Police are investigating a social media post by former Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) first lieutenant and former deputy minister Zihan Hassan calling for the President’s Office, Parliament and Supreme Court buildings to be set on fire.
“A status posted under the account named Hassan Zihan on Facebook has come to the attention of the police,” a police media official said, adding that officers were looking into the matter.
In the post, Zihan questioned why the buildings housing the three branches of state power had not been set on fire and encouraged people to do so.
“How come we dont get to set our supreme court and presidents office and Majilis on fire. Come on... itll be fun,” he wrote.
Zihan deleted the post about an hour after publishing it.
Zihan studied at the US Naval Academy and worked as a naval architect for the MNDF. He was dismissed from MNDF during the final days of the previous administration. At the time, his relatives alleged that he had been dismissed for criticizing the government.
He was subsequently appointed Deputy Minister of Transport but was later removed from the post. Since then, he has continued to criticize the government on social media.
