Fugitive Abbas at Yameen's PPM steering committee

Former Customs Commissioner Abbas Adil Riza, who has been charged with calling for arson at the Indian High Commission in the Maldives, after failing to appear in court despite repeated summons, was found to be one of the key members of the committee formed by former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to run PPM.

The Criminal Court had earlier told Atoll Times that the hearings of the case have not started nine months after the case was filed.

“When checked through immigration, it did not show he had fled the country, so the case has not been pursued,” the court said last week.

The Prosecutor General (PG)’s Office also told Atoll Times that the court had informed the agency that the case could not be continued because the summons had not been served on him.

According to the newly enacted Criminal Procedure Code, if the accused is abroad, his/her hearings can be conducted online through the embassy in the same location. In case the accused does not appear before the court without a valid excuse or fails to hand over the order to appear before the court, it is in the interest of the judge to do so through the police in cases where the judge finds that the person should be remanded in judicial custody.

According to the PG office, the court has not requested the office for support in summoning Abbas to the court.

The court has so far scheduled five hearings in the case, all of which have been canceled as Abbas had not appeared. The last hearing was scheduled for July 17. The hearing was also canceled for no-show.

Police had even announced a search warrant for Abbas on May 23 after he failed to appear at many hearings.

He was wanted that time, to which Abbas issued a statement in response, saying that he was not a fugitive and went abroad as an aide to seek treatment for his father’s life-threatening illness within the framework of laws and regulations. He said the relevant government agencies would also have information on the airline he was traveling on, the country he was in at the time and the hospital where his father was receiving treatment.

Abbas said he had gone abroad as his father’s guardian and there were no cases against him in a Maldivian court.

Despite Abbas's comments, the PG office told Atoll Times that he was in Maldives when the charges were filed against him on February 19.

Abbas has not been produced in court for over a year and then suddenly popped up at a press conference held at the PPM office early Tuesday evening, as one of the leading figures.

Abbas told the press conference that he is now the spokesperson of the PPM and is also a member of the 13-member committee formed by the party's president Abdullah Yameen.

When contacted by Atoll Times for a statement on the reason for Abbas's absence, he expressed his dissatisfaction and declined to comment on the matter.

Case Summary:

He has been booked under the Penal Code, by the state, for threatening to destroy:

Abbas was the spokesperson of the President's Office and the State Minister of Finance during the rule of former President Mohammed Waheed. Abbas also served as the top customs official during the Yameen administration.