Less than a day after being accused of attempting to flee the country, MP for Dhiggaru constituency Ahmed Faris Maumoon has once again been summoned to the Maldives Police Service for questioning.
He has been asked to present himself to the police headquarters at 9:30 pm on Thursday.
RaajjeMV understands that he is being summoned over the use of the official flag of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), at a press conference held by the opposition. However, RaajjeMV has been unable to confirm the matter. Faris was removed from the party by President Abdulla Yameen’s faction of PPM; the party has been divided since June 2016, as President Yameen continues to fight over party leadership with the party’s elected leader former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Both factions continue to denounce each other’s decision, while the Civil Court had ordered Maumoon to hand the party over to Yameen.
On Tuesday, Ministry of Home Affairs issued a statement regarding Faris’s concerns over a travel ban imposed on him. He was not allowed to travel to India on May 14, to visit a relative receiving treatment there. Immigration officers had confiscated his passport as he was going through immigration process at Velana International Airport, after checking in.
The Ministry said that Faris’s passport was withheld as he is a flight risk, and that he was not cooperating with the police in an investigation involving him.
Faris has since appealed to the authorities to accompany him if necessary, but to allow him to visit his aunt in India. However the police, on Wednesday, informed Faris that they are unable to do so, due to an ongoing investigation involving him.