Maldives Police Service (MPS) has arrested seven more individuals in relation to the violent disruption of the World Yoga Day event held at the National Stadium on June 21. MPS stated the suspects have been remanded by the Criminal Court of the Maldives.
MPS has so far arrested a total of 19 suspects in relation to the incident, which saw a group of individuals breaking through police barricades to enter the stadium before damaging items in the area and attacking participants at the event. MPS initially arrested six suspects on June 22. They are former Parliamentarian Mohamed Ismail, Ibrahim Razzan, Ahmed Nasooh, Abdulla Rifau, as well as religious scholars Fazloon Mohamed and Adam Nishan. Two more suspects, Ahmed Ali and Ahmed Zeeshan Nasir, were arrested on June 23. Ahmed Ali has since been remanded for 10 days while Zeeshan Nasir was remanded for five days.
On June 24, MPS arrested Ibrahim Zihaan, Ali Mirshad, Mohamed Shan, Abdulla Niyaz, and Ali Mohamed, who were remanded for 45 days. The other arrested individuals consist of Mohamed Nadeem, Mohamed Dhilyan, Shaamy Rashad Idrees, Mohamed Mausoom, Mohamed Hussain, Ameen Ahmed.
The International Yoga Day event was held on June 21 at the National Stadium by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment and the Indian High Commission in the Maldives. Youth Minister Ahmed Mahloof, Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Munu Mahawar, and foreign diplomats attended the event. The violent disruption occurred after several individuals gathered nearby to protest the event and later broke through the police barricades and entered the stadium.
The Serious and Organised Crime Department of the Crime Investigation Command of the MPS is investigating the incident. In a press release, MPS stated that the perpetrators had sought to incite fear by forcefully entering, destroying property and attempting to assault participants of the event. It appealed the public to submit any information, videos, or photos of the incident.