Abbas Adil Riza did not call for arson of Indian High Commission, charges politically motivated: Lawyer

Prosecution's charges against Abbas Adil Riza for allegedly inciting to set fire to the Indian Embassy in Maldives is politically motivated, said his lawyer at the Criminal Court today, asserting that Riza did not make such a call.

Riza currently stands charged of threatening vandalism for calling to set fire to the Indian High Commission in a post he published on Twitter (now X) in December 2022, and for encouraging riots in areas of Malé City while speaking on social media platform Clubhouse.

He was arrested over this last year, but released later.

Riza's attorney Noorussalam Abubakr, at the hearing today, maintained that Riza's tweet did not call for the arson of the High Commission, and that the tweet referred to the India Out movement. He went on to say that the movement was a show of dissatisfaction about the former administration's foreign policies by many members of the public, and that this was evident from the results of the most recent presidential elections.

However, Riza has never spoken anywhere encouraging arson and harm to people's lives, Abubakr reiterated, adding that the charges are politically motivated.

As such, Riza plead not guilty for the charges laid against him.

Following these statements, presiding judge Sofwath Habeeb asked prosecutors whether the case is a political issue, to which the State responded by denying any political motivation.

The case is a criminal matter, prosecutors assured the court.

Prosecutors have also presented police reports and statements of the officers that prepared the reports as evidence against Riza. In light of this, Riza has requested the court the opportunity to present evidence in his defence.

Riza's lawyer also asked the court to take into account the defence evidence when deciding whether to proceed with the case, asserting that it would prove that Riza's words did not encourage such an act.

Referring to the fact that Riza previously did not present himself at the hearing and authorities had attempted to arrest him in order to make him appear in court, Judge Sofwath warned that deliberate failure to appear in court would result in action being taken against any individual regardless of their status or position.

The next hearing of this case will see a decision being made within civil standards.

Riza currently holds a senior position at the Maldivian High Commission in Malaysia.