Afghan authorities jail Maldivian man found guilty of terrorism
Ali Shafiu was arrested with his wife and four children
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A Maldivian man has been found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to 21 years, in Afghanistan.
Police revealed this via a statement on Tuesday, saying that the Ali Shafiu was arrested with his wife and children last year.
The family is to have departed to Pakistan in October 2018, after traveling to Sri Lanka for medical in June that year. He is to have entered Afghanistan through Pakistan.
Police said that an investigation conducted with foreign bodies, after reports of Shafiu traveling to Pakistan from Lanka, proved that he was active in the country.
Shafiu and family were arrested from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province on 11th November 2018, and the Maldives police were informed of this through Interpol.
They were informed that Ali Shafiu had traveled to Afghanistan to join the Islamic State, and that this was proven by the IS “propaganda videos” found on a digital device that was confiscated from him.
Police said that it had contacted all relevant institutions in Afghanistan following reports of Shafiu’s arrest, adding that a joint investigation was conducted to determine the circumstances of his departure to join the terrorist organization.
As such, police said that they had identified the network that facilitated Shafiu’s departure, as well as its senior officials. These details were shared with Afghan authorities.
While Shafiu has been sentenced to 21 years in prison, the police did not say whether work is being done to extradite him back to Maldives, or where his wife and children currently are.
In addition, police also revealed that Ali Shafiu had attempted to flee to Syria with his ex-wife in February 2015. Noting that they were stopped at Velana International Airport, police said that he was arrested in September that year over allegations of weapons’ possession. He was released in January 2016, due to lack of evidence.
Maldivians were among the 243 ISIS members that surrendered and were subsequently arrested in Afghanistan, in November.
