Maldives lifts state of emergency with immediate effect

Male: Maldives on Tuesday lifted state of emergency with immediate effect, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon confirmed.

Announcing the decision, Maumoon said, “All fundamental rights restored in the Maldives,” adding that “there are no restrictions on any fundamental rights in the country.”

He also said that security forces have arrested individuals who held illegal weapons, and the overall security situation in the country has improved.

A month-long state of emergency was declared by the president Abdulla Yameen last week.

Earlier, Maumoon had said that the emergency was declared in the face of an unprecedented security threat, but that information from defence officials gives hope that it could be reviewed in the coming days.

The decree last Wednesday came after a September 28 blast aboard president's boat that authorities called an assassination attempt. The explosion was followed by reports that an arms cache and a homemade bomb apparently targeting the president had been found.

The emergency, which gave vast powers to security forces and police to search and arrest suspects and suspended important citizens' rights, brought widespread local and international criticism.