Court decides to go ahead with trial against MP Mahloof, over a tweet

Criminal Court had decided move forward with a case against parliamentarian Ahmed Mahloof, over a tweet sent out regarding deaths of detainees in Maafushi Prison.

Mahloof is charged giving out false information to a law enforcement agency, over a tweet he had sent out on March 20, while in Sri Lanka.

While he had tweeted in Dhivehi, it translates to “detainees are not dying in Maafushi Prison, they are being killed. They are being killed by without providing the necessary medical attention. When 10 detainees die within a year, its an issue. Commissioner Shiyan and DOP Salman must take full responsibility. I do not know how many times I received this complaint while I was jailed”.

At the preliminary hearing held on Sunday, Judge Adam Ali determined that there is sufficient evidence to raise the charge against the lawmaker, and decided to go ahead with the trial.

Speaking prior, Mahloof’s attorney Hassaan Ahmed noted his client had not informed any institutions about anything, and that he had just tweeted the matter.

While he is accused of providing false information to a law enforcement agency, Hassaan noted it is not clear on how he had provided this information to an agency.

In response, prosecutor Shukurulla Shakeel argued that the Mahloof’s tweet had been public ‘hence he had given the information to all’, adding that there is no law that states that how an information is provided is a requirement.

Mahloof, who has been under house arrest since 4th April, told the court that he was not clear of the charge against him, noting that he had not filed a complaint to any agencies. He did not deny sending out the tweet noted in the charge.

The trial is to being next month.

The Criminal Court has also scheduled hearings over two more cases against the Galolhu-South constituency MP- over allegations of terrorism and for submitting false reports to a law enforcement body.