India embassy arson call accused denies being on the run
Abbas said no charges had been filed when he left the country as his father's aide.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
Abbas Adil Riza said on Tuesday that he was not on the run and had to leave the country for his father's medical treatment after fulfilling the conditions of his release from detention.
Police announced a search for Abbas, to be produced before the Criminal Court in connection with a tweet that called to burn down the Indian High Commission building in the Maldives.
On February 19, he was charged with criminal intimidation in the same case. Earlier, he was arrested in the case on December 25 and remanded in 20-day police custody before being granted conditional release on February 8.
Four hearings have been scheduled so far in connection with the indictment of Abbas. However, the hearings did not begin as he did not appear before the court.
After the court issued orders to bring him to court under police custody, the police had announced the search for Abbas along with a photo of him on Tuesday. He took to Twitter to respond to it.
Abbas said in a statement that he was not on the run and had left the country as a helper to seek treatment for a life-threatening illness of his father, as per laws and regulations. From information about the airline he was travelling in to the country where he is currently staying and which hospital his father is seeking treatment from, the relevant government authorities will have all that information, his statement said.
Abbas added:
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He was arrested and brutally tortured
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The matter was referred to the human rights commission, but it did not issue the report within 30 days
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On January 13, the trial court released him on the ground that he could no longer be remanded in custody
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The condition for release is to cooperate with the police investigation for 30 days; the period expired on February 13
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No charges had been filed when he left the country as his father's aide
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He was being defamed on purpose by announcing his wanted status and making him look like a fugitive when the authorities had his location and contacts.
Abbas is being prosecuted for tweeting back then that arson attacks in Addu on February 8, 2012 were caused on Indian orders, but that there had been no compensation for it yet. He had also said in the tweet that he thought the Indian embassy in Male was a good place to start.
Abbas served as the spokesperson at the President's Office and the state minister for finance during President Mohamed Waheed's tenure. Abbas also served as the head of customs during President Abdulla Yameen's tenure.
