Maldives riot police have detained dozens of people after a series of anti-government protests demanding that President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom resign and call elections, officials said on Monday.
Police used teargas to disperse protesters who lobbed stones and flaming, petrol-soaked tennis balls at security personnel in the worst rash of violence to hit the idyllic island chain since mass protests seeking political reform a year ago.
They arrested 163 people on Sunday night, but have since released 76, acting government spokesman Mohamed Shareef said. Seven injured people were in hospital, but none was critical.
Gayoom's government accuses the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) of fomenting dissent and inciting violent protests - a charge the party denies.
Police detained MDP chairman Mohamed Nasheed, a vocal opponent of Gayoom, on Friday night after he spearheaded a 600-strong rally in Male, the capital of the Indian Ocean island cluster 500 miles (800 km) off the toe of India best known for luxury beach resorts and scuba diving.
The government said his detention was for his own safety and aimed at convincing the crowd to disperse. But he is now being held on suspicion of fomenting violence.
"Nasheed is being held on suspicion of being a key ringleader and orchestrated of the violence," Shareef said by telephone from Male.
"Police had to use teargas and water cannon to disperse the crowds," he added, saying the protesters included minors, known criminal elements and suspected MDP supporters.
Nasheed returned to the Maldives in April after 18 months of self-imposed exile in neighbouring Sri Lanka. Weeks later he was arrested on charges - which he denies - that he planned to send a mob into parliament.
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