The Maldivian president announced the sacking of his defense minister Mohamed Nazim on Tuesday, days after police carried out a pre-dawn raid on the former army officer’s home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“President Abdulla Yameen has today dismissed… Col Mohamed Nazim from the post of minister of defense and national security,” the presidency said in a statement, without giving any reason for Nazim’s removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yameen had appointed retired army general Moosa Ali Jaleel, 54, as the new defense minister, the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nazim’s sacking comes after police were seen taking away unspecified documents during a raid early on Sunday, after reportedly obtaining a search warrant on suspicion that he was “harboring weapons and explosives”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sacked minister played a key role in toppling the country’s first democratically elected leader, Mohamed Nasheed, who claimed he was the victim of a coup in February 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nazim, then a retired officer, sided with mutinous police and troops who forced Nasheed to step down. Nasheed later said he resigned because he feared violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking to reporters after his sacking, Nazim insisted there was no grounds for the police to raid his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“In which country of the world do police kick down the door to a defense minister’s home and proceed to destroy all doors and conduct a raid at 3:30 am while the defense minister is asleep,” the local Haveeru news service quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nazim said he would not give up politics, and would hold the government to account by working with opposition parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Maldives is known for pristine beaches and secluded coral islands popular with honeymooners, but the nation of 330,000 Sunni Muslims is plagued by rising religious intolerance and political unrest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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