Court releases home ministry media coordinator

Thazmeel Abdul Samad, media coordinator at the Ministry of Home Affairs, has been released after over a month in police custody.

Thazmeel, arrested on 24th February for having “connections” with Specialist Operations (SO) police officers, was released on Tuesday after being presented to Criminal Court for remand extension. Eight officers have since been arrested, over allegations of conspiring to overthrow the government.

Following his arrest, Thazmeel has been dismissed from his post at the home ministry, and his details have been removed from its website.

He is a close ally of former Home Minister Umar Naseer, who resigned in June 2016 and has since joined the opposition Jumhooree Party, and it was the minister that introduced Thazmeel to the political arena.

In addition to Thazmeel, Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF)’s Special Protection Group Officer Ali Shujau was released by the Criminal Court on Tuesday as well. He was rearrested on March 16.