Abbas Adil Riza has been arrested and remanded in custody for five days for calling an arson attack on the High Commission of India in the Maldives.
Maldives Police Service (MPS) said he was arrested under a court order in connection with a case being investigated. It is learned that he was arrested for repeatedly tweeting hate speech among the public.
Abbas served as the Spokesperson for former President Dr. Mohamed Waheed during his time in office. He also served as the State Minister for Finance during Dr. Waheed's administration. He also served as the Government Trade Representative at the Embassy of the Maldives in Malaysia during the government of former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
The Twitter account created under the name of Abbas tweeted alleging that arson was committed at Addu City during the unrest by members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on February 8, 2012, on the orders of India. Noting that revenge is yet to be taken over the matter, Abbas called to set ablaze the Indian High Commission in the Maldives.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government is investigating this threat very seriously and all necessary precautionary measures have been taken by the authorities. The ministry said such threats of malicious intent aimed at undermining the security of the diplomatic corps and disrupting public safety will not be tolerated.