MP Riyaz Rasheed is pursuing defamation charges against Hussein Jabeen, who was previously chair of the Vilufushi island council, which is part of his constituency.

Jabeen had been taken to the island’s police outlet for questioning over the matter.  He is facing allegations for slandering the parliamentarian on social networking platforms – Facebook and Twitter.

He had reportedly not been informed of what these charges entail specifically, and the officers had told been that he would only privy to this information once they move forward with their investigation.

Jabeen has been given a total of 18 hours to prepare his defence and attain a lawyer.

Jabeen, whose candidacy was disqualified by the Supreme Court, is currently serving a sentence under house arrest for vandalism. He was convicted in April 2015 for destroying a metal pole that the Maldives Road Development Corporation had placed.