Social media activist 'Shumba Gong' Ashraf, released

Social media activist Ahmed Ashraf has been released from state detention.

Ashraf, widely known by his online persona Shumba Gong, was released at a remand hearing at the Criminal Court on Monday.

A staunch supporter of former vice president Ahmed Adeeb, Ashraf was arrested in 2015 while living in Sri Lanka.

Ashraf has been in house arrest since March of 2017, having been transferred after 14 months of detention. He has been in state custody for over three years.

While he was initially accused of involvement on a reported attempt on former President Abdulla Yameen’s life, Ashraf was ultimately detained for allegations of intimidation.

Yameen claimed an ‘explosion’ on a vessel operated by the President’s Office was an attempt on his life orchestrated by his political enemies, with the prime ‘suspect’ now being Adeeb.

However, an FBI investigation has found that there was no substantial evidence of an explosion on the vessel.

Ashraf was accused of intimidating Zahid Rameez, a council member of the Progressive Party of Maldives, currently led by Yameen, and from whom Adeeb has been estranged.