High Court has ruled that Hoodh Mohamed Zahir, arrested on allegations of being a member of IS, encouraging terrorist activities, and having committed many related acts, was wrongfully released.
High Court has ruled that Hoodh Mohamed Zahir, arrested on allegations of being a member of IS, encouraging terrorist activities, and having committed many related acts, was wrongfully released.
The state has pressed five charges against Hoodh, who was arrested by Maldives Police on January 6, 2022, based on findings of an operation led by USA's FBI and Europe's investigative authorities. If convicted, Hoodh will get a 53 year prison sentence.
Criminal Court, where the trial is ongoing, placed him in remand in custody until the end of trial on April 19, 2022. However, in October last year, the Criminal Court suspended this order for 60 days. At the end of this period, an appeal was made to extend the suspension.
The Criminal Court then granted an additional 60 days. The State appealed this decision at the High Court.
In the appeal hearing at the High Court yesterday, the court said in its verdict that Hoodh had been placed in custody under the Terrorism Act, but the remand had been reviewed under the Criminal Procedures Act.
They maintained that the remand must have been reviewed also under the Terrorism Act in such cases.
The three judge bench ruled unanimously that Hoodh's release had not been granted under proper procedures.
Police have said that Hoodh has been spreading IS propaganda since 2015 via Telegram and other encrypted messaging platforms. Hoodh, however, said in court that he does not know 'computer science'.
Hoodh is being charged with:
- Promoting acts of terrorism via the internet - carries a prison sentence between 10 to 15 years
- Spreading documents of a terrorist organization via the internet - carries a prison sentence between 10 to 15 years
- Being a member of a terrorist organization - carries a prison sentence between 10 to 15 years
- Supporting a terrorist organization - Carries a prison sentence between 3 to 5 years
- Being is possession of writings, photos and other material which indicates he is a supporter of a terrorist organization - carries a prison sentence of between 1 to 3 years
Police said that Hoodh had shared content on social media platforms inciting attacks which pose a threat to life of European leaders and the public. Hoodh, however, denies all charges.
Hoodh said in court that he has not committed an act of terrorism, but that there might be content on his phone and hard disk which may lead to such accusations. He claims that this is only because he is a person who likes to gather information and knowledge, and that he has collected this information from various places, and hence is not a reason to be charged with terrorism.
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