Yameen again probed for attending political event

Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is currently being investigated for attending the signing ceremony of the People's National Front (PNF) led by him, according to the Maldives Correctional Service.

Yameen, who is currently serving an 11-year jail sentence in connection with the MMPRC scam, signed up for the PNF at an event held at the party's office on Sunday.

After Yameen signed up, the next part of the event was conducted in secret to the media. However, some of the photos show Yameen addressing his supporters.

When asked about this, Corrections spokesperson Fathimath Yusreen said they were not investigating the case of Yameen signing up for the PNF, but the case of his participation in a political activity.

"It is not prohibited to sign up for a political party. However, we are investigating the case of participating in a political movement," she said.

Yameen was placed under house arrest on October 1 after his party's victory in the presidential elections, and when he went to the party office to attend meetings and started speaking, Corrections on Novemeber 1 informed him that it was a violation of the order of the house arrest and threatened to withdraw the relaxations if he repeated it.

Although Yameen has been away from political activities since then, he left the PPM on 23rd last month and had been to the office of the newly formed PNF on 26th last month to participate in the recruitment process.

Following that, the corrections said at the time that the case was also being investigated. However, no further information is available on these said investigations.

The new party is registered in the name of Yameen's son Zain Abdullah Yameen. However, Yameen is unofficially one of the founders of the party.

According to the Prisons and Parole Act, an offender can become an ordinary member of a political party but is prohibited from participating in political activities run by the party.