Former Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) first lieutenant and former deputy minister Zihan Hassan has been remanded in custody for 15 days over a social media post calling to set fire to State buildings.
The Fuvahmulah Magistrate Court ordered his remand today. Zihan was arrested while on the island.
In the post, Zihan questioned why the Supreme Court, President’s Office and Parliament building had not been set on fire, adding that doing so “will be fun”.
He deleted the post about an hour after publishing it, although screenshots have since circulated on social media.
Zihan studied at the United States Naval Academy and served as a naval architect at the MNDF. He was dismissed from the military during the final days of the previous administration.
Zihan studied at the Naval Academy in the United States and served as a Naval Architect at MNDF. He was dismissed from MNDF during the final days of the previous administration.
At the time, his close associates alleged that his dismissal had been politically motivated, claiming that his criticism of the government had been the reason.
After this administration came to office, Zihan was appointed as a Deputy Minister at the Transport Ministry. He was later dismissed, following which he has a been a vocal critic of the government.
