Criminal Court has issued an eight-day remand for opposition social media acitivst Thayyib Shaheem, who was arrested on Thursday night.
He was arrested at around 12:45 am on Thursday night.
READ MORE: Opposition activist Thayyib arrested, still in police custody
RaajjeMV understands that he was arrested regarding some audio clips he had leaked online, allegedly of the parliamentary group leader of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik. However, RaajjeMV is unable to confirm the reason for his arrest.
In the leaked audios, the Villimale MP is heard talking about why the amended they foreign land ownership bill, and new details about the controversial Faafu Atoll deal.
Leader of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), former President Mohamed Nasheed has called for Thayyib's immediate release.
Nasheed said that Thayyib "was arrested after posts alleging handling of cargo in large amounts of dollars from helicopters to the Maldives Monetary Authority," and called on authorities to investigate "all allegations of money laundering and corruption".
Prior to his arrest, at 11:41 pm, Thayyib had sent out a tweet saying that "12 black suitcases, and 1 silver suitcase was taken to the VVIP bungalow in Aaarah from the Saudi [Royal] helicopter".
King Salman, who was to arrive in the Maldives on Saturday as part of his month-long Asia tour, has cancelled the scheduled visit to the Maldives.
