After Friday prayers, at around 1430hrs NSS issued final warning to the crowd. However they refuse to leave the Republican square. Using the previously described commotion as an excuse, the riot police pounced on the protesters, beat them brutally with truncheons and arrested a number of protesters. Women were also beaten with truncheons and they sustained severe injuries. Ambulances were rushed to the hospital with casualties. Tear gas was used on the crowd at around 1500hrs. Senior MDP member Muad Mohamed Zaki was violently beaten by seven NSS officers with wooden planks in broad daylight as he was dragged to the NSS Headquarters. This alerted the British Parliament and European Union officials that Muad was communicating closely with while he staying in the UK representing Maldivian Democratic Party and working to free Sandhaanu political prisoners in Maldives. Thousands of protestors were blindfolded, handcuffed and beaten on that day as law and order seemed to have temporarily disappeared.