Saif, Faiz ordered back into custody based on intel

Criminal Court has ordered former SWAT Commander Saif Hussain and former Station Inspector Faiz Mohamed back into detention, just two days after they were transferred to house arrest.

Saif and Faiz, along with six other police officers stand accused of complicity in an attempt to overthrow incumbent President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. They were arrested during the recent State of Emergency, and dismissed from the Maldives Police Service.

The officers under persecution for the coup attempt are:

Saif Hussain, former Commander of the SWAT Unit

Faiz Mohamed, former Station Inspector

Ahmed Asim, former Sergeant

Ali Rishwan, former Sergeant

Abdulla Riyaz, former Sergeant

Ali Naseer, former Corporal

Mohamed Shamin, former Corporal

Hassan Naseer, former Corporal

At the Criminal Court this Thursday morning, police requested that Saif and Faiz be returned to detention based on an intelligence report. The court granted the request after hearing the report.

The eight officers accused of complicity in the coup attempt were ordered to house arrest by the Criminal Court last Tuesday. The court granted house arrest for 30 days, upon which they will be presented to the court again for an extension to their house arrest.

In addition to being charged with attempt to illegally overthrow the legitimate government of Maldives, the former officers have also been charged with joining forced with another group of individuals in an attempt to illegally overthrow the legitimate government of the country, confronting and physically assaulting security forces during an illegal gathering and attempting to create distrust regarding security forces among the general population.