that protection specifically during protests has no precedent and sits uncomfortably against the backdrop of what happened to Nasheed in 2021.
