Yaser Yahya Saleh, a Yemeni national arrested during former President Abdulla Yameen’s administration, is on a hunger strike.

Yaser, who is married to a Maldivian, was arrested in 2017 while he was teaching at Ahmadhiyya International School and the Islamic University and has since been at the correctional service’s detention center in Hulhumale’.

He was arrested prior to the Saudi King’s scheduled visit to Maldives. At the time, authorities stated that he would be handed over to Immigration and deported.

In a letter to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Yaser said that he has been on a hunger strike since June 26 and will continue to be until he receives his rights and justice.

In the letter, he said that he has been kept in jail, away from his wife and daughter, without any evidence of him being a terrorist and that he is being tortured by correctional officers.

His family released a statement last year over concern that his rights are being deprived of in jail. Afterwards, Home Minister Imran Abdulla said that Yaser is involved in a serious case and that the information publicized about him are not accurate.