Maldives immigration retained the passport of the religious scholar Sheikh Ilyas Hussein on Friday, under a warrant from the Magistrate Court of Hithadhoo, Seenu Atoll.

Addu-native Sheikh Ilyas is registered to vote in Malaysia for the upcoming presidential elections, to be held on September 23rd.

While speaking to the press at the Seenu Gan International Airport, Ilyas stated that he discovered his passport had been retained when he arrived at the airport to depart back to Malaysia, his country of residence.

Speaking at the ceremony on Friday, Ilyas had stated that he did inform the police of his presence in the country.

“I have not committed any crimes. I had informed the police when I came back to the Maldives in order to cooperate with the investigation" said Ilyas.

In an opposition-held event in Addu City on September 5th, Ilyas commented that following the murder of Dr. Afrasheem, nine youngsters found in relation to the murder had been seen confessing the crime on social media platforms. Ilyas then proceeded to accuse the police of not investigating these incidences.

Maldives Police Service subsequently summoned Ilyas on September 5, claiming that some of the statements he had made regarding Dr Afrasheem's case included information that the police did not possess.

Ilyas had departed to Malaysia on the same day.

His lawyer and Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem contested that Sheikh Ilyas did not flee the country, revealing that the trip to Malaysia had been scheduled prior to the summons. He added that Ilyas had been unaware of the police summons at the time of his departure.