Transparency Maldives have strongly condemned Maldives Police services for continued obstruction of free assembly and press.

Last night, Police had notably used excessive force to disperse the rally by the opposition coalition and pepper sprayed several members of the opposition as well as journalists covering the protest.

Regarding this in a tweet today Transparency Maldives stated that the use of force and non-lethal weapons at recent opposition protests reinforces concerns about the application of human rights principles of necessity, proportionality and legality in deciding to use force.

Hence, they urgently called on the Human Rights Commission, National Integrity Commission and Prosecutor General's Office to carry out mandated responsibilities to investigate the disproportionate use of force on those exercising their rights to free expression and assembly and the continued impunity of Police in restricting these freedoms.

They also called out to these organisations to carry out a full and urgent investigation into the actions of the Police, the institution and its personnel.

Additionally, they reiterated their calls to the government and the People's Parliament to work together to bring the law into compliance with international human rights laws and revoke unconstitutional provisions which unduly limit the exercise of the right of peaceful assembly.