Detained lawmaker's appeal to constituents: vote for opposition in September's polls

Detained lawmaker Abdulla Sinan has appealed to his constituents to support the opposition coalition in the fast approaching presidential polls.

While Wednesday marks six months since his 'arbitrary' detention, a tweet from Sinan's personal twitter account said that he will not back down 'no matter how hard or difficult the journey is'.

"I will fight till the last breath", he added.

In a separate tweet sent out in Dhivehi, the Mahchangoalhi-South constituency MP called on his constituents to vote for the opposition candidate in September's ballots, assuring them he will meet them 'soon'. The Joint Opposition has decided to field a common candidate for the election, with a presidential candidate from Maldivian Democratic Party and running mate from Jumhooree Party.

While Sinan remains detained since early February, RaajjeMV understands that the tweets were sent out on his behalf by a family member.

He turned himself into police on February 9, after the institution launched a manhunt for him, and has since been charged with terrorism over his alleged involvement in the controversial Supreme Court ruling on February 1, which ordered the release of political prisoners and reinstatement of opposition lawmakers.

Elected to parliament through a ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) ticket, Sinan is one of the many PPM lawmakers that signed the no-confidence motion against Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed in July 2017. It was at the time that Sinan decided to leave the party as well.

Prior to that, Sinan had been a close associate of First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim and was the secretary general at her Sadqat Foundation.