Maldives police arrest judge, ex-prosecutor general

A presidential official in the Maldives said police have arrested a judge and a former prosecutor general for issuing an arrest warrant for the country's president without the police requesting one, in the latest political turmoil in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Ibrahim Hussain Shihab, a spokesman at the president's office, says former Prosecutor General Muhthaz Muhsin and Judge Ahmed Nihan were arrested last night.

The warrant was issued in relation to a corruption allegation against President Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

A government statement said police found out about the arrest warrant yesterday morning when a group tried to hand over the document to police officials.