Thursday’s hearing in former Tourism Minister Ali Waheed’s sexual assault trial has been closed to the public.

Waheed was arrested in the United Kingdom on Wednesday as he was preparing for a virtual press conference, for overstaying his visa which is to have expired on August 10. RaajjeMV understands that the disgraced former minister is currently detained in UK, hence Thursday's hearing was held online.

Seven counts of sexual assault charges were raised against the former minister in November 2020; one count of attempted rape, one count of sexual abuse, one count of indecent exposure, one count of sexual harassment and one count of attempted sexual harassment. He is also charged with two counts of solicitation of sexual favors.

While Waheed had a travel ban at first, Criminal Court released his passport in February following a medical leave request and Waheed left to the United Kingdom the same day. He failed to return despite the expiration of the four-month period granted to him by the court which ended in June, and the lower court accepted another of Waheed’s request, this time to conduct his hearings online while he remains in the UK.

Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office refused to accept the lower courts decision, however, both the High Court and Supreme Court rejected the appeal case over the lower court's decision to release Waheed's passport. The top court later accepted PG's appeal case over Criminal Court's decision to proceed with the trial online while the former minister remained abroad.

The PG Office's biggest concern with Waheed attending the hearings online from abroad is that court hearings should be held where the state can implement the verdict of a Maldivian court.

While the Supreme Court had held a hearing in the appeal case earlier this month, with Waheed's presence required at court for the hearing, he was a no-show. Hence, the top court sentenced him to two months and 12 days in prison for contempt of court.

After the court ruling, police confirmed efforts to arrest the former minister through Interpol and UK authorities.

The former tourism minister denies the accusations against him, saying it is "politically motivated".