Deputy Minister at the Education Ministry, Ibrahim Areef- arrested for allegedly threatening a High Court judge- has been issued a 10-day remand.

Haneef was arrested on Tuesday under a court order, over allegations that he had sent a gang to threaten the life of High Court Judge Shujau Usman. Prior to the arrest, he was summoned to the police on Tuesday, with investigating officers confiscating his phone.

When taken to his remand hearing on Wednesday, Criminal Court ruled to keep him in custody for 10 days, as police investigated the matter.

RaajjeMV understands that the proof against Haneef are, an audio clip in which two individuals are heard speaking in Addu dialect and the statement of a government aligned coordinator.

Police have confirmed that they have launched an investigating into a case involving Haneef, but did not reveal further on the matter.

While both Haneef and Shujau hail from Gaafu Alif Villlingilli, Haneef is a close associate of the parliament representative for the constituency, Saud Hussain.

Earlier this week, MP Saud, representative for the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), defected from President Abdulla Yameen’s faction of the party to the opposition.

PPM has been divided into two factions since June 2016, as President Yameen and his half-brother, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom continue to be involved in a public dispute over party leadership. President Yameen’s faction has since removed the former President, who is also the founder and elected leader of PPM, from the party.

Maumoon has dismissed the attempts to remove him, saying that the faction of the party does not have the legal authority to do so.