Zihaan remanded for 15 days over state institutions arson warning

Former Deputy Minister of Transport Hassan Zihaan has been remanded in custody for 15 days following his arrest over a Facebook post suggesting that it would be entertaining to attack the President's Office, Parliament and the Supreme Court.

Zihaan, who previously served as a First Lieutenant in the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), was arrested in Fuvahmulah on Tuesday night.

The Fuvahmulah Magistrate Court subsequently ordered that he be detained for 15 days while police investigate the matter.

The arrest followed comments Zihaan made on Facebook on Tuesday in response to an Al Jazeera report about unrest in Albania, where protesters had reportedly torched the country's Supreme Court.

Referring to the incident, Zihaan questioned why similar attacks could not take place against the Maldives' main state institutions.

"Why can't we torch the Supreme Court, the President's Office and Parliament?" he wrote.

He also suggested that doing so would be entertaining.

Zihaan later deleted the Facebook post.

The former deputy minister was dismissed from his position at the Ministry of Transport in 2024. Since his dismissal, he has frequently criticised President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's administration.

Before joining the government, Zihaan served in the MNDF as a naval architect with the rank of First Lieutenant.

He was dismissed from that position during the administration of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, after which he also became a critic of the then government.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his Facebook remarks. The court's 15-day remand order allows investigators to continue their inquiries while he remains in custody.