'I'm not guilty of anything' says MP Faris after attending police questioning

MP Faris Maumoon, the son of former longstanding President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, said on Thursday that the allegations for which a travel ban was recently imposed on him are a personal attack with no legal basis.

After having spoken to officers on Thursday, following a summon to the headquarters in capital city Malé, MP Faris said that he is facing allegations of misusing the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’s (PPM) flag and logo.

“I am not guilty of the charges placed against me, if I have ever used the party’s flag or logo, I did within my legal rights” he said.

MP Faris said that Thursday’s statement to the police would be his last on the matter, and maintained that he is willing to face trial.

“That is the truth of the matter, I have nothing more I want to say or can say, this is no legal matter, it is a personal one, if they want me to face trial they should file the case with the prosecutor’s office” Faris continued.

PPM, of which one faction is loyal to President Abdulla Yameen and the other to Faris’ father, announced that they were contemplating legal action against Faris in March.

The party announced this when it condemned the parliamentarian’s appearance at a press conference with members of the opposition alliance, where each speaker had a flag of their respective party hoisted behind them.

The party accused him of attempting to tarnish its name and defame the nation in public, adding that Maumoon’s use of the flag in union with those representing ideologies that clashes with that of PPM is unacceptable.

Faris’ name was removed from PPM’s registry at the Elections Commission, citing a Civil Court order which vests administrative rights of the party with President Yameen.

Prior to this, he faced disciplinary action for having violated a party whip-line – where he voted against a government-sponsored amendment to Maldives Tourism Act, which allowed the government to lease lands without bidding.