High Court orders Thayyib Shaheem's release with conditions

High Court has ordered the immediate release of opposition social media activist.

Shaheem had appealed his detention order at the High Court, which on Sunday overturned Criminal Court’s third order detaining him.

However, the court imposed three conditions for his release, which will be applicable for a period of 60 days.

Shaheem is prohibited from leaving the country, besmirching the reputation of the government, and has been conditioned to assist the police in the investigation.

He was arrested on March 16, on allegations of spreading false information and causing public fear over the H1N1 outbreak, through his accounts on various social media platforms.

However, the opposition maintains that Shaheem was arrested over an audio he had leaked online, of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s parliamentary group leader Ahmed Nihan, who in the audio is heard speaking about the controversial Faafu deal that was met with public concern.

READ MORE: Full transcript of MP Nihan's leaked audio clip

Prior to his arrest, Shaheem had sent out a tweet saying ’12 black suitcases and one silver suitcase was taken to the VVIP bungalow in Aarah from the Saudi [Royal] helicopter’. King Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud was to arrive the next day and was expected to sign a deal buying land from Faafu Atoll, but cancelled the visit due to the H1N1 outbreak across the country.

Amnesty International named Shaheem a prisoner of conscience, and said he was arrested ‘solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression’ and called on its ‘Urgent Action Network’ to pursue Shaheem’s release.

Last week, Shaheem’s lawyer Nazim Sattar had expressed concern over his client’s health.