The exiled former president of the Maldives said Friday he will run again for office, hours after a surprise Supreme Court decision to free a group of political prisoners led to overnight clashes in the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago.
President Yameen Abdul Gayoom had been set to run for re-election this year virtually unopposed, with all of his opponents either jailed or exiled.
But ex-President Mohammed Nasheed, among those whose convictions were overturned, said the court's ruling means he will be eligible to challenge Yameen, who has rolled back many democratic reforms since coming to power five years ago.
"I can contest and I will contest and hopefully we will win it again," Nasheed told The Associated Press in an interview in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo.
Nasheed was jailed in 2016 but received asylum in Britain later that year after traveling there on medical leave from prison. He has lived in exile ever since.
FILE - Maldives President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, accompanied by his wife Fathimath Ibrahim, arrives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 22, 2015.
Nasheed also called for reforms in the country's security services, telling the AP that "a small element within the military and police want to prop up the dictatorship" of Yameen.
Thursday night's court ruling ordered the release of the political dissidents, saying their guilty verdicts had been influenced by politics. It also ordered new trials for all nine. It was not immediately clear how retrials would affect the upcoming elections, but the opposition alliance declared that the ruling "effectively ends President Yameen's authoritarian rule."
Violent protests
For the second night in a row Friday, protesters who support the court's ruling scuffled with police on the streets of the Maldives capital city, Male. Several people were arrested but the confrontation ended quicker than it did the previous night, when there were three hours of violent street clashes between authorities and supporters of the Maldives opposition alliance.
Maldives Attorney General Mohamed Anil said he raised government concerns about the ruling with the court's chief justice because the imprisoned politicians were convicted of offenses including terrorism, corruption, embezzlement and treason, said a government statement issued Friday.
A Maldivian opposition protester demanding the release of political prisoners is engulfed in tear gas fired by police during a protest in Male, Maldives, Feb. 2, 2018.
"The attorney general stated that the administration has highlighted concerns over the consequences that may be presented in the immediate implementation of the court's ruling," the statement said.
The prosecutor general is examining cases to determine how best to comply with the ruling, the statement added.
The country's opposition alliance expressed fears that the non-implementation of the court order "could escalate to unrest and incite violence across the country." It called on the United Nations, European Union and neighboring countries to impress upon the government and security services to respect the Supreme Court ruling.
"The government of Maldives immediately resorted to using undue force against demonstrators celebrating the apex court's verdict. Opposition supporters were met with tear gas, arrests and direct police violence while calling on the government to implement the ruling," the opposition said in a statement.
Global response
Atul Keshap, the U.S. ambassador to the Maldives, welcomed the Supreme Court order. "I urge the government and security services to respect this ruling, which bolsters democracy and rule of law for all Maldivians," he wrote on Twitter.
Maldivian opposition supporters scuffle with security forces officers during a protest demanding the release of political prisoners in Male, Maldives, Feb. 2, 2018.
Human rights group Amnesty International said the court decision should be a turning point for the nation.
The group's South Asia director, Biraj Patnaik, said the ruling must be implemented and the government's "witch-hunt against the political opposition and other critics" must end.
He said retrials of the opposition leaders must be conducted in line with international standards, and authorities must restore judicial independence.
Known for its luxury tourist resorts, the Maldives became a multiparty democracy 10 years ago after decades of autocratic rule by the current president's half-brother, strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
But the nation lost much of its democratic gains after Yameen was elected in 2013. He has maintained a tight grip on power, controlling institutions such as the judiciary, police and the bureaucracy.
The court also reinstated 12 lawmakers who had been ousted for switching allegiance to the opposition. When those lawmakers return, Yameen's Progressive Party of the Maldives will lose its majority in the 85-member Parliament.
The government has said it is trying to "vet and clarify" the court's ruling and "will work to engage, and consult with, the Supreme Court in order to comply with the ruling in line with proper procedure and the rule of law."
Nasheed in 2013 was sentenced to 13 years in prison, convicted of terrorism charges in a trial widely condemned by international rights groups.
Yameen's former deputy, Ahmed Adeeb, who had been jailed on accusations of plotting to kill the president, was also ordered released.
Adeeb was sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2016, charged with corruption, possession of illegal firearms and planning to kill Yameen by triggering an explosion on his speedboat. However, FBI investigators said they found no evidence of a bomb blast.