马尔代夫面临宪法危机

The Maldives has been plunged into chaos following the arrest of the archipelago nation’s chief justice and other top judges, hours after President Abdulla Yameen imposed a 15-day state of emergency that suspended a host of political and legal rights.

马尔代夫陷入了混乱。此前，在马尔代夫总统阿卜杜勒?亚米恩(Abdulla Yameen)下令全国进入为期15天的紧急状态并暂停一系列政治和法律权利后几小时，这个群岛国家的首席大法官和其他高级法官被捕。

The crackdown on the country’s senior judiciary — and the suspension of most civil and political rights — marks an escalation of the stand-off between Mr Yameen and the Supreme Court, which last week ordered the release of several incarcerated opposition politicians.

对马尔代夫国家高级司法机构的镇压——以及暂停大多数公民和政治权利——标志着亚米恩与马尔代夫最高法院之间的对峙升级。上周，最高法院下令释放几名被监禁的反对派政治人士。

The Supreme Court’s judgment quashed the criminal conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed, paving the way for the exiled opposition leader’s return to the Maldives to contest upcoming elections — in which Mr Yameen had expected to run virtually unchallenged.

最高法院的判决推翻了前总统穆罕默德?纳希德(Mohammed Nasheed)的刑事定罪，为这位流亡的反对派领袖返回马尔代夫参加即将进行的大选铺平了道路——外界原本预计，亚米恩在这次大选中基本不会遭遇任何挑战。

But a defiant Mr Yameen said that his administration would not honour the court order, sparking street protests in the capital, Malé, by opposition supporters who demanded that their leaders released.

但亚米恩拒绝服从，称他的政府不会遵从法庭的命令，这在首都马累(Malé)引起了反对派支持者的街头抗议，他们要求他们的领袖被释放。

Announcing the 15-day state of emergency on Monday night, a presidential spokesman said the Supreme Court’s judgment “stands in defiance of the highest authority in the country: the constitution”.

总统的一名发言人在周一晚上宣布全国进入为期15天的紧急状态，称最高法院的判决“无视国家的最高权威：宪法”。

He also said that releasing the incarcerated politicians would “raise concerns over national security”.

他还表示，释放被监禁的政治人士将“引发对国家安全的关切”。

The state of emergency gives security forces powers to arrest and detain suspects, bans public gatherings, and suspends some constitutional protections, including the right to privacy.

在国家进入紧张状态的情况下，安全部队有权逮捕和拘留嫌犯，禁止公共集会，暂停一些受宪法保护的权利，包括隐私权。

As the nature of the crackdown became clear, Mr Nasheed appealed for India to send a military expedition to its smaller neighbour to free the judges and political prisoners. He also urged Washington — which has expressed dismay at the deteriorating situation — to impose financial sanctions on Maldivian government figures.

随着这场镇压的性质变得明朗起来，纳希德呼吁印度派出远征军到其较小的邻国，以释放那些法官和政治犯。他还敦促美国政府对马尔代夫的政治人物实施金融制裁——此前华盛顿方面对马尔代夫局势恶化表示震惊。

The US, UK, India and China have issued travel advisories to their citizens, urging them to postpone non-essential travel to the archipelago.

美国、英国、印度和中国都向其公民发布了旅行建议，提醒他们如非必要，推迟前往马尔代夫的行程。