Yemeni national's deportation process stalled, refuses to cooperate with authorities: Immigration

Yemeni national Yasir Yahya is still under detention, with the Maldives Immigration saying that he is not cooperating with authorities.

Yahya was arrested in March 2017, on terrorism allegations. He was arrested days prior to a scheduled visit by the Saudi King, which was later cancelled.

The court order authorizing his arrest, based entirely on a police intelligence report, described Yahya as a suspect in recruiting locals to an international terrorist militia.

While the police had ordered the Yemeni national to hand over his passport, they had also conducted a raid at his house in an attempt to confiscate the document. However, he refused to do so on the grounds that it was “not property of the Maldivian state.”

The Immigration media official told RaajjeMV that Yahya is detained under the powers granted to it under Article 21 of the Maldives Immigration Act.

While Yahya’s permit to stay in Maldives has been revoked, Article 21 (c) of the Act states that “a foreign national remaining in the Maldives after the revocation of his permit to remain in the Maldives, or a foreign national remaining in the Maldives without any permits is strictly prohibited.”

The Immigration official added that the decision to deport Yahya was made as he “could be a threat to national security.”

The official further said that the deportation process has been stalled as he refuses to cooperate with the authorities.

Home Minister Imran Abdulla has also previously revealed that work was being done to deport him, adding that disclosing details in the case could lead to chaos in the country.

Yahya, a school teacher at both Ahmadhiyya and Arabiyya Schools, was arrested on 3rd March 2017. He has been detained at the Immigration Detention Center in Hulhumalé since.

He is married to a Maldivian, and his wife was expecting at the time of his arrest.