Famous lawyer and brother of Speaker Nasheed, Nazim Sattar, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in homosexual acts.

Speaker Nasheed took to Twitter, calling the arrest "politically motivated to appease hardline extremists in [the] coalition".

Nazim was arrested under a court order as part of the ongoing investigation into leaked videos showing several people engaging in sexual acts with a Bangladeshi resident, Alamgir, in an apartment in Male' City.

Nazim was arrested from Maayafushi resort which is owned and managed by Nazim's uncle.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) has also arrested former MP Mohamed Nasheed (Kaanal) and a Drug Enforcement Department (DED) officer, Abdul Rahman Rafeeu who are also accused of engaging in sexual acts with Alamgir.

The DED officer has been suspended from Police, and Kaanal Nasheed's passport has been seized as part of the ongoing investigations.

The Bangladeshi resident has been remanded under court order until investigation is complete.