COLOMBO: The nephew of Maldives president Abd­ulla Yameen has been arre­sted for allegedly bribing politicians to challenge the ruling regime, the opposition said on Wedne­sday, warning of further reprisals in the troubled honeymoon islands.

Faris Maumoon, an MP and son of former president Maumoon Abdul Gay­oom, was taken into custody after police searched his home in the capital Male on Tuesday.

Opposition parties alig­ned against Yameen issued a joint statement condemning the arrests.

Ibrahim had helped Yam­­een win a controversial 2013 run-off election against Moh­a­med Nasheed, the head of the main opposition Mald­ivian Democr­atic Party (MDP).

But after a fallout, Ibra­h­im joined the growing ranks unifying behind Nasheed and the MDP to topple Yameen.

The opposition this mo­nth secured enough support from government defectors to begin impeac­hment proceedings against the speaker, in a bid to wrest control of parliament from Yameen before presidential elections next year.

The latest arrests come a week before parliament is due to vote on the impeachment proceedings.

“The opposition fears the imminent arrest of more members of parliament who signed the impe­a­c­hment motion,” the oppo­­sition said in its statement.

The first attempt to impeach the speaker spar­ked chaos when Yameen ordered troops to enter parliament and remove dissenting opponents by force.

That move attracted international condemnation, with the United States urging the Maldives to restore faith in democracy.

The political unrest has raised fears over stability in the islands and tarnished its image as a tourist paradise.

Nasheed became the Maldives’ first democratically-elected president in 2008, but he was narrowly defeated by Yameen five years later in a controversial run-off election.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2017