Man who threatened Nasheed on social media sentence to 10 years in prison

The man who threatened former president Mohamed Nasheed on social media has been sentenced to 10 years prison.

Ismail Yafis, 40, H. Lightnight, K. Make’, was arrested from R. Meedhoo on August 23, 2021.

Yafis was charged with three terrorism-related offenses for threatening Nasheed on social media on various occasions: incitement to terrorism, threatening to carry out an act of terrorism, and supporting a terrorist organization. 

Although the original punishment for the charges against Yasif stands at 26 years in prison, he has been granted leniency under a plea agreement with the state, where the state has agreed to reduce his prison sentence to 10 years.

Yafis was sentenced last Wednesday: five years in prison for incitement of terrorism, three years in prison for threatening to carry out an act of terrorism and two years in prison for supporting a terrorist organization.

Notably, Nasheed sustained life-threatening injuries in an assassination attempt on May 6, 2021, when a homemade remote-controlled IED was detonated as he was leaving his residence in Malé during his tenure as Parliament Speaker.