Court ordered police access to activist’s SIM

Telecom firm Dhiraagu allowed police to access the cellphone number of a prominent activist as part of a criminal investigation, according to a document leaked Thursday.

Thayyib Shaheem, who has more than 32,000 Twitter followers and is known for levelling serious allegations against President Abdulla Yameen and his government, claimed his SIM had been cloned.

He said Wednesday that his phone number had been disconnected and reassigned to a third party who had changed the passwords of his social media accounts using the number.

A Dhiraagu spokesman told the Maldives Independent the firm did not comment on individual cases.

However a letter posted on Twitter by Thayyib’s lawyer, Mahfooz Saeed, says there was a court order for police to access the number.

“We would like to inform you that Dhiraagu complied with a criminal court order to let police access your number for an ongoing investigation. That Dhiraagu acted on a court order was relayed to you by a staff member on Thursday morning,” reads the letter.

“Dhiraagu’s operating policies are based on the license granted by Communication Authority of Maldives as well as laws and regulations that mandate the code of conduct for telecommunication operators in Maldives. We have not received any further information with regard to this case.”

Saeed tweeted that his client had not been informed about the court order.

The secretary general of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, Anas Abdul Sattar, said the letter had allowed Maldives police to access and monitor Thayyib’s calls and texts.

Thayyib lives in Sri Lanka, where he leaks information received from government sources.