Following the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA)'s decision to suspend 54 lawyers, former President Mohamed Nasheed has called on the international community to impose targeted sanctions against the Chief Justice, Abdulla Saeed.
In a tweet posted on Sunday night, the former President noted that the 54 lawyers were suspended "for raising concerns on lack of rule of law," adding that the "international community must impose targeted sanctions against the Chief Justice".
SC suspends 54 lawyers for raising concerns on lack of rule of law. Intl community must impose targeted sanctions against the Chief Justice.
— Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) September 10, 2017
Furthermore, in a tweet posted in Dhivehi, Nasheed noted that the 54 lawyers were suspended against the Constitution, calling on the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and Maldives Police Service (MPS) to "arrest those responsible".
54 lawyers, out of the 56 who filed a petition expressing concerns over the judiciary and called for reform, were suspended on Sunday night.
The other two had already been suspended.