Charges have been raised Abdulla Luthufee, the mastermind behind the 1988 coup d’état, for fleeing from prison.

The Prosecutor General's (PG) Office (PG) has forwarded charges against Luthufee to the Criminal Court for fleeing from prison after being granted medical leave in 2010 while serving a 25-year sentence over the 1988 attempted coup.

According to the PG Office, charges against Luthufee were pressed under section 537 of the penal code.

Detailing the charges, the PG Office stated that charges against Luthufee were raised for going into hiding until May 1st 2019 by escaping from prison after departing for India on 16th January 2016 under medical leave while serving a 25-year sentence issued by the High Court and under the supervision of the Department Of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services.

The fugitive is currently doing time at Maafushi Prison after being extradited to the Maldives in May, following him turning himself into the Maldives embassy in Colombo on May 1st 2019, after the neighbouring country launched a nation-wide search following the Easter Sunday terror attacks. This was only revealed to the public on 24 June.

The attempted coup in capital city Malé on 3 November 1988 by a Sri Lankan militant group took the lives of 19 Maldivians. Due to Luthufee’s involvement, he was initially sentenced to death, which was reduced to life imprisonment by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

While he was granted medical leave during former President and current Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed’s administration, the former administration of Abdulla Yameen was observed to be negligent in the case as well.