Suspected ISIS operative denies terrorism allegations

Criminal Court has ordered the detention of Hood Mohamed Zahir, who has been arrested for allegedly inciting terrorist activities as an IS member, until the end of his trial.

The state has filed five charges against Hood, 30, who was arrested by the Maldivian police on January 6 in a joint operation by the FBI and European investigative agencies. If found guilty, he faces up to 53 years in prison.

Hood said that he did not conduct an act of terrorism but the information found on his phone and hard disk could point towards such an accusation. However, he states that he likes to seek and collect information from different sources and that there is no reason to charge him of terrorism based on the data found on his devices.

The police state that Hood had been spreading ISIS propaganda since 2015 and was using telegram and other encrypted messaging platforms for this purpose. However, Hood told the court he "doesn't know computer science".

While Hood denied the allegations, Judge Dheeba Naz Fahmy said that according to the evidence presented by the state, there are sufficient reasons for the allegations. Hood was ordered to be kept in custody until the end of his trial.

● Charge of inciting an act of terrorism via the Internet - a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison.

● Spreading documents of a terrorist organization via the Internet - a sentence of 10 to 15 years.

● Being a member of a terrorist group - a sentence between 10 and 15 years.

● Supporting a terrorist group - a sentence of three to five years.

● Carrying a document, drawing or photo indicating support for a terrorist group - a sentence of one to three years in prison.

The police state that Hood has also circulated content on social media platforms calling for attacks on the lives of senior European officials and civilians.

Hood, who had been running a cell for IS in the Maldives for seven years, was charged with the rape of a 14-year-old girl by a group of six people in Villimale' in 2010. But none of the defendants were found guilty.