Suspected Maldivian terror fighter remanded for seven days
16 އޮކްޓޯބަރު 2020 | ހުކުރު 13:09The 34-year-old Maldivian man was arrested on Thursday
File photo of Maldivian fighter linked with Jihadist groups in Syria
The Maldivian arrested under suspicion of having taken part in terrorist activities in Syria on Thursday, has been remanded.
Maldives Police Service (MPS) revealed that the 34-year-old Maldivian man was remanded for seven days, as investigations proceed.
Police officers arrested the man during an operation conducted on Thursday and conducted a search in his residence. RaajjeMV journalists reporting from the scene revealed that officers did not confiscate much.
Sources report that the man returned to Maldives a week ago and was residing in a rented space.
Taking to Twitter shortly after the arrest, Commissioner of Police Mohamed Hameed said that the suspect is on the police’s potential list of local Foreign Terrorist Fighters or FTFs.
The case is being investigated by the police institution's Serious and Organized Crime Department.
Latest findings of the police institute reveal that 173 Maldivians had travelled to join the Syrian conflict, through numerous terror groups. A number of them have since been requesting to return home, mostly local widows and orphans.
Earlier, Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih revealed that the talks are underway to move Maldivian refugees displaced in Syrian camps to another country. They will be placed in rehabilitation upon return, where a risk assessment will be carried out to determine if they are worthy of reintegration.
Due to lack of written documentation, authorities earlier stressed that it would be a challenge to bring the women and children stranded in Syrian camps.
While many Maldivians have in the past become casualties of the Syrian war, many are involved in terrorist groups and thus are deemed a national threat as there is a possibility of crisis in Maldives.
