PGO to appeal alleged supporter of IS's acquittal case

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The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has decided to appeal the Criminal Court's acquittal of a Maldivian man who was indicted for been "in possession of photographs and videos in support of a terrorist organization".

In a Maldives' native Dhivehi language report on Tuesday, the local media outlet "Mihaaru" reported that in May 2021, under an operation police conducted in Addu City, Iuthisaam Muhammad Saeed (from Madaveli island of Gaaf Dhaal atoll) was arrested on allegations of possessing a phone and pen drive containing photos and videos which expressed support for the Islamic State (IS).

An official of PGO was cited as saying that arrangements were underway to file an appeal as the PGO was of the opinion that the Criminal Court's verdict violated "principles of laws".

In the Criminal Court's ruling on Sunday, it had pointed out that the State had failed to produce an "original photo" to establish that the photos found in Iuthisaam's phone showed the logo and flag of IS.

The court went on to say that although the State had presented "two small photos", the State had not confirmed through "concerned institutions" that they contained the IS logo and its flag.

The court also ruled that it cannot be established that it was the IS flag and logo by solely depending on the "claims" of the "person who compiled the police report".

The verdict ruled that though the audio that was presented as evidence contains Dhivehi language, the conversations had no connection with IS.

The videos do not depict anything "dangerous", the court ruled, adding that police had claimed it did not know the organization the persons appearing in it represented, and therefore, this cannot prove that Iuthisaam was in possession of videos that supported IS.