Mohamed Nabeel, who has been slammed for posting videos on social media platform TikTok while crossdressing and posing as a woman, has claimed that he does it under his right to freedom of expression.

Nabeel, 39, was arrested under a court order on Saturday for posting videos of himself on social media platform TikTok crossdressing and posing as a woman, in clear violation of general social norms in the Maldives, a “100” percent Muslim country.

Upon being presented to the Criminal Court for his remand hearing, Nabeel was jailed for 15 days. At the hearing, Nabeel stated that he posts such videos under his right to freedom of expression.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) is currently investigating the case further.

The man was sentenced to one year behind bars back on 22 September 2022 in a similar case.

After completing his prison sentence, the man returned to making TikTok videos that are generally deemed offensive to the general public.

This had in turn churned public outcry, with several pouring out onto social media voicing concern over the lack of action against the man.

Following this, Chief Superintendent of Police Ahmed Shifan took to ‘X’ to announce that probes have been launched in connection with the videos the 39-year-old has been uploading on social media.

Nabeel faced two counts of charges earlier including one count of making pornographic content, which was proved against him at court and he was sentenced to one year behind bars. The second is a count of possessing pornographic materials and content, which was proven against him and he was given a one-month and six-day sentence.