Maldives police have denied accusations of torture against a Maldivian militant and his family in Afghanistan.

While an alleged note by Shafiu accusing Maldivian police of torture and inhumane acts have been circulating online, the institution categorically denied this.

Noting that these accusations have no truth to it, police refuted any inhumane treatment of the family.

Police further noted that those that spread hatred towards security services and its officers through social media will be investigated, and action will be taken.

Police said they learnt of the arrest of Shafiu, his wife and four children through Interpol on 18 November 2018.

While the institution had released a press statement on the matter back on 3 December 2019, police said that this was after a team travelled there in February for a joint investigation with Afghan authorities.

In the trial that ensued following their arrest, Shafiu was found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to 21 years.

According to the 2019 statement, Shafiu’s family is to have departed to Pakistan in October 2018, after traveling to Sri Lanka for medical purposes in June that year. They are to have entered Afghanistan through Pakistan.

They were arrested from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province on 11th November 2018, police said that Interpol had informed them of this adding that he had traveled there to join the Islamic State. This was proven by the IS “propaganda videos” found on a digital device that was confiscated from him. The network is to have facilitated the family’s arrival in Afghanistan.

In addition, police also revealed that Ali Shafiu had attempted to flee to Syria with his ex-wife in February 2015. Noting that they were stopped at Velana International Airport, police said that he was arrested in September that year over allegations of weapons’ possession. He was released in January 2016, due to lack of evidence.

243 Maldivians with links to ISIS were arrested in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province in November 2019, including 71 men, 63 women and 107 children.

Maldivians were among the 243 ISIS members that surrendered and were subsequently arrested in Afghanistan, in November 2019.