MALE — Dozens of pro-opposition supporters were injured and many were arrested after police in the Maldives broke up countrywide protests demanding the resignation of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the release of his political opponents from prison.

Thousands of people took part in the protests in the archipelago nation on Friday despite the country being under a state of emergency.

Several people were hospitalized with injuries and many protesters were arrested, but hospital and police officials refused to provide numbers. The injured included about 10 reporters who were covering the protest.

Police said in a statement on Saturday that the demonstrators had ignored warnings that the right to protest has been suspended under the state of emergency.

“In spite of the warning, certain political leaders encouraged this protest, encouraged citizens to face off against security services personnel,” the statement said.

“We also note that the actions of some journalists mirrored that of some protesters,” it said, apparently trying to explain how the reporters were injured.

The Maldives has been in political turmoil since Feb. 1, when the country’s Supreme Court ordered the release of several of Yameen’s political opponents imprisoned after trials that were criticized locally and internationally for alleged violation of due process.

The prisoners include Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first president elected in a free election, who could have been Yameen’s main rival in his re-election bid later this year.

After days of conflict with the judiciary, Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency and had the country’s chief justice and another Supreme Court judge arrested on bribery allegations. Yameen’s half brother and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, whom Nasheed defeated in the country’s first democratic election 10 years ago, was also arrested for conspiring to overthrow the government.

Meanwhile, a senior Maldives diplomat told Reuters in an interview that Maldives will seek help from other countries to investigate judges suspected of taking bribes and “hijacking” the Supreme Court to drag the island nation into political crisis. “That was a direct attempt by the Supreme Court to halt the whole country and go into a deadlock,” said Ahmed Shiaan, Maldives ambassador to the European Union.

He showed Reuters a Maldives police statement which said a bag containing $215,000 and 150,000 rufiyaa ($9,700) belonging to one Supreme Court judge had been found, and that $2.4 million had been separately wired to the judge by a private firm.

Shiaan said that judge, and a second judge on the Supreme Court, had been arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes from Gayoom to deliver certain verdicts in his favor. Gayoom himself has been arrested over allegations that he solicited bribes to topple the government.

“Together, it amounted to collusion to use the Supreme Court to overthrow a democratically elected and constitutional government,” Shiaan said in the interview.

Gayoom’s lawyer Maumoon Hameed said he was detained under the state of emergency without any evidence or due process, which was unacceptable.

“If this is such a huge investigation and Gayoom is a dangerous person of interest why have they not questioned him in over 140 hours?”

Lawyers for the two judges said their clients also denied all the charges. One said his client had been refused permission to deny the charges.

“So far what we know is that they (the two judges) have made at least 12 visits in the past few months to various countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Netherlands and UK. And they have bought or acquired very expensive items (or) properties,” Shiaan said.

“So the investigation is not limited to Maldives. Hence, we would need assistance from other countries for the investigation.” — Agencies