35 days since incarceration; ex-President's son-in-law yet to be questioned

While it has been over 35 days since the arrest of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son-in-law Mohamed Nadheem, his lawyer Moosa Siraj says that he is yet to be questioned over any of the allegations against him.

Nadheem, wife of Maumoon’s daughter Yumna, was arrested along with his father-in-law, hours after a state of emergency was declared on 5th February. He is accused of bribing parliamentarians in an attempt to overthrow a lawfully elected government.

He is being kept in detention under the ongoing state of emergency, as he could obstruct the police’s investigation into the allegations against him and destroy the evidence.

Siraj had previously said that officers of the Maldives Correctional Services had been giving his client ‘water used to clean toilets’ for drinking, adding that his client’s health has decline significantly since incarceration.

Nadheem’s case has been filed at the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM), with a meeting requested with the members of the commission.

The political unrest in the country intensified following an order by the Supreme Court on 1st February releasing high-profile political prisoners, a ruling which incumbent President Abdulla Yameen refused to enforce.