Abbas Adil Riza arrested

Abbas Adul Riza has been arrested for making hate speech on social media.

Police said Abbas was arrested under a court order in connection with a case being investigated by the police.

The arrest was made after an "Abbas Adil Riza" called for revenge on Twitter, on December 23, by setting fire to the Indian High Commission, claiming the riots and arson that occurred in Addu City during the abrupt change of government in 2012, were on the orders of India.

He said that the damage has not yet been compensated, and tweeted "I think we should start with the Embassy".

The account had tweeted photos of the incident with the hashtag India Out.

All the district court offices, police stations and police training centres were set ablaze except the magistrate's court and police station in Meedhoo. These buildings have all been rebuilt now.

He told Mihaaru that the Twitter handle inciting violence was not his real account, and that he does not use social media. He said he even reported the account to the police last year.

However, police have confirmed that it is a Twitter account used by Abbas.

The account also shared links to anti-India Clubhouse meetings, and the same account was used to threaten the judge who issued the order to remove the "India Out" banners at Yameen’s residence. While the police began investigating the case, Abbas had made no comments earlier regarding the alleged fake account using his identity to tweet damaging discourse.

Abbas' latest tweet has been condemned by the Maldives government and various political parties.

Abbas Adil Riza has previously held senior positions as Customs Commissioner and at the Maldives Embassy in Malaysia during the administration of former President Mohamed Waheed, and as a senior official at the Maldives Embassy in Malaysia during former President Abdulla Yameen's government.