Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident. (Representative)
Man:
Maldives police used tear gas and pepper spray to control a crowd of people who disrupted a yoga event organized by the Indian High Commission, or Embassy, ​​in the capital Male on Tuesday morning, an organizer said.
Crowds stormed a stadium where more than 150 people, including diplomats and government officials, were taking part in an event celebrating International Yoga Day, attacking attendees and vandalizing property, one of the organizers, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak with the media, told Reuters.
Previously, protesters held up signs proclaiming that yoga was against the tenets of Islam.
Islam is the state religion in the Maldives, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean with a population of around half a million.
Police responded with riot control and then used pepper spray and tear gas to control the crowd and secure the area, Police Superintendent Fathmath Nashwa told Reuters.
Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident, Nashwa said.
Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said a police investigation into the incident had begun.
“This is being treated as a matter of grave concern and those responsible will be promptly brought to justice,” Solih said on Twitter.
.
